My Journey from Curious Kid to Certified Advisor

From Childhood Tinker to Certified Thinker

My love for learning traces back to childhood, where I was often found dismantling objects to see how they worked—though putting them back together wasn’t always my strong suit! This curiosity carried through my academic journey, although I learned that I needed to be genuinely captivated by a subject to fully engage. In medical school, I struggled with memorizing anatomy, but subjects that fascinated me—like clinical medicine—came more naturally. Fast forward to today, and I’m proud to share a recent step in my journey: attending the ACPA annual conference and following this up by pursuing certification in Physician Advising from that same organization.

Finding My Tribe at ACPA

Earlier this year, I found myself at the American College of Physician Advisors (ACPA) annual conference NPAC in San Diego. As I have shared with a number of folks, I truly felt I had found my tribe. Here was a group of clinicians focused on case management, hospital utilization, clinical documentation integrity, health system revenue cycle, and healthcare regulation. I met so many smart, passionate people across a wide range of domains, specialties, and experiences, all trying to learn from each other on ways of tackling some of the most wicked problems in healthcare. Almost without exception, I recall finding myself nodding in agreement to the problems raised by all of the presenters, shaking my head as Richelle Marting JD, MHSA,RHIA,CPC,CEMC,CPMA dove deep into Clinical Validation Denials, sharing the data track that revealed the insidious nature of the problem hidden in plain sight. And who could forget Ronald Hirsch, MD, FACP, CHCQM, CHRI, ACPA-C on point acerbic regulatory review and update that was like coloring in the black and white image already there but filling in the details in glorious technicolor

Preparing for Certification

The conference reignited my drive to deepen my knowledge and credentials in this field and with an online option available year-round there was no better time than now to jump in and start learning and work towards the exam and certification. 13 modules of differing lengths covering the core topics proved to be fascinating, and with virtual training, it was possible to start, stop, rewind and redo sections and content to my heart’s content. It was so good I created 164 pages of notes from my studies. My very first module was hosted by none other than Ron Hirsch, who is something of a luminary in this space, and I settled into a rhythm of doing a module or two in the morning or evening before or after work to get through the full collection.

Each of the modules was hosted by a different proctor/lecturer and I got to know these individuals through their content enjoying the insights into the space. But more than that, in the case of this immigrant who may have passed his citizenship exam but realizes each and every day how little that taught me, learning more and more of its history.

The examination is a time-pressured affair. 100 questions to be answered in 100 mins. 1 minute per question. For those used to multiple choice exams or MCQs this might seem normal, ok, or ordinary. For someone whose last MCQ test was in the driving center in one of several states where I have had to take my driving test yet again (I have taken and passed first time 7 different driving tests around the world) this was a tad stressful.

Each of the modules came with a mini multiple choice test which I was guessing was some indicator of what to expect. The trouble was that some of the questions were long, quite detailed, and took some time to process and think about before answering. There was of course a mix with other questions being short quick and easy but given the material, I was expecting more of the former. But the mini-test was static and despite going over the content again as part of my program of preparation I took the same 4 or 5 questions at the end.

So, to help my preparation, I created a structured review schedule and practiced multiple-choice questions, focusing on my speed and accuracy, and used every technology tool in my arsenal, including extensive use of AI and LLMs to fully prepare

Certification and Heart Palpitations - The Exam Day Experience

After a few more cycles of preparation and testing, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and take the exam. I will say it gave me a whole new appreciation for the Medical Students and Doctors who endure what I can only describe as inhuman testing experiences that are hours long and filled to the brim with stress levels that must be hard to adjust and terrible for individual wellbeing. At least in my case, it was a shortened session – 100 minutes vs 9 hours.

Out of the gate, I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and I can only imagine what my blood pressure would have been recorded as for the first 10 to 15 minutes as I stepped through the initial questions. But slowly, my stress started to decrease as I felt confident in my answers, capturing a list of questions that I wanted to spend more time reading and checking but keeping things moving. As my progress continued unabated, my sense of Zen increased, and much like my medical school finals, I was feeling quietly confident thanks to all the preparation time and effort that I had invested before walking into the exams.

I don’t recall exactly what the timer said when I reached question 100 in the list but I know I had a lot of time still left to go back and review questions.

Reflections and What's Next

The good news with online MCQ testing is the results are or certainly can be instantaneous. With my pass notification I knew I was just starting on this particular journey, much like driving a car, passing your test is a good start, but you really only start learning to drive once you have passed your test. That’s where I am at now, exploring more areas and seeing how I can give back to the community and the folks that helped me get through this next chapter in my book of life.

To the folks at who supported me, I am so glad to be here and part of this amazing team. Thank you.

To ACPA and in particular all the proctors and lecturers for taking the time to design, create and deliver the course modules and examination. I really enjoyed each of the modules and benefitted from the insights and shared experiences. Thank you.

And to everyone in the space, all of whom are working to find ways of delivering better healthcare who inspire me each and every day to continue on this journey working towards better solutions – thank you.

Passing the exam is just the beginning. I’m excited to contribute to this incredible field and support my colleagues in pushing for meaningful improvements in healthcare delivery.

What’s a skill or area you’d like to dive deeper into? How do you find the time and motivation for lifelong learning

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