Give me all of your scribing advice

[DarklingThrush]

I just got hired as a scribe for a private practice. I met with the physician for an hour and LOVED talking with them. They seem to be very invested in my development and helping me achieve my goals. This office has never had a scribe and the physician as never had a scribe, so it is going to be a learning process for both of us. I want to do a really really good job, so any advice you have will be much appreciated (especially since I won't have a formal training to complete). They also see a lot of Spanish speaking patients, so I purchased a medical Spanish book, but do know a bit of Spanish already.

Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Robin-jay]

I just got hired as a scribe for a private practice. I met with the physician for an hour and LOVED talking with them. They seem to be very invested in my development and helping me achieve my goals. This office has never had a scribe and the physician as never had a scribe, so it is going to be a learning process for both of us. I want to do a really really good job, so any advice you have will be much appreciated (especially since I won't have a formal training to complete). They also see a lot of Spanish speaking patients, so I purchased a medical Spanish book, but do know a bit of Spanish already.

Thanks in advance!

Just have good communication with your physician.

You are very lucky to not be working with a scribing company.

 

[DarklingThrush]

Just have good communication with your physician.

You are very lucky to not be working with a scribing company.

Thank you for the response! The physician who hired me is incredibly nice and approachable and seems to want to teach, so I feel comfortable asking questions. I am definitely lucky. I applied to a bunch of scribe jobs trying to avoid a scribing company and happened to stumble upon two. The other one did not allow you to ask for letters of rec, did not allow you to shadow, and did not want you bothering doctors, so I avoided that one. This one seems like an incredible experience and I am so excited. I just want to do a good job!

 

[Robin-jay]

Thank you for the response! The physician who hired me is incredibly nice and approachable and seems to want to teach, so I feel comfortable asking questions. I am definitely lucky. I applied to a bunch of scribe jobs trying to avoid a scribing company and happened to stumble upon two. The other one did not allow you to ask for letters of rec, did not allow you to shadow, and did not want you bothering doctors, so I avoided that one. This one seems like an incredible experience and I am so excited. I just want to do a good job!

When you work for a scribing company you have to deal with more middle man stuff than a double stuffed oreo.

Being excited to be a scribe is a great thing. Your experience as a scribe will be dependent on:

1.) Whether your working for a company (and which company) or as an independent.

2.) Who your chief scribe (s) are.

3.) Who your physician is, how fast paced they are, etc.

Your skill as a scribe is hardly part of the equation.

 

[momentaryaffliction]

I just got hired as a scribe for a private practice. I met with the physician for an hour and LOVED talking with them. They seem to be very invested in my development and helping me achieve my goals. This office has never had a scribe and the physician as never had a scribe, so it is going to be a learning process for both of us. I want to do a really really good job, so any advice you have will be much appreciated (especially since I won't have a formal training to complete). They also see a lot of Spanish speaking patients, so I purchased a medical Spanish book, but do know a bit of Spanish already.

Thanks in advance!

Hello and congrats! I am also a scribe (among other things) at a private practice, not through a company. I learned everything from the previous scribe, so didn't have any "formal" training. I have a few tips.

- As a scribe, you are the fly on the wall. You don't talk with patients during a consultation unless spoken to, or asked to.
- When you have down time, play with the templates and format of your EHR.
- If you are on EPIC EHR, dot phrases (.phrases) are your best friend. Work hard in making those templates so that you don't unnecessarily duplicate-type.
- If you are on EPIC EHR, the "***" is your next best friend (You'll understand- you can F2 your way to completion.)
- Depending on how detail oriented your doc is - ask them a lot of questions about completing the chart *before* moving on to the next patient. It's a pain in the butt if you have a bazillion charts to finish at the end of the day, and no help to either of you.

That's what I know off the top of my head. PM if more questions

 

[Cinemed]

1. DO NOT be afraid to ask clarification questions during a dictation or asking doc to repeat themselves. You'll do it a lot and that's OK. Hopefully you'll be with a doc that likes to teach which will turn many of those questions into learning experiences.

2. I kept a "note" on my phone of things I heard and didn't understand; especially if I heard it a lot (e.g. something important/common in medicine that I will undoubtedly learn someday). I tried to look them up later to understand what they meant. You'll be surprised how effective this can be to ease your learning in medical school. Familiarity is key. 👍

 

[Select All That Apply]

The Ultimate Medical Scribe Handbook: Emergency Department 3rd Edition was a helpful resource starting out.

 

[RedPanda55]

1. Know your EMR like the back of your hand. Play with it whenever you can and be as comfortable with it as possible.
2. Take medical terminology. It'd be ideal to know as much material beforehand as possible. As great as knowing spanish will be, you'll be way better off picking up medical terminology instead.
3. Stay organized. You'll have some busy days and some lighter days but make sure you keep all notes separate and concise. Mixing up charts is a nightmare.
4. If you don't know something/need clarification, ask right away or you might forget. The doc would rather you ask sooner than later so it's also fresh in their mind.
5. Be ready to learn everyday. Take notes on things you don't know. Google is your best friend. You'll learn a lot and really fast if you've never worked in a hospital or clinic before.