Medical assistant or scribe?

[reaction mechanisms]

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Which is more favorable for pre med experience: working as a medical assistant or scribe? I’m asking because I’m being moved from my current position at the front desk of a medical office and have been given the opportunity to choose between the medical assistant or scribe position.

 

[DHoang3]

I would say scribing only because you are with the physician the entire day and actually get to see what they do instead of rooming patients/taking vitals/doing prescriptions. At my clinic, we cross train our MA's as scribes so that they get a sense of how the whole picture of patient care.

 

[datastrife]

I would also say scribe. I work as a scribe currently and being able to see the full MDM process has shown the reality of medicine in ways that shadowing and other experiences haven't. Also, since you'll be working closely with a doctor or multiple doctors for their entire shifts, it'll give you more time to get to know them and possibly get a letter of recommendation down the line. Or some teaching moments in the meantime!

 

[Cornfed101]

What will you be doing as the MA? I work as an MA at an ophthalmic clinic and I do HPI, history, external portions of the eye exam, refraction, special testing (corneal topography, OCT, visual fields, etc). All of this I do one on one with the patient. I am the one interacting with the patient, and they are interacting with me. That’s the main difference between MA and scribing. Scribing is much more passive. You don’t interact with the patient as much (if at all).

Depending on what you will be doing as the MA, I would choose that. If you will be cleaning rooms, choose the scribe. If your responsibilities are similar to mine (obviously specific to your clinic), choose MA.

 

[mmchick]

It depends on what type of clinical experiences you already have. If you have more hours logged with hands-on care (CNA, EMT, etc.) you should take the MA position. If you have more passive experience (shadowing, care-related patient duties, etc.) you should take the scribing job. Idea is to diversify yourself as an applicant that has seen many facets of medicine, this is a great opportunity for you to capitalize on doing so with choosing the position that strengthens your weaknesses.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

My vote would be towards an MA because you can volunteer as a scribe for ANYONE. It is not hard to get that position, but MA positions are harder to get because you need the schooling.

 

[reaction mechanisms]

Thanks all. I’m going for the MA position. I have a solid amount of shadowing so I’d rather get some hands on experience with patient care. Also, as @Newyear mentioned, I’m taking this an opportunity to get a foot in with medical assisting without the certification.

 

[reaction mechanisms]

What will you be doing as the MA? I work as an MA at an ophthalmic clinic and I do HPI, history, external portions of the eye exam, refraction, special testing (corneal topography, OCT, visual fields, etc). All of this I do one on one with the patient. I am the one interacting with the patient, and they are interacting with me. That’s the main difference between MA and scribing. Scribing is much more passive. You don’t interact with the patient as much (if at all).

Depending on what you will be doing as the MA, I would choose that. If you will be cleaning rooms, choose the scribe. If your responsibilities are similar to mine (obviously specific to your clinic), choose MA.

It’s for an ObGyn so I’ll be doing patient intake, HPI, vitals, injections, setting patients up for NST, prepping for procedures, etc.

I’ve decided to go with the MA position. Thanks!

 

[Styrene]

Which is more favorable for pre med experience: working as a medical assistant or scribe? I’m asking because I’m being moved from my current position at the front desk of a medical office and have been given the opportunity to choose between the medical assistant or scribe position.

Scribe. You will spend 70%+ of your time writing EMR notes as a physician, so there is literally no more practical experience before med school than scribing.

 

[CosmeticLeFort3]

As an EMT and scribe - scribe.

Doing technical/nursing like work isn't as valuable as the perspective you gain as a scribe

 

[Tabiyou]

I worked as an EMT and Scribe while doing a post bacc. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of the choices you are presented with. A lot of my classmates did the same (EMT, Scribe, MA, other health care etc).

If I could do it all over again, I would pick the one that 1) pays the most 2) is the most flexible with the hours and 3) doesn't treat you like complete crap. You will have pros/cons of either job, but go with the one that maximizes your paycheck and allows you to enjoy a personal life.

 

[deleted936470]

Scribe so you'll be pro when you have to write SOAP notes during clinical years.

 

[altblue]

Honestly, do what sounds more interesting to you and will make you happier. I scribed and I still think the difficulty of learning EMR/effective documentation is a drop in the bucket compared to that of med school in general.

One major difference in terms of fit is that scribing has far less social interaction than MA work. If you lean heavily towards being extraverted or introverted, it's something to keep in mind