Medical Scribe Job - Scribe America Interview advice

[Garfield007]

Hi everyone,
I was invited for an interview with Scribe America for medical scribe job (part time). I did a research about it, but I would like ask if someone has any advice for interview preparation.
The hiring manager sent me an email WITHOUT interview introductory packet. I was told that they often send to interviewee such a thing for interview preparation. It is just consisted of some questions and a list of medical vocabulary that will be quizzed during interview. I did not receive any from the recruiter. Is that a normal thing?
One more thing, I will be go to school full-time in mid July. Is my availability gonna effect the job offer?
Thank you all!

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[KaioKaizen]

When I received an interview invite from the recruiter, it came with the ScribeAmerica introductory packet with all the terms and definitions, so this is odd. Maybe try emailing them back with a question about if there is something you need to do to prepare for the interview?

ScribeAmerica's policy is 1 year of full-time, or 2 years of part-time. How they enforce this I will never know but you should be fine working part time during the summer.

 

[flavoroflife]

I do interviews for my ScribeAmerica site so I can offer some general advice, but please know that the interview is always site-specific. With that being said, here are the big things I look for (and I'm sure other hiring managers look for too):

1. Availability: To be honest this is the biggest one- I won't hire you if you can't work the hours I need. Being in school full-time isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, but if you're extremity limited in your availability it makes me wonder whether or not you want this job. I hire for the ED, so people in school can still work the swing shifts (3pm-12am) or overnights, but if you're looking at an outpatient site who needs staffing during regular business hours (8am-5pm) this might be problematic.

2. Good communication skills: As a scribe, we're essentially the middleman. Providers will ask us to talk to the nurses, nurses will tell us things about patients that we need to inform our providers of, and everything else in between. If you're introverted and shy, this can become a huge challenge as effective communication makes the department run more smoothly. With that being said, communication skills are often revealed during the interview- don't give your interviewer a reason to reject you because your nerves got the best of you.

3. Attitude: In general, I'm looking for people who are enthusiastic and who sincerely want this job. Everyone knows that the purpose of this job is a stepping stone to where you want to be in the future, but being a scribe is one of the best ways to get insight into whether or not medicine is the right career path for you. It's a hard job with a steep learning curve, so you have to show your interviewervthat you're ready and willing to work hard in order to be successful.

As for the introductory packet, I've heard of some interviewers who will test the interviewee's medical knowledge on the spot (although this is rare), and I normally don't send it to my interviewees until after they've been hired. As the previous poster said though, it doesn't hurt to send a follow-up email to see if you need to prepare for anything prior to the interview. If you have any more questions, please feel free to PM me!

 

[Phiona]

As a non-Scribe America scribe who has done quite a bit of hiring, I agree 100% with flavoroflife. Availability and interpersonal skills are the top things we worry about. We don't test medical terminology knowledge but we do give a one-minute typing test to make sure candidates can type at least 35 words per minute (there are apparently still plenty of young adults who can't type very well). I don't know if you will have to do the same, but may want to be prepared!

 

[Garfield007]

Hi everyone,
I was invited for an interview with Scribe America for medical scribe job (part time). I did a research about it, but I would like ask if someone has any advice for interview preparation.
The hiring manager sent me an email WITHOUT interview introductory packet. I was told that they often send to interviewee such a thing for interview preparation. It is just consisted of some questions and a list of medical vocabulary that will be quizzed during interview. I did not receive any from the recruiter. Is that a normal thing?
One more thing, I will be go to school full-time in mid July. Is my availability gonna effect the job offer?
Thank you all!

Did you get hired?

 

[bbdylan87]

Your school is most important, don't let any of the posters above sway you to take more time off of studying for this job. Personally, I was hired with CEP, but I'm sure the process is the same with scribeamerica (a company that I sincerely cannot stand). I would say make your proposed availability very open to increase your chances of getting the job (even if your availability is truly not what you said). This availability is not going to be set in stone so use it to your benefit. The training they make you go through is pretty intense, so they will have a large investment in you and will not fire you because they unrealistically expect you to work full time. That being said, as you should not let this company screw you over, you also shouldn't screw them over, I think 4-6 shifts per month is very reasonable and realistic, so if they expect more than that for a part time job, in all honestly, feel free to lie to them about your schedule to get the job during the interview. As I said, they are not going to fire you after investing all the resources they have into you because you cannot work an extra 3-4 shifts per month

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

I do interviews for my ScribeAmerica site so I can offer some general advice, but please know that the interview is always site-specific. With that being said, here are the big things I look for (and I'm sure other hiring managers look for too):

I've heard that roughly 40% of new hirees get fired for not completing training up to standards. What is your take on this? Is it true? Why do so many fail?

 

[Arturiase]

I've heard that roughly 40% of new hirees get fired for not completing training up to standards. What is your take on this? Is it true? Why do so many fail?

Probably somewhat true, the training is hard to catch onto if your not quick. You only get 5- 7 trial days in the hospital/clinic.

 

[Garfield007]

Your school is most important, don't let any of the posters above sway you to take more time off of studying for this job. Personally, I was hired with CEP, but I'm sure the process is the same with scribeamerica (a company that I sincerely cannot stand). I would say make your proposed availability very open to increase your chances of getting the job (even if your availability is truly not what you said). This availability is not going to be set in stone so use it to your benefit. The training they make you go through is pretty intense, so they will have a large investment in you and will not fire you because they unrealistically expect you to work full time. That being said, as you should not let this company screw you over, you also shouldn't screw them over, I think 4-6 shifts per month is very reasonable and realistic, so if they expect more than that for a part time job, in all honestly, feel free to lie to them about your schedule to get the job during the interview. As I said, they are not going to fire you after investing all the resources they have into you because you cannot work an extra 3-4 shifts per month

Can I say that your are suggesting me to tell them that I have "open availability" but in fact I do not?

 

[FlyerScribe]

I've heard that roughly 40% of new hirees get fired for not completing training up to standards. What is your take on this? Is it true? Why do so many fail?

I know that at a rival scribe co i worked for, this was largely do to the poor training. They switched over to an online training and the qaulity of scribes went way down. But another reason was many people dont realize that scribing is an intense JOB. It is a JOB. Not a breeze thru resume padder but a JOB. If your a fry cook and cant get the orders out good and fast enough you'll be fired. Same principle applies here. You can't get quality charts churned out in a timely fashion. You'll be fired. You're there to make the docs life easier, if you dont, whats the point if you being there. All that being said, scribing is a great experience. You get good at it, you'll be able to learn about cases that will put you years ahead of your peers. The docs will teach you and write you great letters. Truly is worth doing for a time (unfortunately the scribe co, know this and abuse this fact). You'll hate your company you work for but love the hospitals and docs you work with. Good luck

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[flavoroflife]

I've heard that roughly 40% of new hirees get fired for not completing training up to standards. What is your take on this? Is it true? Why do so many fail?

I know that at a rival scribe co i worked for, this was largely do to the poor training. They switched over to an online training and the qaulity of scribes went way down. But another reason was many people dont realize that scribing is an intense JOB. It is a JOB. Not a breeze thru resume padder but a JOB. If your a fry cook and cant get the orders out good and fast enough you'll be fired. Same principle applies here. You can't get quality charts churned out in a timely fashion. You'll be fired. You're there to make the docs life easier, if you dont, whats the point if you being there. All that being said, scribing is a great experience. You get good at it, you'll be able to learn about cases that will put you years ahead of your peers. The docs will teach you and write you great letters. Truly is worth doing for a time (unfortunately the scribe co, know this and abuse this fact). You'll hate your company you work for but love the hospitals and docs you work with. Good luck

FlyerScribe is right- scribing is a job, meaning you have obligations to not only your employer, but also the provider that you'll be working with that day. I hate ScribeAmerica with a passion (because of the corporate leadership and bureaucracy and all that crap), but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my providers and my hospital. I've learned so much being a scribe, and in turn you will find your role models and mentors if you do a good job and show your providers that you are hardworking and committed. I even had one who offered to be my preceptor if I get accepted into my state school.

@LoveBeingHuman:) Training is intense and it is essentially a crash course in medical terminology and then we set our trainees up with 5-7 days of floor training. The only reason we will "fail" people is if they're not making consistent progress, because in all honesty, I don't believe people become good at charting until 3 months of consistently working on the job.

 

[flavoroflife]

Your school is most important, don't let any of the posters above sway you to take more time off of studying for this job. Personally, I was hired with CEP, but I'm sure the process is the same with scribeamerica (a company that I sincerely cannot stand). I would say make your proposed availability very open to increase your chances of getting the job (even if your availability is truly not what you said). This availability is not going to be set in stone so use it to your benefit. The training they make you go through is pretty intense, so they will have a large investment in you and will not fire you because they unrealistically expect you to work full time. That being said, as you should not let this company screw you over, you also shouldn't screw them over, I think 4-6 shifts per month is very reasonable and realistic, so if they expect more than that for a part time job, in all honestly, feel free to lie to them about your schedule to get the job during the interview. As I said, they are not going to fire you after investing all the resources they have into you because you cannot work an extra 3-4 shifts per month

School is absolutely important, so if school is your number one priority right now, I would hesitate to take on a scribing job because as I and the other posters have said, training is intense. Training is essentially like taking another class with quizzes at the beginning of each classroom training session, and you have to pass the final exam in order to progress to floor training. We will let you go if you do not pass the final exam. Part time is a minimum of 2 shifts/week, and we require our part-timers to work at least 2 overnights a month. I'm not trying to discourage you from interviewing, but I'm trying to give you a realistic idea of what you'll be getting yourself into.

The job is flexible in the sense that you essentially get to make your own schedule, but you have to be available enough that I can at least schedule you for a minimum of 2 shifts/week. You could lie about your availability, but it's going to become apparent very quickly when you aren't able to make it the classroom trainings and the floor trainings.

 

[bbdylan87]

Can I say that your are suggesting me to tell them that I have "open availability" but in fact I do not?

Not open in the sense that you are free 24/7, but list all the times you are not in class (including night times), and when they ask if you can commit to all of these times, reply yes. I've also never heard of an actual quiz you need to take, for CEP there was a probationary period but never formal quizzes. Anyways, being a scribe is great experience and all, but those who hire during the interview make it sound like scribing is the best experience you can get, if you ask me, the idea of scribing is highly exaggerated by premeds and considered less than clinical volunteer experience by adcoms. I will agree however that there is a very steep learning curve, my trainee colleagues were dropping left and right like flies because they had to be let go. Not really something you can prepare for, so I wouldn't really worry about it outside of your time actually scribing. If you want the job, this is all you need to convey during the interview, nothing more:

Passion for medicine, flexibility, professionalism

 

[altblue]

To be honest, I didn't think my group SA interview was especially intense or selective. Many people who made it to training didn't give especially strong answers or even came off as overly anxious during the interview. They did, however, have excellent availability compared to the others who didn't make it.