Patient Transport or Scribe?

[xbowers003]

Im currently doing patient transport, but now have the potential opportunity to be an ER scribe at the hospital I work at.

Any advice on what you would do? I get plenty of patient contact with transport, but I wish I did more and was learning more for my hopeful medical school years. The great thing about Transport though is that Im "on-call" and can set my hours as I see fit.

I know the Scribe is "part time" meaning 16-24 hours a week...I have Physics 1 and Orgo 1 this semester, and I hold academics in my highest regard. And I feel all around the scribe may possibly offer me better clincal experience...just hopefully not at the expense of my grades.

Any advice?

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[WildEMDoc]

Im currently doing patient transport, but now have the potential opportunity to be an ER scribe at the hospital I work at.

Any advice on what you would do? I get plenty of patient contact with transport, but I wish I did more and was learning more for my hopeful medical school years. The great thing about Transport though is that Im "on-call" and can set my hours as I see fit.

I know the Scribe is "part time" meaning 16-24 hours a week...I have Physics 1 and Orgo 1 this semester, and I hold academics in my highest regard. And I feel all around the scribe may possibly offer me better clincal experience...just hopefully not at the expense of my grades.

Any advice?

Scribing was, hands down, the best experience I had before medical school.

 

[Lya]

It depends on what you want from clinical experiences. If you want to work with ER doctors and learn about everything they do, take the ER scribe job. If you want more direct interactions with patients, understand how nursing units and other departments run, and glimpse into what various technicians and other entry-level employees do, take the transport position.

I expect many people will recommend the scribe, and I see nothing wrong with it. Ultimately, it depends on your time management and interests.

 

[Pose]

Uhm...scribe. Hands the eff down. There's probably no better way to see what it's like to be a doctor.

 

[eefen]

It depends on what you want from clinical experiences. If you want to work with ER doctors and learn about everything they do, take the ER scribe job. If you want more direct interactions with patients, understand how nursing units and other departments run, and glimpse into what various technicians and other entry-level employees do, take the transport position.

This pretty much sums it up.

I did both - I was a patient transporter for about two years, and then an ED scribe for another two years. If I had to choose one experience, I would go with scribing. That being said, both positions can offer valuable experience and both were discussed during my interviews. The story that became the foundation of my personal statement came from my transport job...but I also got some great LORs from the docs that I worked with as a scribe (and a going away gift!).

The patient transporter job was great for seeing how the hospital functions as a dynamic whole and understanding what each department did. The scribing job was great for understanding what it was really like to be a doctor and what was going on inside of the doctor's head, and was also great for learning a little medicine and how to write a note.

How long have you been a patient transporter for?

 

[Phosphorus Ylide]

Scribing gave me the advantage of familiarity and helped me multiple times during my preclinical year exams and on wards last year. Though I didn't necessarily understand the pathophysiology at the time, I started associating certain complaints with diagnoses and tests to order. As my knowledge filled in the gaps, I had better memory of the things I had seen in the ED because then I had patients or situations to apply them to. Drug names, tests, diagnoses, etc. were helpful to already know.

 

[xbowers003]

This pretty much sums it up.

I did both - I was a patient transporter for about two years, and then an ED scribe for another two years. If I had to choose one experience, I would go with scribing. That being said, both positions can offer valuable experience and both were discussed during my interviews. The story that became the foundation of my personal statement came from my transport job...but I also got some great LORs from the docs that I worked with as a scribe (and a going away gift!).

The patient transporter job was great for seeing how the hospital functions as a dynamic whole and understanding what each department did. The scribing job was great for understanding what it was really like to be a doctor and what was going on inside of the doctor's head, and was also great for learning a little medicine and how to write a note.

How long have you been a patient transporter for?

I've been transporting for only about 4 months. The hospital I work at just started contracting out for scribes, so here I am asking. What you said about transport I couldn't agree more with. It has given me valuable insight into the functioning of a hospital as a whole, and good amounts of patient interaction. I just now have peaked in performance at transport and would like to continue the trend upwards in gaining knowledge to prepare for med school.

Good for you for having 2 years of both! That's quite impressive. Most of my PS is already based off transport experiences too so I know the job was worth it.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

ER Scribe would be the best route to take.