Fired From Scribe Position

[kin1662]

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[terra330]

I'm not an expert so others may strongly disagree, but I would still talk about the experiences and not mention you were fired. As far as I know, you're not required to disclose the circumstances of your stopping an activity. Med schools may call to verify date/hours (highly unlikely they bother though unless something looks off). They almost definitely won't try to figure out whether or not you were fired. I wouldn't use a letter of recommendation from them.

 

[bananafish94]

I would still put it in your application. Six months of scribing is a lot of clinical experience, and you don't have to say that you were fired. I don't have much else to add other than that I'm very sorry this happened. Good luck!

 

[crunchywhit]

Agree with above. But if it were me I'd be going nuts over why they had fired me. Is the head scribe a jerk? Did you totally creep out a patient? Just seems strange after having been in the position for so long... Sounds like you handled it well but I'm sorry nonetheless.

 

[DrFizition]

Keep it in your app. But be ready to discuss it during interviews. Interviewers love talking about scribing, so I'm sure it'll come up.

 

[0dee]

Don't sweat it, you probably didn't fit in with the clique that they had. I used to work in an ED (not a scribe though), and I've noticed that the chief scribe would isolate the scribes they didn't like, then get them terminated. You should still mention it and talk about the experience positively.

 

[Espressso]

Damn, sorry to hear about that! My chief scribe is a mean person, as well. I couldn't imagine being fired without any real explanation. I agree with above posters though, keep it in your PS.

 

[DrSponge]

6 months is more than enough clinical exposure to put in your application. Maybe you can start shadowing other specialties. That way, when your interviewing, you can mention that you stopped scribing in order to gain more exposure to the different specialties within the medical field. BTW, your chief scribe sounds like a jerk.

 

[7331poas]

Why would you not put it on your app? I'm not sure why that thought process is running through your mind.

The director explicitly told you you can reference your hours if necessary.

 

[AccessoryNavicular]

I scribed for well over a year and was "fired" within the first month of having the job. There was absolutely no reason for my termination and my chief scribe tried to expedite the process by getting me to sign termination paperwork which I refused to do. In fact, I got in touch with HR and explained the entire situation and they ended up reversing his decision entirely. He tried numerous other times to get me fired by giving me bad reviews etc. but I befriended one of the docs and explained the situation to him and the kid couldn't touch me. He ended up quitting 6 months later. Moral of the story is that chief scribes can be fickle creatures with their own agendas (and inferiority complexes) but their word isn't law. Sometimes you have to get the right people involved and make it clear that you aren't their little play thing and they will leave you alone.

Wishing you the best of luck


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[7331poas]

I scribed for well over a year and was "fired" within the first month of having the job. There was absolutely no reason for my termination and my chief scribe tried to expedite the process by getting me to sign termination paperwork which I refused to do. In fact, I got in touch with HR and explained the entire situation and they ended up reversing his decision entirely. He tried numerous other times to get me fired by giving me bad reviews etc. but I befriended one of the docs and explained the situation to him and the kid couldn't touch me. He ended up quitting 6 months later. Moral of the story is that chief scribes can be fickle creatures with their own agendas (and inferiority complexes) but their word isn't law. Sometimes you have to get the right people involved and make it clear that you aren't their little play thing and they will leave you alone.

Wishing you the best of luck


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

I actually disagree. You may be better off leaving the scribing company and moving into a private practice arrangement where you can get paid without the middle man. Consider this encounter with the scribe company as free 6 months of training.

 

[haaaaaaaaaaveyoumetted]

^^ agree with above, now that you have experience, look for another scribe job outside of your company

Also, of course you should list your hours- the fact that someone thought you "didn't fit" does not take away the meaning and value of your time there. Keep it in your statement, try to find a new scribe job, and if you're asked on an interview, say "The environment wasn't a good fit for me" (Turn it around)

 

[Tabiyou]

Hey friend, sorry to hear this happened to you. These things happen all the time, unfortunately. I know for a fact that you will look at this differently in 5 years than now. Unfortunately, that is not much help to you presently.

I would absolutely keep this on your personal statement and meaningful experiences. So what that you were fired? I bet you learned a lot clinically (witnessed MDM), emotionally (how some physicians are empathetic), and the various roles of MD/PA/Nurses/techs. The bottom line is you did learn a lot from this job.

In the officer community, I know a lot of people who were relieved of command (I.e. "fired"). That didn't stop them from listing their military experience in their resume. You served your job with honor - no charges were filed against you.

Worst comes to worst. Lets say they do know you were fired. How are you going to explain it? Do you think nobody has ever been fired from a job that is in medical school? You obviously bounced back. You are applying to medical school and your decision didn't wane.

I have worked as an ED scribe for some time, and will be quitting soon. The level of unprofessionalism from CS is unacceptable. I know how fickle they are and how they play favorites. Best of luck.

Edit: format

 

[Just1voice]

Don't take it personally. I walked out on my last training day. Scribing is an exploitative minimum wage job where you get minimum contact with patients and maximum contact with ego-inflated peer premeds. There are tons of other jobs out there:

EMT
Sleep technician
ER Tech (much higher pay, need EMT license)
Hospice worker
Aids volunteer
dialysis tech
CNA
home health care provider

Anyways, I would definitely write the essay and include the hours and the things you learned. You did it for the experience, not just to get into med school, right?

I'd also write about the situation in an adversity essay, and explain how hurt you feel and try to translate the experience to what you would do differently if something like this came up in residency.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

I actually disagree. You may be better off leaving the scribing company and moving into a private practice arrangement where you can get paid without the middle man. Consider this encounter with the scribe company as free 6 months of training.

If it's scribeamerica, you have to sign an agreement not to work for any competitors for a length of time after working for them. Though I'd be surprised if they enforce it.

 

[Just1voice]

The other big one says that too. I threatened litigation. They backed off.

 

[Espressso]

Previous classmates have told me that ScribeAmerica doesn't actually enforce the non-competition agreement. Agree though that these mega scribe companies are horrendous

 

[7331poas]

If it's scribeamerica, you have to sign an agreement not to work for any competitors for a length of time after working for them. Though I'd be surprised if they enforce it.

Thats why you dont work for their competitors. You work for yourself without a middle man.

 

[probond007]

I quit before they fired me. My situation was also stupid. Basically I didn't fit in and was isolated and was yelled at for not including things that the physician told me not to include in the chart. This all happened in fall 2014. Now I'm about to finish my 1st year of medical school. Also don't let this experience get you down. I thought that I was going to fail out of medical school because I failed as a scribe. Absolutely not the case. Scribing is a tough job and it's not for everyone (that doesn't mean you will make a bad doctor, trust me). While I had a bad experience with they scribe job I'm happy I did it for the short time I did it because I did learn some clinical stuff. By the way the other girl who scribed with me and did fit in hasn't been accepted to medical school (though I think she would make a great doctor) because she doesn't have the test marks.

Definitely mention it on your application but as others said don't mention what happened. Truthfully you'll probably never be asked why you stopped. The schools see it as a positive experience and want to know what you learned, so tell them about all of those things. Plus, 6 months is a long time to have a job. It's not like you were fired right away, you lasted 6 months. If on the off chance you are asked why you stopped have an excuse ready.

I doubt the schools will contact the company. While you are required to provide a person of reference for your experiences I truly doubt the schools contact them. They have a huge stack of applications to go through. In addition they have to prepare people for interviews whilst doing a ton of other bs jobs around the office. They don't have time to contact the scribe company you worked for. Remember that the people who work in the admin offices have boring office jobs. They are spending the day doing silly office things and using their spare time to go on facebook. Yes maybe they might do random checks but I think the odds are in your favor that you won't be scrutinized and probably never asked about why you stopped.

 

[NeuResurgens]

It sucks but welcome to the real world. Not everyone is going to like your personality or think you fit with the group. This problem isn't going to go away once you get into residency. The surgeon I work for told me that in residency, if someone higher up just doesn't like you, they can find any little way to get you fired. Maybe you didn't do anything wrong, but maybe you actually just didn't fit. Whether that's fair or not, pick yourself up and move on to some place you do.

I imagine resident attrition would be much higher if this were a widespread thing since people find the smallest reasons to dislike each other all the time.

 

[Im76at711]

I also got fired from my scribe job. But I only worked there a month or two.

Currently holding 3 acceptances. On the WL for 2 others. It will be fine

 

[kin1662]

Hello all,

First and foremost I would like to thank all of you for your positive feedback. I have always been a little skeptical of SDN because of the trolls, but in my frantic state, I looked to SDN for help and you all took the time and effort to provide real responses. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If there's any way I can help you all out, please, reach out! Sorry I took forever to get back to all of you, I thought it would be best to give myself some time to find some clarity. Now that I have taken care of, I'll reply to all your responses, so sorry in advance for the numerous alerts.

I'm not an expert so others may strongly disagree, but I would still talk about the experiences and not mention you were fired. As far as I know, you're not required to disclose the circumstances of your stopping an activity. Med schools may call to verify date/hours (highly unlikely they bother though unless something looks off). They almost definitely won't try to figure out whether or not you were fired. I wouldn't use a letter of recommendation from them.

I would still put it in your application. Six months of scribing is a lot of clinical experience, and you don't have to say that you were fired. I don't have much else to add other than that I'm very sorry this happened. Good luck!

Keep it in your app. But be ready to discuss it during interviews. Interviewers love talking about scribing, so I'm sure it'll come up.

Thanks Terra330, Bananafish94, and DrFizition, I'll go ahead and keep it in my app.

Agree with above. But if it were me I'd be going nuts over why they had fired me. Is the head scribe a jerk? Did you totally creep out a patient? Just seems strange after having been in the position for so long... Sounds like you handled it well but I'm sorry nonetheless.

Crunchywhit, thanks for your response. I did go nuts about all of this, but I waited until I was long gone out of there. I wouldn't want them to see me at my worst, you know? Ha ha, nothing like creeping out a patient. In fact, most doctors don't introduce us when we encounter a patient, and some even draw the curtain while they're speaking to the patients so we don't interact with them. The only times I interact with a patient is if they ask me to get them something or if they want me to tell the doc something. I guess now that I've had time to process all of this, he really was a jerk. I only shadowed him in training a few times and the times I did, he found ways to chew me up and spit me out. Like one of my shifts with him, I arrived 3 minutes before our shift was supposed to begin and all I said was, "hello," and he just yelled at me saying the doc was already here and that I need to sign into the EMR asap because we're already behind and the doc has probably picked up a bunch of patients. I signed in and noticed nothing was assigned to the doc and I didn't really say anything but I looked at the clock and 5 minutes later the doc strolls in with his starbucks in hand and he signs in on the computer. So, obviously he wasn't there, the chief scribe just wanted a reason to yell at me. Other times, he'd take forever answering a question like he'd been on his phones for a good minute before he would finally glance up and answer me. He would also roll his eyes when I wanted to confirm things. He even said, "i'm not taking this matter seriously." It's like I obviously AM or else I wouldn't be asking you for clarification. I didn't really think much of it at the time because I just wanted to keep stuff professional and finish training. Afterwards, he would say staff like how often do you even check your email? I need a response ASAP, but in all of the 6 months, I replied to his emails within the day. I always thought it was just petty things, so I just focused on work, but now I'm thinking I should have said stuff.

Don't sweat it, you probably didn't fit in with the clique that they had. I used to work in an ED (not a scribe though), and I've noticed that the chief scribe would isolate the scribes they didn't like, then get them terminated. You should still mention it and talk about the experience positively.

Hi TR1LL, you're right. I didn't fit in. I didn't even make an effort, which was probably a mistake on my side. I just kept to my work and didn't bother kissing up to the docs or asking the chief scribe questions about themselves because I always thought it was a waste of time if it wasn't relevant. Maybe getting to know them might have been the key to working there. I did feel isolated. I was nice to everyone and kept conversations light and friendly but that was only when I was off the clock. It just sucks because I put my priority into my work but that didn't save me at the end of it all. I never bothered to take a break or eat or anything. I just worked through it all. I wish I didn't push myself so hard to prove myself to him if it all ended up being a waste of time. I guess it even bugs me more that this kid I knew in my undergrad classes worked there as well and she and him were BFFs but I know for a fact, without sounding arrogant or anything (Believe me, that's not my intention) that I was a lot smarter, genuine and more hardworking than her. Maybe the fact that she's working there and I'm not is messing with my self-confidence as well, which made me angrier about all of this.

Damn, sorry to hear about that! My chief scribe is a mean person, as well. I couldn't imagine being fired without any real explanation. I agree with above posters though, keep it in your PS.

I scribed for well over a year and was "fired" within the first month of having the job. There was absolutely no reason for my termination and my chief scribe tried to expedite the process by getting me to sign termination paperwork which I refused to do. In fact, I got in touch with HR and explained the entire situation and they ended up reversing his decision entirely. He tried numerous other times to get me fired by giving me bad reviews etc. but I befriended one of the docs and explained the situation to him and the kid couldn't touch me. He ended up quitting 6 months later. Moral of the story is that chief scribes can be fickle creatures with their own agendas (and inferiority complexes) but their word isn't law. Sometimes you have to get the right people involved and make it clear that you aren't their little play thing and they will leave you alone.

Wishing you the best of luck


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

EspressoDrip and AccessoryNavicular, thanks! I'm surprised by how many people have had issues with their chief scribes. Something tells me more thought needs to be put onto whose given the role. Based off of what I've seen, they think they're the best. My chief scribe even complains about some of the docs and nurses in the ED with other docs. It astounds me because if you don't like someone, keep it professional. Don't gossip about them with the docs because it looks bad on the entire department, especially the scribes because we have no actual accreditation or classes we have to take. Docs and nurses have to go through years of schooling, so how does he have the audacity to complain about them? AccessoryNavicular, I wish I could have spoke to someone. I didn't have any idea that any of this was going to happen. I didn't really interact with the Chief Scribe and tried to avoid him when I did or even the medical director. Maybe if I had worked with him, he could have seen that I was the right fit.

Why would you not put it on your app? I'm not sure why that thought process is running through your mind.

The director explicitly told you you can reference your hours if necessary.

I actually disagree. You may be better off leaving the scribing company and moving into a private practice arrangement where you can get paid without the middle man. Consider this encounter with the scribe company as free 6 months of training.

Hi 7331poas, I was originally hesitant to place it in my apps because I was worried I was going to have to state and explain that I was fired. I also thought it looked bad that I only worked there for 6 months if med schools look for commitment. Private practice would be a lot better, I feel like the docs are a lot less bitter than the ED ones. And like you said, I won't have to deal with a middle man.

6 months is more than enough clinical exposure to put in your application. Maybe you can start shadowing other specialties. That way, when your interviewing, you can mention that you stopped scribing in order to gain more exposure to the different specialties within the medical field. BTW, your chief scribe sounds like a jerk.

^^ agree with above, now that you have experience, look for another scribe job outside of your company

Also, of course you should list your hours- the fact that someone thought you "didn't fit" does not take away the meaning and value of your time there. Keep it in your statement, try to find a new scribe job, and if you're asked on an interview, say "The environment wasn't a good fit for me" (Turn it around)

Don't take it personally. I walked out on my last training day. Scribing is an exploitative minimum wage job where you get minimum contact with patients and maximum contact with ego-inflated peer premeds. There are tons of other jobs out there:

EMT
Sleep technician
ER Tech (much higher pay, need EMT license)
Hospice worker
Aids volunteer
dialysis tech
CNA
home health care provider

Anyways, I would definitely write the essay and include the hours and the things you learned. You did it for the experience, not just to get into med school, right?

I'd also write about the situation in an adversity essay, and explain how hurt you feel and try to translate the experience to what you would do differently if something like this came up in residency.

Hello, DrSponge, haaaaaaaaaaveyoumetted, Just1voice. Thank you for your response. You are all absolutely right. There are other opportunities to get experience in the med field that might be better for me in the long run. Only problem is that there aren't a whole lot of opportunities to get another scribe job where I live because all of the places contract the same scribing company so I don't think they'd hire me if I've already worked for the scribe company before and was fired. I'll def look into get an EMT certification or something. Unfortunately, shadowing is pretty rare here as well because the area doesn't have any established programs to let pre-meds shadow.

Hey friend, sorry to hear this happened to you. These things happen all the time, unfortunately. I know for a fact that you will look at this differently in 5 years than now. Unfortunately, that is not much help to you presently.

I would absolutely keep this on your personal statement and meaningful experiences. So what that you were fired? I bet you learned a lot clinically (witnessed MDM), emotionally (how some physicians are empathetic), and the various roles of MD/PA/Nurses/techs. The bottom line is you did learn a lot from this job.

In the officer community, I know a lot of people who were relieved of command (I.e. "fired"). That didn't stop them from listing their military experience in their resume. You served your job with honor - no charges were filed against you.

Worst comes to worst. Lets say they do know you were fired. How are you going to explain it? Do you think nobody has ever been fired from a job that is in medical school? You obviously bounced back. You are applying to medical school and your decision didn't wane.

I have worked as an ED scribe for some time, and will be quitting soon. The level of unprofessionalism from CS is unacceptable. I know how fickle they are and how they play favorites. Best of luck.

Edit: format

Hi Tabiyou, thanks for your response! It made me smile. I did work hard, but idk if they'll know that if they reach out to my med director since he only has what the CS told him. I guess my worry about writing it down on my apps also had to do with the fact that the state I live is really competitive for med school apps and if schools were to find out, what would make them choose me if another applicant with same stat's was able to maintain their scribe position. I'm not gonna lie, I thought this was a sign that I wasn't suited for the med field until I realized that someone else's opinion about me doesn't negate my desire, motivation and decision to pursue medicine. They may think I don't fit in a med environment, but with the right direction and support from my superiors, I have the capabilities to fit perfectly fine.

If it's scribeamerica, you have to sign an agreement not to work for any competitors for a length of time after working for them. Though I'd be surprised if they enforce it.

The other big one says that too. I threatened litigation. They backed off.

Hi CowboyNiceguy and Just1voice, thanks for your response. It's not Scribeamerica, but it's a pretty prominent group where I live. All the current scribe positions are those contracted through them, so I don't think I'll be able to get a position as a scribe anywhere else.

It sucks but welcome to the real world. Not everyone is going to like your personality or think you fit with the group. This problem isn't going to go away once you get into residency. The surgeon I work for told me that in residency, if someone higher up just doesn't like you, they can find any little way to get you fired. Maybe you didn't do anything wrong, but maybe you actually just didn't fit. Whether that's fair or not, pick yourself up and move on to some place you do.

I imagine resident attrition would be much higher if this were a widespread thing since people find the smallest reasons to dislike each other all the time.

Hi Piii and UNMedGa, I've actually heard stories about residents getting fired because they didn't fit in with the other batch members or if the chief resident doesn't like them. From the docs I've talked to, it all comes down to the director that deals with all of this. If they blindly listen to the residents, then you're gonna get fired for no reasons. And then you have the other directors who look into it themselves and if they see you do your work and you're not screwing up, they're gonna ignore the other guys and let you continue on. I guess it just depends on luck and fate.

I quit before they fired me. My situation was also stupid. Basically I didn't fit in and was isolated and was yelled at for not including things that the physician told me not to include in the chart. This all happened in fall 2014. Now I'm about to finish my 1st year of medical school. Also don't let this experience get you down. I thought that I was going to fail out of medical school because I failed as a scribe. Absolutely not the case. Scribing is a tough job and it's not for everyone (that doesn't mean you will make a bad doctor, trust me). While I had a bad experience with they scribe job I'm happy I did it for the short time I did it because I did learn some clinical stuff. By the way the other girl who scribed with me and did fit in hasn't been accepted to medical school (though I think she would make a great doctor) because she doesn't have the test marks.

Definitely mention it on your application but as others said don't mention what happened. Truthfully you'll probably never be asked why you stopped. The schools see it as a positive experience and want to know what you learned, so tell them about all of those things. Plus, 6 months is a long time to have a job. It's not like you were fired right away, you lasted 6 months. If on the off chance you are asked why you stopped have an excuse ready.

I doubt the schools will contact the company. While you are required to provide a person of reference for your experiences I truly doubt the schools contact them. They have a huge stack of applications to go through. In addition they have to prepare people for interviews whilst doing a ton of other bs jobs around the office. They don't have time to contact the scribe company you worked for. Remember that the people who work in the admin offices have boring office jobs. They are spending the day doing silly office things and using their spare time to go on facebook. Yes maybe they might do random checks but I think the odds are in your favor that you won't be scrutinized and probably never asked about why you stopped.

Hi probond007, thanks so much for your response! It gave me hope. I just hope this cycle works out and I can move on from all of this. You're right, the odds of them contacting the place are pretty low, but I normally have the worst luck in the world and those kind of things happen to me. I'll brainstorm an honest but vague explanation that's short and to the point so if it does come up, I won't ramble like an idiot.

I also got fired from my scribe job. But I only worked there a month or two.

Currently holding 3 acceptances. On the WL for 2 others. It will be fine

Hi Im76at11, thanks for your response! Congrats on your med school acceptances! Did you end up talking about your scribe experience on your apps? If you did, did anyone ask you about why you stopped after 2 months?

Once again! Thank you everyone! You've made me feel a lot better about all of this! If there's anything I can help you out with, feel free to hit me up! Good luck to all of you!

 

[baratheonfire]

I also got fired from my scribe job. But I only worked there a month or two.

Currently holding 3 acceptances. On the WL for 2 others. It will be fine

Serious question: Are DO's commonly able to go into specialties like Ophthalmology?

 

[Im76at711]

Serious question: Are DO's commonly able to go into specialties like Ophthalmology?

Lol it's a gag I sort of have with myself. I was interested in going opthamology but since only getting into DO, I basically set that dream free but put that opthamology in my signature to sew how many people are like "you're an idiot for thinking you can". I no longer have any intention of doing optho.

Surprisingly, you're the first to point it. Lol.

 

[Im76at711]

To OP: I didn't become a scribe in time to out it on my apps. I did, however, update them and said this. None of my updates were even considered so not much information there. But in general you have the experience that should be enough even if you did get fired

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

I know somebody who did scribing for a week, put it on their app, discussed it at their interviews, and quit right after getting the acceptance. Pure Win.

 

[baratheonfire]

I know somebody who did scribing for a week, put it on their app, discussed it at their interviews, and quit right after getting the acceptance. Pure Win.

From what I've heard, you could be the greatest scribe of all time and it wouldn't matter if you couldn't talk about it. You could also be the worst scribe of all time and get in solely based on that if you talk about it well enough.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

From what I've heard, you could be the greatest scribe of all time and it wouldn't matter if you couldn't talk about it. You could also be the worst scribe of all time and get in solely based on that if you talk about it well enough.

If you got the interview everything is pretty much irrelevant. I went on plenty of interviews on which we talked about weather, sports, and a few questions on grades and other stuff. Nothing about my app directly tho.

 

[baratheonfire]

If you got the interview everything is pretty much irrelevant. I went on plenty of interviews on which we talked about weather, sports, and a few questions on grades and other stuff. Nothing about my app directly tho.

Yo you're a med student?

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Yo you're a med student?

Depends who's asking. Sup bruh

 

[baratheonfire]

Depends who's asking. Sup bruh

wat
I mean you said you went to a couple of interviews so I'm assuming you are currently a med student

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

wat
I mean you said you went to a couple of interviews so I'm assuming you are currently a med student

Your critical thinking game is on point my yute. Anyway... Op... don't trip. You'll be alright.

 

[probond007]

Hello all,

Hi probond007, thanks so much for your response! It gave me hope. I just hope this cycle works out and I can move on from all of this. You're right, the odds of them contacting the place are pretty low, but I normally have the worst luck in the world and those kind of things happen to me. I'll brainstorm an honest but vague explanation that's short and to the point so if it does come up, I won't ramble like an idiot.

You'll be fine. Truthfully what these schools care about are stats (particularly the MCAT). Why? Because when you're in medical school you have to take board exams. The success of the school's students on the board exams not only is important for accreditation but it also is an indicator of how good the schools are. Now in medical school what's important to me is passing as well as USMLE 1.

Now some interview advice. You may need to tell a white lie. Truthfully it would have been logical for me to leave my job as a scribe. Why? Because I was making mininmum wage and had to drive 45 minutes to do so. After leaving the scribe job and getting into medical school I picked up a temp job putting tv's into boxes for 2 weeks. I made way more doing that than I did as a scribe. Obviously being a scribe is more about the experience but you could easily say that you left it because you had loans to pay off and needed to pay those off. Also when I was a scribe people were not even getting 40 hours a week. My hospital was incredibly ovestaffed in terms of scribes. Again you could easily make that excuse. And truthfully after 6 months that's perfectly logical (assuming though that you got a higher paying job afterwards).

Now when I had medical school interviews one thing that surprised me was the lack of knowledge that interviewers had of me. They had my file but studied it very little. At one interview the interviewer confused details about my file and asked me things about myself that were flat out incorrect. I feel like most schools like to go for the closed file approach for interviews. I think that schools want the interviewer to go unbiased. If you're asked about your clinical experience don't say I was a scribe for 6 months but rather "I have 6 months of scribing experience". Then they'll ask you what you've seen and the conversation will go on from there. It's that simple. In that situation not only are you telling the truth but you're not making yourself look bad

 

[cbrons]

"Chief Scribe" lol... these people think they are something more than just glorified secretaries.

 

[kin1662]

You'll be fine. Truthfully what these schools care about are stats (particularly the MCAT). Why? Because when you're in medical school you have to take board exams. The success of the school's students on the board exams not only is important for accreditation but it also is an indicator of how good the schools are. Now in medical school what's important to me is passing as well as USMLE 1.

Now some interview advice. You may need to tell a white lie. Truthfully it would have been logical for me to leave my job as a scribe. Why? Because I was making mininmum wage and had to drive 45 minutes to do so. After leaving the scribe job and getting into medical school I picked up a temp job putting tv's into boxes for 2 weeks. I made way more doing that than I did as a scribe. Obviously being a scribe is more about the experience but you could easily say that you left it because you had loans to pay off and needed to pay those off. Also when I was a scribe people were not even getting 40 hours a week. My hospital was incredibly ovestaffed in terms of scribes. Again you could easily make that excuse. And truthfully after 6 months that's perfectly logical (assuming though that you got a higher paying job afterwards).

Now when I had medical school interviews one thing that surprised me was the lack of knowledge that interviewers had of me. They had my file but studied it very little. At one interview the interviewer confused details about my file and asked me things about myself that were flat out incorrect. I feel like most schools like to go for the closed file approach for interviews. I think that schools want the interviewer to go unbiased. If you're asked about your clinical experience don't say I was a scribe for 6 months but rather "I have 6 months of scribing experience". Then they'll ask you what you've seen and the conversation will go on from there. It's that simple. In that situation not only are you telling the truth but you're not making yourself look bad

Hi Probond007, thanks for your response! Your advice is helpful and greatly appreciated! I do in fact work part time someone else and am making a lot more than the scribe job, so maybe I can say the hours and pay is better there, so it made sense to leave...Do you know if interviews in California are closed file?

 

[probond007]

Hi Probond007, thanks for your response! Your advice is helpful and greatly appreciated! I do in fact work part time someone else and am making a lot more than the scribe job, so maybe I can say the hours and pay is better there, so it made sense to leave...Do you know if interviews in California are closed file?

Then there we go problem solved. Being a university graduate and having loans to pay off that's a perfectly legitimate excuse. You wanted clinical experience and got it but needed to make more money for the time-being. Relax I think you're going to be fine. Truthfully I'm not from California. I only put California as my state to hide my identity (though I want to move to California when I graduate ). So I do not know unfortunately. However a lot of schools do closed interviews because they don't want the interviewer to have any pre-conceptions (which in my opinion is almost better in many ways). Look at old threads from the schools you're looking at. Usually people ask if the interviews are closed file or not. While the interview is important I feel what schools really value is the MCAT and the GPA (with more emphasis on the MCAT). Let me know if you have any other questions/need advice. I'm more than happy to help