Apprenticeship leads to coding career

Jordan Claydon joined the team at Lakeside Hereward as an apprentice and, five years later, he is the chief scanner and read coder for medical documents.

He started as an apprentice at 18 and worked on reception before finding his niche in coding. He and his colleague Mel, gather patient results from hospital letters, update records and pass on follow up actions to the relevant medical colleague.

Jordon Clayton

Jordan, who is now 23, said: ‘I didn’t really want to go to university and so I applied for the apprenticeship route. I started on reception which gave me lots of face-to-face contact with patients, however, I found I preferred doing the coding and so when this came up it was an ideal move.’

He and Mel, deal with up to 150 letters a day and each must be assessed for results and follow up actions: ‘I have had training on medical terminology so I can understand the communications. I feel I have been supported in my career and the best thing has been having experienced people around who are happy to give help and advice. It is crucial to have a good concentration span and attention for detail as you are dealing with people’s lives and medical details.’

Published: Sep 8, 2021