ER Scribe

[coldcase331]

So I just got done interviewing for a scribe job. Everything went well and the recruiter was really interested in hiring me. However what shocked me at the end of the interview was the compensation structure. Just to clarify my circumstances, I've been accepted to medical school and am only taking 6 hours next semester and was hoping to have a job to get a little extra money and gain some additional experience before starting med school. I was planning on working 20-25 hours per week from January-June. I was told that compensation was minimum wage up until I reached 300 hours, in which case my pay would bump to 9/hour. Since I wouldn't reach the 300 hour mark until a minimum of April, it seems like the compensation may not be worth it if there are other jobs out there that could pay more. I just wanted to make sure that this was the case for all ER scribe positions and not just the one company that I interviewed with.

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[New_Slang]

I worked with Scribe America, who starts at $8/hr. They said it would take more almost a year to make any more (plenty of coworkers who had scribed longer verified that). I found a much better paying job.

 

[DrTacosMD]

If you've already been accepted to medical school, I suggest you pick up a nice paying nonmedical job with good hours so you can relax before medical school starts. When it starts it goes crazy and you will regret not having relaxed more.

If you feel the need to get ahead before school starts, you should probably just take classes that are good intros to major medical school classes, ex. Anatomy, cell bio, etc. but even then it's much better to just relax before medical school.

I'm currently an ms1 at an MD school so that's where my advice is coming from.

 

[coldcase331]

If you've already been accepted to medical school, I suggest you pick up a nice paying nonmedical job with good hours so you can relax before medical school starts. When it starts it goes crazy and you will regret not having relaxed more.

If you feel the need to get ahead before school starts, you should probably just take classes that are good intros to major medical school classes, ex. Anatomy, cell bio, etc. but even then it's much better to just relax before medical school.

I'm currently an ms1 at an MD school so that's where my advice is coming from.

I am absolutely going to take it easy before medical school starts, I was just told by some friends that had worked as ER scribes before that the compensation was a little higher than that (~10/hour), which would give me some extra spending money. I already do some tutoring for decent pay, but was looking for something with more consistent hours.

 

[Planes2Doc]

If you've already been accepted to medical school, I suggest you pick up a nice paying nonmedical job with good hours so you can relax before medical school starts. When it starts it goes crazy and you will regret not having relaxed more.

If you feel the need to get ahead before school starts, you should probably just take classes that are good intros to major medical school classes, ex. Anatomy, cell bio, etc. but even then it's much better to just relax before medical school.

I'm currently an ms1 at an MD school so that's where my advice is coming from.

This all the way... If you work a service job, you can work way less hours and make more money. At this point, an entry-level clinical job won't help you in any way. If money isn't an issue, I would highly recommend doing things you genuinely enjoy before medical school starts.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I started at about $10/hr at my scribe position but I also worked with a small hospital-based program, not one of the larger companies. For me, even $10/hr was extremely low considering how demanding the job can be. It's definitely a good learning experience but since you're already accepted, if you want to make some money, I'd maybe consider something else.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Phyassist does this. You start out at minimum then get bumped to 10/hr. Honestly, I would do something completely unrelated to medicine if possible unless that's what you really want to do. Congrats on getting accepted; you're life will be consumed with medicine beginning in the fall/possibly even summer lol. Enjoy this time to be a regular human...

 

[pdmaes]

I work with one of the big scribe companies, we were started out at $8/hour then bumped up to $10/hr after 3 months.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you did well on the MCAT, I'd suggest trying to sign up as an instructor with one of the big companies if you enjoy teaching. Relatively easy gig, and when I did it I was making $20/hr + performance bonus, and that was on the low end.

 

[wareagle107]

If I were in your shoes and already accepted to med school, I would probably pass on minimum wage, no matter what kind of clinical experience you'd be getting as a scribe. That said, if you are interested in scribing I would suggest trying to find a scribe position NOT associated with Scribe America/Physassist, i.e. with an independent clinic. I was lucky enough to find a scribe position near me using Craigslist (sketchy I know!) but it turned out to be a great opportunity. Regular hours, getting to know the doctors, seeing patients, etc., and much more reasonable compensation, about $14/hour. Scribing is great, but I feel like the big organizations really take advantage of pre-meds. With your education, your time is worth much more than minimum wage.

 

[Lambchopen]

8 dollars seems so low. ive seen ER scribes work. they got to do a lot of typing...

 

[Arden_28]

8 dollars seems so low. ive seen ER scribes work. they got to do a lot of typing...

its good clinical experience though. its only worth it if you are pre-med i guess

 

[Tenk]

As an attending, the only medical students who truly impress me are former medics and former scribes.

Do it. Not for the money, but for the experience.

 

[rocklobstr]

I work for a scribe company. If you've already been accepted, I advise against it. They like to exploit pre-meds for cheap labor (but you "get paid in experience").

 

[Planes2Doc]

Check out the Glassdoor reviews for Scribe America. Even if you were still working on ECs, it looks painful: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Scribe-America-Reviews-E473887.htm

 

[rocklobstr]

You don't get shift differentials unless your in an-house scribe either (most are contracted employees from companies like Scribe America). I stopped doing overnights bc the minimum wage wasn't worth it

 

[Planes2Doc]

You don't get shift differentials unless your in an-house scribe either (most are contracted employees from companies like Scribe America). I stopped doing overnights bc the minimum wage wasn't worth it

They have a terrific business model. They have an endless supply of pre-meds and other pre-health professional school students. In fact, I'm sure some of them would be willing to "volunteer" their services. These companies have no reason to pay higher wages or shift differentials. If medical school didn't work out for me, I would become an entrepreneur in some type of business that takes advantage of pre-meds.

 

[rocklobstr]

The good business model is debatable depending on the area. Small overhead cost for sure. But the turn-over rate is so bad at my location that the hospital probably won't renew the contract because we can't fill all the shifts (as we're contractually obligated to). Maybe 1/2 of those hired make it through training, and another 1/2 who make it through training quit within 3 months. They'd fair a lot better here by increasing pay 2$/hr and giving annual raises (which they say they will, but they just flat out don't do it in reality)

 

[DrFizition]

As a current scribe, I can tell you that although the compensation isn't great, the experience is truly invaluable. In fact, unless you are a nurse, there is truly no other job or clinical volunteering experience that will show you medicine like scribing does. I heard EMT is great and I've heard wonderful things about that, but scribing shows you more of the "medicine" side as you get to see how doctors initially interact with patients and make decisions.

If you are gonna do it, do it for the experience. Just from scribing you'll gain an intuition about the types of patients you'll encounter as well as even being able to diagnose a few. I can see why a few of you attendings are saying scribes are impressive; it's because they have seen what you have, literally.

 

[Wintersmen]

As a current scribe, I can tell you that although the compensation isn't great, the experience is truly invaluable. In fact, unless you are a nurse, there is truly no other job or clinical volunteering experience that will show you medicine like scribing does. I heard EMT is great and I've heard wonderful things about that, but scribing shows you more of the "medicine" side as you get to see how doctors initially interact with patients and make decisions.

If you are gonna do it, do it for the experience. Just from scribing you'll gain an intuition about the types of patients you'll encounter as well as even being able to diagnose a few. I can see why a few of you attendings are saying scribes are impressive; it's because they have seen what you have, literally.

I agree. The value you would get from this is invaluable.