Chief Scribe - Advice?

[LostPuppy]

Hello!

I recently accepted the position of "chief scribe" of the ED I currently scribe at. I am very excited to begin this position and would like to do the best job possible, so I'm looking for some advice from former/current chief's and scribes.

Current or former chief scribes - do you have any advice? How was the training? What should I expect? How difficult is dealing with the higher up's of a large scribe company?

Current or former scribes- do you have any advice or recommendations? Anything you liked about your chief? Anything you wish your chief did differently? How can I Make Scribing Great Again?

Thanks for any input

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[FeinMS]

Depends on the size of your program and whether you have QAS or not (assuming you work for ScribeAmerica), but it's not bad. Training will prepare you well for the tasks, and as long as you do w/e they ask, you will be fine.

 

[LostPuppy]

Depends on the size of your program and whether you have QAS or not (assuming you work for ScribeAmerica), but it's not bad. Training will prepare you well for the tasks, and as long as you do w/e they ask, you will be fine.

It's a decent sized site with ~16 scribes. And I am with ScribeAmerica and thankfully have an experienced QAS. Thanks for the input!

 

[FeinMS]

It's a decent sized site with ~16 scribes. And I am with ScribeAmerica and thankfully have an experienced QAS. Thanks for the input!

Larger than mine, but I don't think it would be bad. Scheduling takes a while to get used to, but you will get a hold of it in 2-3 months. Make sure to be fair for everyone when distributing night, holiday, weekends. If someone argues that he/she is receiving too many night, holiday, weekends, do a simple Excel calculation to see if they're actually getting more of those.

 

[LostPuppy]

Larger than mine, but I don't think it would be bad. Scheduling takes a while to get used to, but you will get a hold of it in 2-3 months. Make sure to be fair for everyone when distributing night, holiday, weekends. If someone argues that he/she is receiving too many night, holiday, weekends, do a simple Excel calculation to see if they're actually getting more of those.

TBH scheduling was my biggest concern, but I'm sure it comes with practice. Do you use WhenToWork? If so, how difficult is it to use in order to make the schedule?

 

[ToastCrunch]

This seems like an obvious one, but please don't berate or look down your scribes just because you're "the boss" now...remember that we're all in the same boat trying to get that med school acceptance! In my experience, chief scribes have been the worst kind of pre-meds.

 

[MareNostrummm]

This seems like an obvious one, but please don't berate or look down your scribes just because you're "the boss" now...remember that we're all in the same boat trying to get that med school acceptance! In my experience, chief scribes have been the worst kind of pre-meds.

Same, a few chief scribes give off the vibe that they have a stick up their ass, especially to newer scribes, acting superior because they are significantly more knowledgeable and faster at charting. If you've been working for the company for 3-4+ years we all know its not because you are some type of scribe god, its because of several failed application cycles..

 

[ToastCrunch]

.

 

[MareNostrummm]

Exactly, gotta love when they start throwing around the term "career scribe." Everyone knows what that means.

Lmao. Real talk.

 

[deleted800674]

Honestly didn't think the job was too hard. The hardest part IMO was having to find last minute coverage for people. If you're likable you'll be fine and it will make your job a lot easier. Having your fellow scribes like you goes a long way.

 

[LostPuppy]

I have no plans to be career scribe and haven't applied yet but I get what y'all mean lol. I can imagine how the title can get to a lot of heads. I'm good friends with most of the scribes I currently work with and plan to keep it that way. But thank all of you for your input!

 

[mk2015]

Personally, I enjoyed my time as chief scribe. It's not particularly difficult but takes some getting used to (especially if you are the only CS in your ED (we had 2)).

Training is straightforward. I didn't find it especially helpful but you learn the important things.

I found WhenToWork fairly intuitive for scheduling as long. as your scribes have pretty good availability.

Dealing with "higher ups" is probably dependent on the person but the project leaders we dealt with were helpful. I would suggest figuring out who you're supposed to contact for specific problems/questions to save yourself some time and emails (I never quite figured out what functions are associated with certain positions).

If you have any specific questions. I would be happy to try and help.

Sent from my SM-G920V using SDN mobile

 

[redsox93]

Get the schedules out early. My chief scribe was notorious for waiting until the last week of the month to post the next months schedule.

 

[leagueofDravenMD]

I didn't have much contact with my chief scribe after training in the 7 months I have worked... She covered a shift once which was nice.

I liked how my chief scribe tailored my training towards the site I was working at; for example she explained right off the bat that I didn't need to know billing and coding.
In hindsight, she was also very good at teaching the EMR (EPIC) format and other tips and tricks on the job. She anticipated that I would make my own custom smartphrases and taught me how to do so.

 

[kidsuave]

I have a question for you, How does one even become a scribe. I seen a listing for part time scribe position scribeamerica do i just apply to that?

 

[leagueofDravenMD]

I have a question for you, How does one even become a scribe. I seen a listing for part time scribe position scribeamerica do i just apply to that?

yeah, and check out elitemedicalscribes and physassist. Make sure they have a listing where you can actually work before applying- otherwise you'll waste your time

 

[getfat]

Current or former chief scribes - do you have any advice? How was the training? What should I expect? How difficult is dealing with the higher up's of a large scribe company?

Training was good the way it is. Thats one thing i liked about Scribe America, the training does give you a good prep before actually going into clinic/ED.
Expect to be covering for someone on a weekly basis. Before if somebody pulled a no-show or got sick it wasn't your problem. As a contractor you don't want to look unreliable (or they'll resign with another company) so you might be covering other people's shifts on a weekly basis. Don't suggest scheduling yourself 40Hrs/Week based on this.

Higher ups will always find something to critique you on. Don't take it personal. Docs or hospital management will complain about something make sure they know you are listening or giving the appearance of listening.

Current or former scribes- do you have any advice or recommendations? Anything you liked about your chief? Anything you wish your chief did differently? How can I Make Scribing Great Again?

Please get schedule out at least 2 weeks in advance and schedule on monthly basis. Give employees one week for "feedback" and 1 week to formally trade shifts. Informal trade shifts will happen but it really helps to prevent accidental no-shows. Make sure you look at shift schedules on individual basis before you post. Scheduling someone to work til 1AM and then come back at 7AM the same day will cause problems. I created fluid (changed monthly) "on-call" list of certain people that wanted more hours and really wanted me to call if someone called in sick. Will save you time making a bunch of cold calls to cover shifts and takes away from people seeing you applying favoritism.

Lastly people will accuse you of playing favorites. Only thing you can do is be as transparent as possible. Publish everyone's availability, preferences. Be the same person day in and day out. People prefer a consistent boss than a different character every week.

 

[LostPuppy]

Training was good the way it is. Thats one thing i liked about Scribe America, the training does give you a good prep before actually going into clinic/ED.
Expect to be covering for someone on a weekly basis. Before if somebody pulled a no-show or got sick it wasn't your problem. As a contractor you don't want to look unreliable (or they'll resign with another company) so you might be covering other people's shifts on a weekly basis. Don't suggest scheduling yourself 40Hrs/Week based on this.

Higher ups will always find something to critique you on. Don't take it personal. Docs or hospital management will complain about something make sure they know you are listening or giving the appearance of listening.



Please get schedule out at least 2 weeks in advance and schedule on monthly basis. Give employees one week for "feedback" and 1 week to formally trade shifts. Informal trade shifts will happen but it really helps to prevent accidental no-shows. Make sure you look at shift schedules on individual basis before you post. Scheduling someone to work til 1AM and then come back at 7AM the same day will cause problems. I created fluid (changed monthly) "on-call" list of certain people that wanted more hours and really wanted me to call if someone called in sick. Will save you time making a bunch of cold calls to cover shifts and takes away from people seeing you applying favoritism.

Lastly people will accuse you of playing favorites. Only thing you can do is be as transparent as possible. Publish everyone's availability, preferences. Be the same person day in and day out. People prefer a consistent boss than a different character every week.

Thanks for your response!

I think playing favorites is the one thing I really need to look out for. I do tend to favor certain docs because they take time to teach me and actually talk to me like I'm a human and not some idiot who follows them around with a computer.

My department has someone on call at all times so that's covered thankfully.

 

[Medic741]

Same, a few chief scribes give off the vibe that they have a stick up their ass, especially to newer scribes, acting superior because they are significantly more knowledgeable and faster at charting. If you've been working for the company for 3-4+ years we all know its not because you are some type of scribe god, its because of several failed application cycles..

Congrats! Enjoy it, getting into a position with some authority is a great experience. Always remember to be humble & kind

 

[getfat]

My department has someone on call at all times so that's covered thankfully.

Wow never heard of that for scribes before

 

[LostPuppy]

Wow never heard of that for scribes before

Yeah its kind of nice. I mean we might have 1 or 2 uncovered on-call shifts but it definitely saves some frustration.

 

[LostPuppy]

Congrats! Enjoy it, getting into a position with some authority is a great experience. Always remember to be humble & kind

Thanks!