Scribe or Shadow/Volunteer HELP!

[GSUMATERIAL14]

Hey, guys! So I'm truly in a tough position right now. I'm debating whether to join my hospital's scribe program, which is a 2 year commitment to work 20 hours a week(two 10 hour shifts) or shadow a physician I know once a week for six hours and volunteer at my hospital for 4 hours once a week. The scribe position will pay me $10 an hour whereas, I will not be paid for my volunteer or shadow experience as obvious.

Regardless of which of the two I choose, I will be also taking a rigorous course load of study.Here's my schedule:


Junior

Fall:
1) Organic Chemistry 1(4)
2) Molecular Cell Biology(3)
3) Molecular Cell Biology Lab CTW(3)
4) Intro to Human Physiology(3)
5) American Government(3)
Spring:
1) Organic Chemistry 2 (4)
2) Organic Chemistry 1 Lab (2)
3) Human Physiology (3)
4) Microbiology (3)
5) Genetics (3)

As much as I would love to do the scribe program,the course load will be tough but i don't know if 20hours a week will hamper my gpa? As far as clinical experience goes, I understand that the scribe program will give me an amazing clinical experience and shadowing experience at the same time. I don't know which of the two I should pursue? Help!

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[DISCOSTEW]

I would definitely say go for the scribe position. I think you will learn and get more out of it. You will garner more of a connection with the MDs you work with and is definitely more fun than shadowing and volunteering!

 

[sc2016]

Hey, guys! So I'm truly in a tough position right now. I'm debating whether to join my hospital's scribe program, which is a 2 year commitment to work 20 hours a week(two 10 hour shifts) or shadow a physician I know once a week for six hours and volunteer at my hospital for 4 hours once a week. The scribe position will pay me $10 an hour whereas, I will not be paid for my volunteer or shadow experience as obvious.

Regardless of which of the two I choose, I will be also taking a rigorous course load of study.Here's my schedule:


Junior

Fall:
1) Organic Chemistry 1(4)
2) Molecular Cell Biology(3)
3) Molecular Cell Biology Lab CTW(3)
4) Intro to Human Physiology(3)
5) American Government(3)
Spring:
1) Organic Chemistry 2 (4)
2) Organic Chemistry 1 Lab (2)
3) Human Physiology (3)
4) Microbiology (3)
5) Genetics (3)

As much as I would love to do the scribe program,the course load will be tough but i don't know if 20hours a week will hamper my gpa? As far as clinical experience goes, I understand that the scribe program will give me an amazing clinical experience and shadowing experience at the same time. I don't know which of the two I should pursue? Help!

Not with those classes. You will be taking 4 science courses in fall and 5 in spring.
Also, why are you taking Physio twice?

 

[DISCOSTEW]

20 hours is definitely doable with that courseload

 

[byurazorhog]

Depending on what schools you would like to apply to later and their preferences for clinical volunteer experience, you may want to leave some time in your schedule for volunteer work. I know most of the volunteer positions offered in hospitals totally take advantage of pre-meds where you essentially learn little to zilch and are asked to do scut work. However you just have to bite your tongue and make sure you accumulate a good number of hours before applying. As far as shadowing goes, some schools prefer that you stick with one or two docs over a long period of time (months), but most others just want to see ~50 hours total spread over different doctors/specialties. Other people are welcome to correct me on this.

And yes, I would highly recommend the scribe position. If you're taking a heavy course load right now, you may not have time to do all 3 activities this term or next. If I were you I would join the scribe program now so that you don't have to worry about waiting for openings in the future. You will learn so much more than all the shadowing/volunteer positions combined could ever offer and then some. The previous comment is right on regarding the ability to build long term connections with physicians. There are other threads on this board about all the benefits associated with being a scribe and I encourage you to read them. You can't go wrong with becoming a scribe if you want to learn about what doctors actually do. When you have more time next year, you can always pick up a volunteer position and shadow some other specialties. Any by the way, working in the ED will give you the opportunity to meet doctors in other specialties as they come in to provide consult to the ED docs. You can even create shadowing opportunities out of that for the future.

 

[GSUMATERIAL14]

Not with those classes. You will be taking 4 science courses in fall and 5 in spring.
Also, why are you taking Physio twice?

Ohh the course in the fall is an intro to physio and the course in the spring is MORE in-depth. I don't need to take the intro course. Just thought maybe taking both of them will help me for the MCAT.

 

[nickmx50]

I started clinical volunteering at a hospital early my freshman year which I have just discontinued for a scribe position. I have also spent about 50 hours of shadowing, so I can speak on all three. I will not rate these on what I think a med school is looking for because I think it's best for you to choose activities that you'll get the most out of.

Clinical volunteering is not glorious or that exciting. However, when done for a long period of time, it shows commitment to your goals. You get the opportunity to understand the different roles of hospital staff by observing their interactions with patients and each other. It's good to understand what housekeeping, techs, and nurses go through in order to take care of patients.

Shadowing allows for more direct patient contact. It's good to learn the differences between inpatient and outpatient, academic vs. private practice, and surgical vs. non-surgical. You get a better idea of what a real day for a doc consists of, and have opportunities to ask a variety of questions.

Scribing you're usually limited to following a certain type of doc. Usually, in the emergency room. Since your getting paid, your job is to serve the doc, the doc isn't there to answer a bunch of questions for you to get into medical school. Some might though. The great thing about scribing is you get to learn physician work flow, and possibly a health record system that you may use in the future. You also get numerous hours of patient contact.

Honestly, I don't think any one of those could replace the other two, but if you just did volunteering and shadowing, then you can get away without being a scribe. With that said, Scribing is a great opportunity that many people don't get. Good luck.

 

[SLC]

Ohh the course in the fall is an intro to physio and the course in the spring is MORE in-depth. I don't need to take the intro course. Just thought maybe taking both of them will help me for the MCAT.

The only reason to take the intro to physiology course (in my opinion) is if you feel you'll need a base layer before taking the real course. I loved physiology, probably my favorite class in undergrad. I didn't feel like there was anything typically difficult in the class that would warrant an intro for an intelligent student with good study habits.

You may be able to free up some time for shadowing in the fall if you forgo the intro course.

This is all assuming your sGPA doesn't need the boost of an extra class too.

 

[firecloak]

If you function well on limited sleep, then go for the scribe position!

 

[Zjodak]

It sounds like a wonderful oppurtunity. Go for it, but just make sure you don't overwhelm yourself with too much work.

On that note, your schedule is dense, but a lot of people take full loads while working full time, so you can be one of them .

 

[GSUMATERIAL14]

If you function well on limited sleep, then go for the scribe position!

I only plan on doing this over the weekends.