Medical Scribe or PT Aide for MD?

[bobeanie95]

Hello,

I'm currently trying to decide between two jobs: Medical Scribe or Physical Therapy aide.

The medical scribe is mostly taking down notes for the physician during consults.

The PT Aide position is at a private business that deals mostly with individuals having pain or recovering from surgery. My responsibilities would include teaching the patient/client the exercises, correcting them and so on.

The pay for both is equally bad. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either or if one would help more for medical school and/or the admission process (ie. interview, resume, etc).

Thank you!

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[Kpw101]

In my opinion being a scribe would be a better position. PT jobs don't usually involve a physician on site I believe. If they do, you won't be spending a lot of time with them. Being a scribe, you'll see what doctors do on a day to day basis which is far more valuable. If you do decide to be a PT aide however make sure your shadowing is up to par.

 

[leagueofDravenMD]

I agree with Kpw101. As a scribe your job is solely note taking, but you work with a physician and can learn alot on the job. The doc I worked with even let me shadowed a few surgeries, and gave me a rediculous amount of attention in the operating room to teach me stuff. Plus you'll be a boss at SOAP notes and history taking. If you can, pick a department that interests you.

If its not too late it could be a great rec letter, or at the very least a great talking point during interviews.

 

[kamakazi5]

As long as you're doing sufficient shadowing I feel patient interaction is better for you than getting more physician interaction. This is just my opinion and I know most don't feel this way. What's more important to you?

 

[leagueofDravenMD]

As LizzyM puts it, if you can smell the patient its patient interaction. As a scribe you are in the room with both the patient and the doc.

I still think scribing is a better idea. You can spin it as patient interaction and shadowing.

 

[hmdoops]

I've been working as a PT aide during this application cycle, and I truly believe that it has strengthened my interviewing skills and my ability to communicate with people who I may or may not have anything in common with.

I spend the majority of my time chatting with patients to make them feel comfortable in an unfamiliar environment and teaching/explaining exercises that not everyone understands right away.

I did have paid clinical exposure prior to accepting the PT aide position, but I certainly think that working in a PT clinic has its own benefits that differ from those you would see working as a medical scribe.

 

[docE15]

I've had experience in both positions and I really do think they both offer their own benefits/strengths. PT experience allows you to actually interact with patients and improve your communication and comfort level with patients as a provider. As a scribe, you have the ultimate chance to really get to know a physician's medical decision making process. However, most scribing positions do not allow you to directly interact, touch, or provide direct care to patients. I believe scribing was much more valuable than shadowing, but should not be compared with PT aide. You should take a look at the experiences you have and see which one will fill any holes in your application. If you want something hands-on, go for PT aide. If you need more time in hospital/physician/shadowing setting, scribe is the way to go.


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[takeurmeds02]

I'd say scribing. It's benefited me a lot since starting medschool. It helps put a lot of what you're learning into context.

You also have a more intimate understanding of how medicine is practiced in the real-world; you're a beast at writing SOAP notes and have some understanding of how to work-up and manage common complaints.

But I guess at the end of the day, whatever you miss choosing one job over the other, you'll eventually learn it all anyway.

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Hello,

I'm currently trying to decide between two jobs: Medical Scribe or Physical Therapy aide.

The medical scribe is mostly taking down notes for the physician during consults.

The PT Aide position is at a private business that deals mostly with individuals having pain or recovering from surgery. My responsibilities would include teaching the patient/client the exercises, correcting them and so on.

The pay for both is equally bad. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either or if one would help more for medical school and/or the admission process (ie. interview, resume, etc).

Thank you!

Hi there! I'm quite jelly that you have the opportunity to choose between being a scribe or a PT as a part time job. I was just wondering how you were able to find these jobs? Are you under a company for the scribe or is it in a private business? Also, how did you go about asking for a job in a private medical business? Did you just go to their office or applied online?

I hope that you can answer some of my questions since I've been looking for a medical related part-time job but no luck on my end...
I wish you all the best!! 🙂

 

[bobeanie95]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! It does seems like scribing would be the better option since I'm shadowing a physician. However, I've just been offered a position as a Nutrition Technician at a Hospital. I would essentially help patients order food, ensuring meals are correct with physician's description, etc.

I would still have direct patient contact, but could the scribe position still be more valuable since I'm also shadowing? (I'm currently interpreting for doctors at a clinic so I would have shadowing there).

@FutureDoctorX-men to address your question the scribe position is through a company but the PT aide is private. I would suggest really digging through online job search engines and applying to many clinically related jobs. The turnover isn't great (especially if you're not certified) but it's definitely possible to land a job. Good luck!

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! It does seems like scribing would be the better option since I'm shadowing a physician. However, I've just been offered a position as a Nutrition Technician at a Hospital. I would essentially help patients order food, ensuring meals are correct with physician's description, etc.

I would still have direct patient contact, but could the scribe position still be more valuable since I'm also shadowing? (I'm currently interpreting for doctors at a clinic so I would have shadowing there).

@FutureDoctorX-men to address your question the scribe position is through a company but the PT aide is private. I would suggest really digging through online job search engines and applying to many clinically related jobs. The turnover isn't great (especially if you're not certified) but it's definitely possible to land a job. Good luck!

Thank you for responding back to me! Just one last question, do you by any chance also have a certificate? Thank u!

 

[Tenk]

Scribe

 

[bobeanie95]

Thank you for responding back to me! Just one last question, do you by any chance also have a certificate? Thank u!

No, I don't

 

[QuentinT88]

Scribing is good to a point...I've done it for a year now and I'm about to quit in a few weeks. Its great experience and exposure to medicine but the pay sucks balls. And if you work in the ER the hours are inconsistent

 

[DPTinthemaking15]

Sorry for asking this question on your thread OP. Anyways, I was a PT aide for around 2-3 years and received 2,000+ hours. Half of those hours were spent in the hospital helping patients post-op. Seeing that I have a decent amount of clinical experience, how many shadowing hours would be sufficient? I've shadowed a surgeon for 50-60 hours as of right now, but I don't know what admission committees expect. My Pre-med advisor hasn't specified on this topic. Any help would be appreciated.