Med scribe vs Volunteering

[bobbiexd]

So I’m currently volunteering at a hospital and a lot of the pre-meds that I meet say they want to work as med scribes because medical schools highly favor this kind of work.

I’m really enjoying volunteering but I want to make my application as strong as possible. Should I quit volunteering and try to get a job as a med scribe?

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[premeddestiny]

How long have you been volunteering? Med schools want to see that you have made something meaningful out of your experience more than just seeing that you were a scribe. They also love commitment as well. So then, why not do both scribing and volunteering?

 

[bobbiexd]

How long have you been volunteering? Med schools want to see that you have made something meaningful out of your experience more than just seeing that you were a scribe. They also love commitment as well. So then, why not do both scribing and volunteering?

I’ve been volunteering for about 2 months so far, 12 hours a week. I would like to do both but I’m taking a heavy course load next semester and I still have to do research and non medical volunteering so I don’t want to load up my schedule too much

 

[Planes2Doc]

Keep on volunteering. Do not scribe. It's a huge time commitment that may end up sinking you. If you screw up your grades and MCAT as a result, scribing will not make up for it.

If you want to see my recent very long take on the topic, read this.

 

[premeddestiny]

I’ve been volunteering for about 2 months so far, 12 hours a week. I would like to do both but I’m taking a heavy course load next semester and I still have to do research and non medical volunteering so I don’t want to load up my schedule too much

Your grades come first and scribing is more of a commitment than volunteering is. Typical scribing jobs (part-time) take 20 hours per week. I still think scribing is a good experience to have, but it's something you may want to defer to a lighter semester or a gap year even.

 

[Foodology]

It doesn't matter what you do, it matters what you take from it. Instead of scribing, I volunteered in the ER and loved that my role was less stressful and less commitment. Choose what you think will give you the best room to succeed in your classes and general wellness. In my role I loved talking with patients and their families and learned a lot from helping people grieve.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

While it is true, you have to play your cards right, I turned down a scribe job for various reasons.
1. I have plenty of volunteer experience
2. I already have a physician letter writer (which is needed for my school's CL)
3. Scribing pays minimum wage and where I applied for, requires an 18-month commitment. I can make more than twice that much by taking on a research assistant job, which would help me more as I want to explore MD-PhD.

 

[Planes2Doc]

While it is true, you have to play your cards right, I turned down a scribe job for various reasons.
1. I have plenty of volunteer experience
2. I already have a physician letter writer (which is needed for my school's CL)
3. Scribing pays minimum wage and requires an 18-month commitment. I can make more than twice that much by taking on a research assistant job, which would help me more as I want to explore MD-PhD.

Not to mention that publications last forever and will help with residency, while no one will care about your entry-level clinical jobs beyond medical school.

 

[PizzaTime]

People who tell you not to scribe are people who have never done scribing before. Yes, scribing really sucks sometimes, and you get treated like dog ****, but there is no doubt that you learn a lot from it. It's certainly more than "glorified shadowing."

 

[Planes2Doc]

People who tell you not to scribe are people who have never done scribing before. Yes, scribing really sucks sometimes, and you get treated like dog ****, but there is no doubt that you learn a lot from it. It's certainly more than "glorified shadowing."

Scribing is like teaching a 15 year old that just got their learner's permit how to drift the car on the first day. It takes a while for medical students to perfect H&Ps, and there are still residents that suck at writing them. What's the point of putting pre-meds into these stressful situations involving long-hours that will more likely harm than help their chances for medical school?

 

[premeddestiny]

People who tell you not to scribe are people who have never done scribing before. Yes, scribing really sucks sometimes, and you get treated like dog ****, but there is no doubt that you learn a lot from it. It's certainly more than "glorified shadowing."

As a former scribe, what you say is true, but as iterated in this thread, one should never put scribing as more important over grades / the MCAT.