Transition Tuesday: Medical Billing Associate to Nursing Student

Welcome to our fourth week of Transition Tuesday and I hope you’re inspired or at the very least intrigued at my friend’s transitions. This week, I am so happy to introduce you to Chassidy, whom I met while taking classes at CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College. We met in Anatomy & Physiology I class in the spring of 2016 and then had the opportunity to be in class again in Anatomy & Physiology II in the fall of 2016. Because we are both “non-traditional” students and mothers, we quickly sought each other out for support. We had many late-night texts about how to study blood types or complaining about how many tests we had.

Here’s Chassidy’s Transition Tuesday story. Hope you’ll be inspired!

Transition Tuesday: Medical Billing Associate to Nursing Student

What is your current career / title? Medical Billing Associate

What does your current day-to-day look like? It was 9-5, first real job after college. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I knew it was a stepping stone until I figured out a career. Since I had no children at the time so all I had to do is go to work, make a bunch of phone calls and submit appeals to insurance companies, then go home.

What is your career / title now? Clinical Research Coordinator and (soon-to-be) Nursing Student

What does your day-to-day look like now? For the most part, I do a lot of scheduling with other coordinators for their research participants, and making sure all documentation for studies and nursing orders are in place and correct. I also attend school on the weekends to fulfill pre-requisites to apply to nursing school.

Why did you want to make the change? While I worked as a medical billing associate, I conceived my first (and only!) child. After his birth, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I love my son dearly and I loved being with him, but deep down I wasn’t happy because I wanted more to do. I knew I could fulfill my career goals and be a great mom at the same time. After two years, I decided to go back to work. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get a masters in research for biology so I took the job the that I’m currently at (Clinical Research Coordinator). I realized I no longer wanted to further my career in research and was suddenly intrigued by the nursing staff that I work with. I thought to myself I can be a nurse and enjoy it. Now I’m looking forward to applying to nursing school this year.

I realized I no longer wanted to be further my career in research and was suddenly intrigued by the nursing staff that I work with. I thought to myself I can be a nurse and enjoy it. Now I’m looking forward to applying to nursing school this year.

How much did it cost you to make this change? Not just the dollar cost but the time cost? So far I’m only taking pre-requisites at CUNY- Borough of Manhattan Community College so monetarily it’s not too costly. As far as time and effort, the price seems to skyrocket a bit! There are times that the phrase, “there’s not enough time in the day” sounds like an understatement. Between taking three classes this semester, work, and of course making sure my home is intact, I have to plan very precisely. So the answer is, it costs a lot mentally. However, when you have a goal that you really want to accomplish, you find a way to make ends meet and the expense truly becomes an investment.

Studying the heart in Anatomy & Physiology

How did you afford the time and monetary cost? Thankfully I have a lot of help with both costs. Working helps me pay for school, along with the fact that the price per credit at a community college is substantially lower compared to a private college. I also get a lot of help from family who, for example, are able to babysit if I have an exam coming up and I need to go to the library to study for a few hours. It truly takes a village to raise a child, and that is how I am able to go to school. If I didn’t have family, I’m not sure if I would be able to fulfill my goal to the best of my abilities.

. . . it costs a lot mentally. However, when you have a goal that you really want to accomplish, you find a way to make ends meet and the expense truly becomes an investment.

What was the impact on, support of, pushback from family and friends? Describe your experiences. And if you had pushback, how did you overcome that? I actually received a lot of support, which helps a great deal. However, if you don’t have the verbal support, use the negativity as a way to push forward.

Any highlights and/or regrets to share? A part of me regrets not going straight into nursing from undergrad. I actually don’t know why I even feel this way, because I only decided to go into this field because of the job that I am at now. In fact, I didn’t even want to be a nurse while I was in college.

Don’t be afraid to transition. A lot of it is fear. For me, it was fear of failing. I realized that there is nothing wrong with failing, the point is that I tried. It’s way better than doing nothing.

Anything else you’d like to add? Don’t be afraid to transition. A lot of it is fear. For me, it was fear of failing. I realized that there is nothing wrong with failing, the point is that I tried. It’s way better than doing nothing. Lastly, many mothers feel that they need to focus only on their children and nothing else. But with enough confidence you can do both. One day your children will grow up and do their own thing, and you don’t want to wait until then to start on yourself. Men are awesome, but as women we have it in us to be so powerful in achieving multiple things at once, that’s why we are great at multitasking!

What is your affordable luxury indulgence when you have alone time? When I have alone time, I love reading food blogs and just walking around the city!

Read the other Transition Tuesday Posts:

From Marketing to Occupational Therapy.

From Fashion Production Development to Health Coach

From Corporate Marketing Office to Home Office

Follow #ttmTransitionTuesday for other posts and interesting career transition articles like this one from the New York Times about transitioning later in life. Click here if you’re interested in CUNY-BMCC’s nursing program.

Are you looking to transition? I’d love to hear from you! Email me at pam at triplethreatmommy dot com.