How Long Should I Work as a Scribe?

[ApoIlo]

I'm currently in the middle of my first gap year and planning to apply to MD schools in the spring. I spend about 100 hours per month working as a scribe and have been a scribe for about 4 months so far. I have a one hour commute (one way) to scribe every day, and for ~30% of my shifts, I arrive to work, and I am sent home immediately, because they forget to let me know the doctor is out that day. I'll also have to start making payments on my student loans soon, and this will be difficult with scribe pay and blocking out so many days for work when I don't end up working. How much of a difference will there be in my success next cycle if I scribe for 6 months instead of 1 year? Will I need more clinical or non-clinical experience before I apply? I plan to continue bereavement volunteering, hospice respite volunteering, and tutoring students for the MCAT at least until I apply this spring.

Below are most of my other activities with the length of time I've done the activity. I've also spent >500 hours on research and have a 3.65 cGPA/516 MCAT if these things are relevant.

Clinical Experience:
~50 hours volunteering in a local emergency room (1 year)
~50 hours volunteering in the surgical unit of a large hospital (3 months)
~30 hours respite care for a hospice patient (3 months so far)
~400 hours scribing (4 months)

Shadowing:
~30 hours with an endocrinologist (3 months)
~5 hours with a neurologist

Non-Clinical Volunteering:
~30 hours tutoring high school students (3 months)
~30 hours filing hospice patient records (3 months)
~15 hours as a bereavement volunteer making calls to family and friends of hospice patients after they pass away (6 months so far)

Other Extracurriculars:
~60 hours as a physics Lab TA (2 months)
~Society of Physics Students Member (1 year, 2 months)
~75 hours MCAT tutoring (6 months so far)

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[Geo16]

Holy **** the amount of EC in here is too damn h-
Good work! For me, as a Pre-med, I think that you have some impressive EC 🙂 Keep it going!
I just think that you shouldn't stop working just in general... so perhaps find another job?

 

[infectiousdisease101]

If stats aren't factored into application, you could quit your job tomorrow to get a job that pays twice as much and still get in. You have plenty of clinical background. As long as you're doing something, your application is solid.

I think people glorify scribing too much. There are other ways to get a physician letter writer such as shadowing and there are lots of ways to get clinical hours too such as volunteering.

 

[workaholic181]

I'm a scribe too and can relate to the unpredictable nature of the schedule. Leaving after 6 months is not gonna hurt your app in the slightest OP.

 

[Terror Billy]

Scribing is really good for about 3-4 months, after that you've seen just about everything (not everything obviously, but enough to reflect and explain/write a well thought out explanation for the experience)

 

[ApoIlo]

I agree that I won't get a lot more out of scribing after a few months, but will any adcoms suspect commitment issues, since most of my ECs were done for less than a year?

 

[infectiousdisease101]

You're at that age where you need to get out there and explore your options and opportunities. A lot of people say research is a big plus for medical school applications because it shows you at least explored research and saw it wasn't for you. How else do you expect to tackle one of the most deadliest interview questions of all: "Why do you want to become a doctor?"

Don't even think about saying "I want to help people." That's a given. Talk about something that isn't obvious about you. Something unique about you that eliminated all other options, which you can't do unless you've explored what's out there. You can help people in various ways, a teacher, social worker. Even within healthcare, there are various branches of healthcare, nursing, PA. How do you plan to justify choosing medicine over these fields?

 

[ApoIlo]

You're at that age where you need to get out there and explore your options and opportunities. A lot of people say research is a big plus for medical school applications because it shows you at least explored research and saw it wasn't for you. How else do you expect to tackle one of the most deadliest interview questions of all: "Why do you want to become a doctor?"

Don't even think about saying "I want to help people." That's a given. Talk about something that isn't obvious about you. Something unique about you that eliminated all other options, which you can't do unless you've explored what's out there. You can help people in various ways, a teacher, social worker. Even within healthcare, there are various branches of healthcare, nursing, PA. How do you plan to justify choosing medicine over these fields?

I'll probably justify it by writing about the responsibility physicians have. Physicians have a lot of jobs to do (documentation, bereavement, respite, teaching, etc.), and I have enjoyed my experiences in all of these areas.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

I'll probably justify it by writing about the responsibility physicians have. Physicians have a lot of jobs to do (documentation, bereavement, respite, teaching, etc.), and I have enjoyed my experiences in all of these areas.

Think you quoted the wrong person.

 

[Welshman]

I'd say you've checked the box, now just write how you can't imagine not being a doctor because scribing sucked so much...