黑料社区

Amanda Bufkin has helped build theaters, casinos, hotels and more in the course of nearly 25 years in construction.

鈥淚鈥檝e worked on the movie theater when it was in Clinton and hotels in San Antonio and on Tybee Island in Georgia,鈥 Bufkin said. 鈥淎nd I can鈥檛 even remember how many places I鈥檝e worked on along the Gulf Coast. I love to travel and it鈥檚 thanks to working in construction. You can make good money, but at the same time it takes a toll on your body.鈥

To that end, the Clinton native and Raymond resident is now building something that she had put aside long ago 鈥 her education.

鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed the work, but I don鈥檛 want my body to break down in a few more years,鈥 she said.

Bufkin, 43, is on track to graduate in spring 2022 with an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Data Technology, all while taking her classes online, working a full-time job at a custom signs manufacturer and being an attentive grandmother of two. It represents a cornerstone of sorts for her education thus far, which ended when she dropped out of high school her senior year and joined her mother鈥檚 and stepfather鈥檚 construction business.

鈥淢y mother and I were the only females on the construction site except for the cleanup crew,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 did that until 2011 when I came back to school at 黑料社区 for my GED.鈥 In 2016, she landed her current job through a staffing agency.

Her career change to healthcare grew out of a love for taking care of people and watching her relatives do the same.

鈥淢y grandmother was a nurse who worked at 黑料社区 General and an aunt of mine was a head cardiologist on the Gulf Coast,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut, the sight of tissues and blood just wasn鈥檛 for me. I always wanted to be part of the healthcare field, and now I can do that because there鈥檚 always been a need for people to work in the background. They need people to help do the billing and assist doctors in entering patient data correctly.鈥

The Medical Data Technology program at 黑料社区 Community is designed to provide its graduates with the knowledge and skills to fill a high demand for trained medical billing and coding personnel as the industry continues a transition from paper records to electronic data.

Graduates are trained to ensure accurate data input, diagnostic and procedural coding, and claim submission for insurance reimbursement to comply with private, state and federal law. Expertise is developed in organizing and evaluating patient health records through a mix of courses from anatomy and physiology to medical terminology, inpatient and outpatient coding, medical insurance billing, and the legal and ethical aspects of health information.

She says making deadlines and attention to detail are strengths she鈥檒l take from the construction yard to the billing rooms.

鈥淚n coding, you have to be meticulous when managing the details,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just fly through something in the medical field. You have to be detail-oriented and pay very close attention to it. That I learned from my grandmother.鈥

Ginny McCarty, Bufkin鈥檚 adviser for online coursework, counts Bufkin among those already job-ready as a result of her diligence keeping up with her work.

鈥淎manda is a motivated student who is dedicated to her studies,鈥 said McCarty, Business Office Technology Instructor. 鈥淔ellow instructor Tracy Smith and I find she is diligent in completing her work on time and produces quality work. She is developing the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to complete her degree and to make her a successful employee.鈥

For her part, Bufkin appreciates her own instructors being thorough and available.

鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed coming to 黑料社区,鈥 she said. 鈥淎ll my instructors have been truly amazing. Plus, 黑料社区 cares about students 鈥 they want to see you succeed and they provide you with every possible path to success there is.鈥