Anyone work for Emergency Medical Scribe systems?

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Hello1212

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I might be getting a job at EMSS, and I will find out soon if I have an interview. Has anyone been a scribe for this company? I am posting to see if anyone could give me information about the company itself if you have ever worked for them, or if there are any other scribes out there that could give me some advice that would be nice too! Thanks.

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I might be getting a job at EMSS, and I will find out soon if I have an interview. Has anyone been a scribe for this company? I am posting to see if anyone could give me information about the company itself if you have ever worked for them, or if there are any other scribes out there that could give me some advice that would be nice too! Thanks.

I work for a different large scribe company. I'm also a designated "trainer," so I also interview people with the Chief scribe. I can tell you want we are looking for in a scribe during an interview: confidence and personality.

Being a scribe is a difficult job in the beginning, and its tougher for timid people. We are looking for people who will keep pushing forward when given a huge challenge. If you come off as too nervous during your interview, we will have hesitations putting you on the floor in the ED. Additionally, if you have experience working in a fast pace setting (waiter, EMT), talk about how you dealt with that pace in your interview (if it's appropriate). That would make you look good in my book. We also need to feel like you're someone that we'd like to work with and someone the doctors will like. So it sounds silly, but seriously be yourself because that it the person that is going to be the most personable, confident you.

Let me know if you have other questions and good luck!
 
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I worked for EMSS. They train you well for nearly a month before letting you go on your own. They have a large turn around rate because 80% of my colleagues were pre meds. Like any company, there can be some administrative difficulties, but I'd have to assume this contains regional variation.

My advice is to take the job and work hard to make a good impression. If you do well you'll have the ability to take on lead scribe and training roles. The medical terminology you learn and also the ability to interact one on one with physicians during down times is invaluable.

By the end of my time the physicians were guiding me through how to come to a differential diagnosis.
 
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I worked for EMSS. They train you well for nearly a month before letting you go on your own. They have a large turn around rate because 80% of my colleagues were pre meds. Like any company, there can be some administrative difficulties, but I'd have to assume this contains regional variation.

My advice is to take the job and work hard to make a good impression. If you do well you'll have the ability to take on lead scribe and training roles. The medical terminology you learn and also the ability to interact one on one with physicians during down times is invaluable.

By the end of my time the physicians were guiding me through how to come to a differential diagnosis.

Thank you for the information, it sounds great to me. How were the interviews? If all goes well I think I have a phone interview first and then an in person one, I'm wondering what to expect with their interviews.
Also, do the lead scribes get a pay increase?
 
Take what I say with a grain of salt because I can only speak to my experience with one particular interviewer. The phone interview was very short and non stressful - it was merely to set up an in person interview. I showed up in professional clothing with my resume at Starbucks and we reviewed a little about my past and my motivation for wanting to be a scribe. There was also some traditional questions you would expect for an interview. For the most part, the process was very relaxed. Like anything else in this field, ability to speak about your motivation and showing true passion can go a long way.

The area that I was working in was extremely new at the time - I was one of the first scribes hired onto the hospital site. Keep this in mind, as the lead scribe position in your area may be taken by more senior colleagues. The chief and training scribe positions do come with a pay increase.
 
I've gotten to know 3 scribe companies and let me tell you, they're all the same. Corporate douches with dumb rules. It all depends on how cool your hospital is.
 
Oh right, advice. Appear very eager to learn and join the team, but be normal. Say how available your schedule is and you have no problem working overnights/weekends/holidays. Tell them you have experience with hospitals, HIPAA, emergency rooms, and medical terminology.

Teamwork, synergy, blah blah blah, etc.
 
I'v been working as a ED scribe for PhysAssist for a year now. It's definitely fast paced (fast paced as in like you might not get time to eat/bathroom) , but the clinical experience is worth it.

Your experience as scribe will vary depending on which physician you are working for. I'v had some physiicans that hate on scribes, since they assume you know things that you really wouldn't or just like having a false sense of ego complex. The hours are rough (10 hour shifts / minimm amount of graveyard shifts) , however again just look past all of this since your doing it for experience (paid in this case).

Bottom line:
-Best clinical expeirnece I'v ever done (relative to shadowing, voluteering, EMS )
-Hours are rough, physicians can be d#$k's , some are nice.
-Nurses like to be mean to you, however don't feel to bad since they are mean to residents and interns as well.
-If you keep the position for 2years+ , looks good on your resume . (Shows dedication, ability to finish things you start, etc)
-If you maintain a good relationship with your physicians, you can get good letters of recommendation.
-Training is intense, difficult at times, and will make you feel like a complete idiot. That's ok, if you're failing that means your learning.
-If you continue to scribe during college, you learn time management skills of a god. (I took 17 upper level hours + scribed 20-25 hours a week+ worked out regularly + got yucky , still kept a high gpa)


Good luck brah

edit: If i remember correctly, the interview questions were "how do you handle stressful situations" , "do you believe you are a good multitaskers" , "why do you want the scribe job", and some bs fluff questions to see if you could handle social situation and strike up a conversation and maintain it.
 
I work for a different large scribe company. I'm also a designated "trainer," so I also interview people with the Chief scribe. I can tell you want we are looking for in a scribe during an interview: confidence and personality.

Being a scribe is a difficult job in the beginning, and its tougher for timid people. We are looking for people who will keep pushing forward when given a huge challenge. If you come off as too nervous during your interview, we will have hesitations putting you on the floor in the ED. Additionally, if you have experience working in a fast pace setting (waiter, EMT), talk about how you dealt with that pace in your interview (if it's appropriate). That would make you look good in my book. We also need to feel like you're someone that we'd like to work with and someone the doctors will like. So it sounds silly, but seriously be yourself because that it the person that is going to be the most personable, confident you.

Let me know if you have other questions and good luck!

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. I'm just a little worried because I tend to get nervous during interviews (I've only had one interview). Since I feel like a lot is at stake and I really want the job so badly just makes me nervous (the interview is with a doctor and lead scribe)
I've never worked in any clinical setting before, and I hope that doesn't hurt my chances but I just graduated w/ my bachelors degree so hopefully they like that.. I can type 90 or more wpm so I'll definetly bring that up.
I just hope I don't come off as nervous now, I'm trying to anticipate all the questions they could ask me so I don't blank and give a stupid answer.
 
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I didn't have any clinical experience either when I started. They asked me if I had any, I said that part of what I want to get out of being a scribe is an excellent experience in medicine (how doctors work, medical decision making, blah blah blah). The person interviewing me said, "you got to start somewhere."

So don't worry about that. It didn't seem to hurt my chance of getting the job, so I'm sure it won't hurt you. Typing skill/speed is a MUST! Tell then about it and how you got to be so fast.

Try to be confident! If that doesn't work, try to fake it :p google "power posing." There's a Ted talk about it. Kinda interesting, kinda hokey, but whatever works!

It might be different for EMSS but for my company, we don't ask any hard or abstract questions. Very straight forward and short.

Good luck!
 
I don't have experience with that specific company (EMSS), but I have been an ER scribe for CEP for the past ~1.75 years.

In terms of becoming a scribe, I'd recommend demonstrating a desire to go into medicine. As with most pre-med communities, they'll want to see you have a desire to learn the complexities of medicine, have a healthy interest in science, and general desire to help people. This is of course in addition to being a hardworker and good at multitasking. Most of the scribes will tell you the ER can be very fast paced. In our company, we do the physician's charting, which is what I imagine you have already knew. However in addition to charting, we keep track of labs, keep track of interventions (stuff we do for the patient in the ED), do patient updates, and relay messages from physicians to techs and nurses. Scribes will often have to delay their lunch (if they even take one), and there are never any real 'breaks' (see addendum). To prepare for the interview, maybe try to demonstrate a basic understanding of what you'll be getting into. Understand that you will be taking care of patients with limited history (very little background), know that some of them will be in critical condition (it's an emergency room), and working there can be pretty fast paced and chaotic. A good question to ask in the interview is what your relationship with the physician will be. Some places have scribes work for all the docs, and other places have a 1:1 scribe to doc relationship where the scribe is trained to work with one doctor and only that doctor. Some places have scribes interact less with docs than others.

And of course I'm sure you're aware of the benefits of scribing (patient contact, talk to docs). However, I'll elaborate on what I took away from scribing. Honestly, the first one I can think of is my improved ability to communicate. I am a quiet person (have always been). However, in ED you're forced to come out of your shell. Not many awkward people make it to become a scribe, so if you are try to demonstrate you care about people and/or are trying to improve your ability to communicate. Talking to patients, nurses, and docs was somewhat overwhelming at first, but you figure it out. It's a great place to start developing your bedside manner, asking questions for the review of systems. I got to ask docs directly or indirectly about their thought processes (their differential diagnosis).

That transitions to my second takeaway from scribing - seeing into the medical decision making thought process. Their differential diagnosis is like a hypothesis (if you didn't know) which they run labs and imaging to test if the hypothesis holds. It demystified the logic behind their diagnosis for me (I hadn't really had too much exposure to docs before or watch any TV lol). Also, you get to see ER docs coordinating placement of patient with other physicians/facilities, considering the feelings/needs of family members in decision making, considering patient history, etc. It really is a multi-component system that's pretty complex. Fascinating, sometimes frustrating, but very necessary. Very good insight into what you're getting into. And a good reminder that you don't work in a total vacuum in medicine.

Those were my main insights from scribing. The only other one worth mentioning is the teamwork aspect of ER medicine (and possibly most other specialities). You work with nurses, techs, hospitalists, specialty surgeons, general surgeons, radiologists, paramedics, sheriffs, etc. You're constantly trading ideas and working together to get the patient to where they need to be. Inspiring and rewarding stuff, especially when you're slammed with patients or getting really critical patients IMO.

ADDENDUM : It's fast paced, but on some shifts there is 'downtime' where you can shoot the **** with the ER physicians, look at your e-mail, or surf the web. I would say 'no' to social media, but I have seen physicians and nurses 'goofing off''. So don't worry so much about ER scribing being too overwhelming. It depends all on the ebb and flow of patients. Also depends on what shifts you work (days, nights, holidays).

Anecdotal tidbit: the ER docs that I worked with are almost all really 'chill' despite, or rather because of, the stresses of the ER. And in my experience, they're all really down to earth. They hear firsthand what it's like having no insurance, coming from broken/nonexistent families, or having very few resources. So don't stress out too much, it's a great place to start to talk to docs because they're so approachable and understanding.
 
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I'v been working as a ED scribe for PhysAssist for a year now. It's definitely fast paced (fast paced as in like you might not get time to eat/bathroom) , but the clinical experience is worth it.

Your experience as scribe will vary depending on which physician you are working for. I'v had some physiicans that hate on scribes, since they assume you know things that you really wouldn't or just like having a false sense of ego complex. The hours are rough (10 hour shifts / minimm amount of graveyard shifts) , however again just look past all of this since your doing it for experience (paid in this case).

Bottom line:
-Best clinical expeirnece I'v ever done (relative to shadowing, voluteering, EMS )
-Hours are rough, physicians can be d#$k's , some are nice.
-Nurses like to be mean to you, however don't feel to bad since they are mean to residents and interns as well.
-If you keep the position for 2years+ , looks good on your resume . (Shows dedication, ability to finish things you start, etc)
-If you maintain a good relationship with your physicians, you can get good letters of recommendation.
-Training is intense, difficult at times, and will make you feel like a complete idiot. That's ok, if you're failing that means your learning.
-If you continue to scribe during college, you learn time management skills of a god. (I took 17 upper level hours + scribed 20-25 hours a week+ worked out regularly + got yucky , still kept a high gpa)


Good luck brah

edit: If i remember correctly, the interview questions were "how do you handle stressful situations" , "do you believe you are a good multitaskers" , "why do you want the scribe job", and some bs fluff questions to see if you could handle social situation and strike up a conversation and maintain it.
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