I love scribing, but I need a better paying job. Advice please?

[deleted446889]

.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

TA!
multiple classes if you can

 

[mehc012]

The nice thing about ScribeAmerica's setup is that the scheduling is usually a bit flexible. Give them some notice that you'll need to move to part-time, find a part time job in-town that pays decently (even if not premed related) and then go part-time and block off the hours you need to spend at your other job.

 

[NachoPlatter]

For what it's worth, nobody cared at interviews that my job during my gap year wasn't medical related. When I said I took it because I made great commission to save up money for moving and it (sales and costumer service) really forces you to get comfortable interacting with strangers, it was still seen positive. Many jobs have medical-related aspects even if you're not physically in a hospital. Plus mastering people skills now in a job pays off in the future for interviews and patient interactions!

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Get into managed care. You can probably find a decent boring entry-level office job at a bunch of ASOs, HPs, or IPAs depending on the state you're in. It's a lot less work, for much better pay.

 

[Petrichor1]

just pick up a job that pays the rent and allows you to save some money every month. You have bypassed the # of hours for you to be exposed to healthcare. Now think about yourself and do something to save up for medicine.

 

[NVO]

I definitely agree with private practice scribing. Better pay (think $17+/hr), appointment based patients, regular hours (8am-5pm, no weekends), off on holidays, less hierarchy (getting pushed around), etcetc. Try looking at public job posting sites like indeed.com
Good luck!

 

[takeurmeds02]

I'm in the same boat, only I would rather do something different than scribing all together...unless it pays really well to scribe elsewhere lol

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

I definitely agree with private practice scribing. Better pay (think $17+/hr), appointment based patients, regular hours (8am-5pm, no weekends), off on holidays, less hierarchy (getting pushed around), etcetc. Try looking at public job posting sites like indeed.com
Good luck!

Seriously this is where its at..

I'm in the same boat, only I would rather do something different than scribing all together...unless it pays really well to scribe elsewhere lol

I am beginning to reach that point as well...working solely nights in the ER, especially 6 days straight this week has began to take its toll on me--pay is solid ($15/hr--though not when you have to shell out over 3k for application fees) but the hours themselves aren't allowing me to do much else of anything...Definitely looking to find something new and only scribe 1-2 days a week.

 

[mehc012]

Thanks, this sounds really ideal. In a perfect world I could land a part-time job in a private practice twice a week and do 1 shift a week with ScribeAmerica on the weekend. Now all I have to do is find the job, lol.

I'm open to anything really, as long as the pay is good. Does anyone have any ideas for things outside the premed sphere (scribing, phebotomy, etc)?

Pretty sure SA requires a 2shift/wk minimum.

 

[mehc012]

I believe you're technically right, but I know several fellow scribes who have worked for a while that now work a few shifts a month here and there. Some even work only 2 shifts per month. I also have a friend who took a 3 month leave of absence to focus on his classes. At least where I work, I don't think they're too strict about the hours. I was hired as a part-timer but they made me work full-time hours until I had to ask them to stop, lol.

Fair enough. My place wouldn't let me dip below 2/wk, but they also were limited in how many employees they could have that they were hitting because so many of them were P/T.

 

[takeurmeds02]

@XxThaDoggxX

15/hr is still better than what I'm at....it started out as experience but I've been here so long without anywhere else to go "duty-wise"...and I absolutely don't wanna go corporate with it...I'm over it. I'm open to any ideas haha

 

[along900]

Could always take a gap year and do consulting to make $$$$

 

[catie_jane]

I had the same issue. I was working part time throughout my senior year as a scribe in the ED and wanted to work full-time tbroughout my gap year. Until I realized that $12/hour wasn't going to pay the bills. I got a promotion at my other job and I'm making $14+/hr as a supervisor for catering at my college. Can't beat the experience of scribing though so I still do minimum of 2 shifts a week at the ED and pick up more if my other job is slow that week. Luckily both schedules are super flexible

 

[Affiche]

You could always apply for a position as a clinical research associate. Many labs are looking for people who are well-versed in medical terminology, so if you write a good cover letter and beef up your resume you may be good there.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

You could always apply for a position as a clinical research associate. Many labs are looking for people who are well-versed in medical terminology, so if you write a good cover letter and beef up your resume you may be good there.

What do jobs like this normally pay?

 

[Affiche]

It depends on your project, but I certainly don't sit around in a lab all day. For 6 of the 8 hours I work with patients and for the other 2 I'm on SDN and Facebook. I do blood draws, counsel in diet/nutrition, train patients to exercise etc.

I get paid just over $15/hour and I think I started around $14.80. The benefits can't be beat though: paid sick days, paid vacation, health/dental/vision insurance, retirement etc. plus you work normal hours so nights and weekends are yours to go out.

Tbh scribing sounds like hell to me.

 

[Affiche]

Wow, that actually sounds quite wonderful. I'm going to seriously look into it, any tips/advice on how you got your job?

Definitely! I'm actually about to accept an offer as a coordinator (moving up from associate aaaay) so I just went through the whole application process again.

I spent time on my cover letter to make sure it grabbed attention. Make sure you outline your interest in the specific field you're applying to. It doesn't need to be that specific. For example, I work with diabetics but applied for an unrelated job in endocrinology, but they were receptive because my cover letter discussed my interest in the field and experience working with a specific endocrine population, even though they don't work with DM2s at all. Scribing might be great because you've likely seen a lot of different diseases and can say you're interested/experienced with all of them lol.

The bulk of your cover letter should discuss your experience as related to the job. Discuss your experience in a clinical setting, how great you are with medical terminology, comfort working with patients, ability to work within HIPAA regulations, proficiency with Microsoft applications, etc. It sounds silly but that's some of the stuff they're looking for. Also make sure you say that you're eager to learn and your references will vouch for your attention to detail.

If you have any research experience from college make sure that's on your resume and include that as well. Things that will help out: experience recruiting, obtaining informed consents, data entry (almost every pre-med can say they've done this) etc.

 

[ready2go2]

Hi! Sorry for the suuuuuper late reply, but I decided to revisit this thread...I'm still scribing right now and I'm desperate to get out! The job you have described sounds really awesome, thanks again for the advice! However, I need some more! I'm actually really clueless on how to even find a job to apply to. I've scoured craigslist, looking up terms like research and assistant and similar things, but I'm not finding the type of stuff you're describing. Would you be so kind and help point me in the right direction to look? Is there a certain website you recommend, or certain ways to search?

Thanks so much!!

Try indeed.com, or look up your nearest medical school's job board.

 

[Affiche]

Try indeed.com, or look up your nearest medical school's job board.

This. Indeed and the university's job board will be your best bet.

 

[SnakeDoc9497]

Not every job has to be medical or academic either...there's nothing wrong with having a retail or food service job. Often times they pay more than university jobs anyway.

 

[frosted_flake]

+1 for TAing. I made ~20/hr (in the form of a scholarship at the end of the year).

 

[DrFizition]

You guys are lucky. My hospital doesn't devote much money to scribing so we only have 16 shifts a month, shared by 5-6 scribes.

I'm full time and I'm working about 5 shifts this month, which has been more than the last two months I worked. I cry.

 

[piii]

I second working in a private practice setting. I am and it's great. I'm not scribing though, I'm doing some basic medical assistant work, scheduling surgeries, and helping run the practice on the business side. I get to deal with patients quite a bit and solve problems and talk to people constantly. The pay isn't great but it's enough to float myself until med school, and the environment is super chill.

 

[KungFuPanda123]

I don't mean to sound defensive, but "suck it up, life sucks" isn't really the advice I was looking for. I'm well aware of what it's going to be like as a doctor as I've been working with them for nearly a year now. That doesn't mean I have to just take it when I there are other options. If I was getting paid like a doctor and I didn't have other, more important priorities, then sure I could deal with it because it would be worth it. Scribing is no longer worth it to me...I've gotten the experience I needed, and while more is always better, I've reached the point of diminishing returns. I also now work at an urgent care type of place where nothing interesting happens...it's all busy work now, and the long hours and low pay are simply not worth it to me. I'm a full-time student and it's draining all my energy...grades are far more important, I don't think you'll disagree. The only reason I need to work is to pay for my classes, if it wasn't for that I would just not work. What I meant by "needing a higher paying job", I really just meant a job where I get to work less and not be so stressed while making enough for my needs. I dread each shift at this point, and yes, I would rather do anything else including caring for old people.

My point is, just because working in healthcare means a life of hard, stressful, and long hours doesn't mean I have to do it now when there are other options. It seems like a sunk cost fallacy to resign yourself to a miserable life because you want to be a doctor.

Gotta say that I don't really like responses like what the previous member gave you. You seem like a very reasonable person.

I haven't met a single doctor that I've shadowed in the past who has recommend scribing. In fact, the three that I did all told me to go do something better with my year before going to medical school. When I asked for specifics, one said to go be a bartender.

Now, obviously, being a bartender is not exactly as applicable to medical school/helpful for medical school applications (besides the social skills/communication skills you acquire) as scribing, but it's something adventurous and outside the box that might be fun and pay well. But it doesn't stop there, do literally any job out there that you think you would enjoy and would pay you decently (do you need health insurance? Or can you go on your parents'? If you can go on your parents', then you can literally get any job that you want that pays well, even though it has no additional health/retirement benefits).

You've gotten what you came to get out of from scribing, and it doesn't have much to offer you now. Medical school applications are expensive, and I don't know a single person who is scribing right now who has been able to successfully apply to medical school without either help from parents or acquiring credit card debt. It's not cheap, and the pay is so low for scribing that it actually makes me mad thinking about it.

Can you find a research position? It doesn't even need to be in an academic setting; you could work in industry and make more money (although you probably won't get a publication. that's honestly fine).
Can you work as a tutor/teacher? These jobs pay well, especially if you have family/friend connections who can connect you to students/their families directly, instead of going through a tutoring agency or teaching company.

Do something that is meaningful, but no one can deny how important happiness on the job (or at least lack of misery) and money is. Not everyone can have mom and dad pay for everything, so you do need to find a job that can help support the costs of medical school applications (especially if you have to reapply).

 

[minnie94]

Apologies for reviving this threat yet again (I keep returning to it while mentally and physically exhausted from another grueling 12 hour shift in the ED ha ha).

I'm having a hard time finding anything suitable due to my full-time status as a student. One thing that's available and looks good from afar is working as a caregiver/HHA. The hours are really flexible, it seems like a great experience, etc. The pay is not much better than scribing ($9-10 per hour), but I love old people and I'd do anything rather than scribe at this point...You get to help with all kinds of things, and you have a lot more flexibility in terms of going home to home, etc. Beats sitting at a computer all day, IMO.

Anyone have any experience/thoughts about being an HHA? It seems slightly better than a CNA, who by all accounts just does a nurse's dirty work.

I also appreciate all the posts so far, and as for the experience as a scribe, I don't even work in a trauma center anymore. I work in a free-standing ED which is basically a glorified urgent care (moved from the ED due to a separate issue...I never want to go back there). So I don't get any valuable experience anymore...it's all busy work, doing 50 flu charts a day.

i think being a HHA would be a good option. while i haven't been done, i was a CNA so i do have a bit of experience in that respect and i know people who i worked with and who i took my CNA class who were home health aides. for reference, i made $12 base ($13.50 on weekends) as a CNA in a nursing home. it's a tough job but i had so many great interactions with my residents/patients (we were also a rehab center) and i'm really glad i worked there. i think a HHA would be good b/c you're working with one patient at a time instead of 10-15. good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions about a CNA (although it seems like you're leaning towards HHA)!