Breaking ScribeAmerica’s One-Year Commitment

[oxycodone]

I’m a college pre-med looking to get clinical experience this summer, and I really want to work as a medical scribe. The issue is that ScribeAmerica requires a one-year commitment at a single location, which I can’t do because I have to return to school (I'm an out of state student). I've asked them if there were any exceptions, and they said no.

I’ve seen a lot of people say that ScribeAmerica doesn’t really enforce this and that lots of people leave early. Some suggest just saying I’ll stay for a year on the application and then quitting when I have to. But I wanted to ask: are there any real risks if I do this? Do they blacklist people, or does it affect future job opportunities in medicine? Will it affect relations with hospitals/physicians? Has anyone here done this and had it backfire?

Would appreciate any insights!

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[einvincible12]

What would they do if you broke it? Not a legally binding commitment. Scribe America does not care enough to try and reach out to future med schools you would apply to and say you broke the commitment. Don't worry. If you do plan to do this, DO NOT mention you are a pre-med or that you go to college somewhere else.

Keep in mind the onboarding process for ScribeAmerica can be months long, so take that into account.

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

All jobs want some sort of commitment. There is time to train, in the beginning, and then work for the shift they need. This isn't just Scribe America specific. That being said. I don't think a single medical school will care about breaking the non-binding one-year commitment they ask for. Also, Scribe America would probably just onboard another scribe for minimum wage and carry on.

 

[Arbitas]

ScribeAmerica will send the FBI after you and hunt you down

 

[Mr.Smile12]

ScribeAmerica will send the FBI after you and hunt you down

Better than they send ICE to abduct you and send you to a supermax in Latin America... 😉 (I hope).

 

[WildWing]

OP: Could you get a scribing job near your school for the summer where you could occasionally pick up shifts during the school year? It would mean you'd need to stay in your college town but you might be able to get a cheap sublet.

 

[AJS59]

I imagine it'd be challenging to go back to work with them specifically. However, given their rather predatory business model, I wouldn't feel too bad about burning the bridge.

 

[foibleBird1!56]

I’m a college pre-med looking to get clinical experience this summer, and I really want to work as a medical scribe. The issue is that ScribeAmerica requires a one-year commitment at a single location, which I can’t do because I have to return to school (I'm an out of state student). I've asked them if there were any exceptions, and they said no.

I’ve seen a lot of people say that ScribeAmerica doesn’t really enforce this and that lots of people leave early. Some suggest just saying I’ll stay for a year on the application and then quitting when I have to. But I wanted to ask: are there any real risks if I do this? Do they blacklist people, or does it affect future job opportunities in medicine? Will it affect relations with hospitals/physicians? Has anyone here done this and had it backfire?

Would appreciate any insights!

They are a company that has a high turnover rate and many people quit before the 1-year commitment is over. They never pursue contract breaches like this because it'd be a waste of time and money for them when they can hire/exploit another prehealth student. The risk you have is potentially getting blacklisted by the company, but if you have 6 mths of experience you can leverage that to get hired at a private practice that's more flexible or for later on (esp if you're planning gap years) when you are able to commit to a location.

Also, most providers understand as a premed that you're using this as a stepping stone. The physicians don't care as long as you do your job well - it's probably only annoying to them that SA can't provide them with scribes for a long time and constantly need training because of that. But that's not your problem when SA doesn't compensate well enough to retain its scribes in general. As for it affecting relations with hospitals and providers as an entity - SA contracts out to hospitals. If you get "blacklisted", it's with SA and not the hospital, unless you seriously break some rules in the hospital.

If you try applying knowing all this, like others said, make sure you get the job early enough to do the online training and in person training too so you can get your hours and experience before quitting. I.e. if you want to scribe in the summer from May to August - try to have the job lined up by February. Sometimes, you might not even get assigned a site fast enough, but do your best to have the job early so you can start on the floor in time.