Kayla Blackburn, a graduate of the medical billing and coding program at the $$Pikeville Campus, is continuing her education in the nursing program at American National University after being inspired by the caring medical professionals that she works with at Trans-Star Ambulance, who make a difference in others’ lives every day.
Kayla first came to American National University shortly after giving birth to her son. “I knew after I had him that getting an education was crucial not only for my success, but for me to help him be successful, too,” she explained.
She enrolled in the medical billing and coding program because she wanted a career in the medical field, but felt that she was more suited to the administrative side of health care.
[img]Since Kayla needed to work to support her family while she was in school, she feels that continuing her education would have been impossible without the night classes that she found at National. The personal attention that she received from her instructors was also important to her success. “They were all very caring, but they were also very knowledgeable about everything that they covered,” said Kayla.
After completing her program, she worked closely with the American National University Career Center to help her find employment. Career center director Tiffani Ballard notified her about the opening at Trans-Star. “She asked if I wanted her to forward my résumé, and they ended up calling me right away for me to come in for the interview,” recalled Kayla.
Kayla enjoys working at Trans-Star, where she performs billing for Medicare accounts. “We stay very busy,” she said. “We get some very exciting stories in the run sheets. After reading them, it made me see that I really do want to be hands-on [in the clinical side of health care].”
Now in the first term of her nursing program, Kayla is appreciative of the stability that her career at Trans-Star has brought her family, and she looks forward to her future career as a registered nurse.
A-Kayla Blackburn is working at Trans-Star Ambulance after completing her medical billing and coding program at the $$Pikeville Campus.
B-Kayla Blackburn, shown with her son, Memphis, decided to continue her education at American National University to help ensure success for them both.
