Scribe...?

[Dr. Geoff]

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I keep reading about what a great experience being an ER Scribe is... what kind of training is needed for that? How do you go about getting that kind of job? Do you need to find hospitals with a scribe program? Do you call around asking? Let me know.

Jeff

 

[j12]

I honestly don't know much about scribes but my undergrad just sent this out to all the pre-med students. It looks like all you need to do is be planning on applying to medical school and be willing to make a 1 year committment to be a scribe:

Scribes shadow the Emergency Room Physicians and do all the documentation as well as organize pending lab and x-ray results. Harris Methodist Fort Worth ER has used Scribes since 1995, and our oldest Scribes are now in practice as physicians. Medical students who have scribed say the experience has helped them dramatically with medical school. Many of our scribes get admitted to medical school every year leaving their positions open.


· We staff several Emergency Rooms around the Dallas/Fort Worth and East Texas area

· Applicants must be planning to attend medical school or PA school. This is a perfect job for post-baccalaureate year!

· Completion of Organic Chemistry is preferred but not mandatory.
· Flexible schedule: all scribes work days, nights, weekends, and some holidays. We will never schedule you to work when you have class. This is an intensive time commitment.· Part time positions: 2-year commitment and between 8-12 shifts/month (20-27 hrs/week) required.
· Full Time positions: 1-year commitment and between 16-19 shifts/month (>36 hrs/week) required. Health insurance provided for full-time scribes.
· No prior experience is necessary. Training is provided over a one-month period during the summer.
· Doctors benefit from the scribe program: increases their efficiency, makes their charts more legible, and makes their charts more complete documents.· Scribes benefit as well, they: learn the responsibilities of being a physician, craft their own style by observing and learning from different doctors, learn what specialty of medicine interests them, prepare for medical school interview, increase time management skills, improve note taking in school, and so much more! Many scribes say their grades improve. · The worst reason to become a scribe is to have something to put on your resume. Observations and volunteer work accomplish this goal. This job requires a very large commitment of time and energy.

Don’t delay!


We will be hiring soon for all positions for the next 12 months!​

· Visit the website to receive an application, or contact us below
· We are currently hiring for Dallas, Fort Worth and Tyler areas


Lindsey Hilliard PhysAssist, Inc.

Scribe Director 6451 Brentwood Stair Rd, Suite 200

(817) 966-0078 Fort Worth, TX 76112

[email protected]www.PhysicianScribes.com

 

[Blade28]

I keep reading about what a great experience being an ER Scribe is... what kind of training is needed for that? How do you go about getting that kind of job? Do you need to find hospitals with a scribe program? Do you call around asking? Let me know.

Jeff

Never heard of this - what exactly are these volunteers recording? 😕

 

[ryandote]

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[musashi]

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[magwi11]

Being a scribe is actually great clinical experience, I've been doing it for almost a year now. You do have to find a hospital with a program, and I am not sure how common they are. I'm in greater Washington, DC and I know of two in the area here, but I hadn't heard of it before I moved here. Different hospitals have different requirements in terms of time commitment. My particular job required a 1 year commitment and at least 2 8-hour shifts a week. We make peanuts, but we do get paid.

At the hospital where I work, the scribes are really used by the docs. We transcribe the intake, write down the history as they take it, track down and record lab and radiology results, and show them to the docs, and get to shadow the doctors through pretty much all their patients. It's given me a lot to talk about on interviews, but I imagine the experience varies depending where you are.

 

[LizM1023]

Where in the DC area do you work?

 

[Captain Fantastic]

The trauma hospital where I'm at hires EMT-Bs to tech and scribe in the ED.

 

[Raryn]

Theres a program run at one of our local hospitals here, but its a minimum two year commitment and I wasn't 18 two years ago. Its quite fascinating...

The scribes basically follow around the ER physicians and fill out most of the chart for them, with the physician finishing it off and signing it off.

The scribe is the emergency medicine physician's immediate assistant.
The scribe works one to one with the physician to document the history, physical exam, and the differential diagnoses for each patient that the physician sees.
The scribe:

• writes orders for lab work and imaging studies under the direction of the physician
• makes sure that physician orders are carried out
• presents all lab and imaging study results to the physician
• documents lab and imaging study interpretations as well as EKG interpretations for the physician
• documents medical procedures

By the end of the patient workup, the scribe has written the final diagnoses, after care plan, and prescription(s) as dictated and co-signed by the physician.
Scribes allow our emergency physicians to fulfill their mission of providing the highest quality of medical care in the most expeditious manner.
This is not a volunteer job. It is not just shadowing a physician. Scribes are compensated monetarily. However, the greatest reward is the unique learning experience to work at the level of a medical student.

http://statscribes.com/blog/

 

[baldwingrl89]

I started working as a scribe back in August and I love it! The experience is great and the docs really use us and benefit from us. You're with the doctor through the entire decision making process so you really get a sense of how the pts are being treated. You get training on the job and the time commitment is usually 1 yr. I work 3-4 10hr shifts a week.

Scribe programs aren't that widely publicized so somtimes it's hard to find one. Some hospitals affiliated with schools might have a program that you can call and ask about. There are some programs in CA, TX, and VA. I work at the Inova Fairfax hospital in Va. For some programs you have to "know someone" to get in.

 

[Caroline3690]

Being a scribe is actually great clinical experience, I've been doing it for almost a year now. You do have to find a hospital with a program, and I am not sure how common they are. I'm in greater Washington, DC and I know of two in the area here, but I hadn't heard of it before I moved here. Different hospitals have different requirements in terms of time commitment. My particular job required a 1 year commitment and at least 2 8-hour shifts a week. We make peanuts, but we do get paid.

At the hospital where I work, the scribes are really used by the docs. We transcribe the intake, write down the history as they take it, track down and record lab and radiology results, and show them to the docs, and get to shadow the doctors through pretty much all their patients. It's given me a lot to talk about on interviews, but I imagine the experience varies depending where you are.

Which hospitals in the DC area have scribe programs that you know of?
I'm working at NIH currently but my fellowship ends in July 2014. I'm applying next cycle to MD programs (matriculated in 2015) and I need a job during that year that I apply. I've been looking into scribe programs but don't know of any hospitals in the area.
Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

[RedClementine]

Scribing is in my opinion the number one experience any pre-med student can acquire. I've working for almost a thousand hours with more than 35 physicians at five hospitals. The training is minimal and requires only a few days of classroom training with a few training shifts. All are usually paid. The pay isn't that great but the experience is totally worth it. I've seen tons of procedures, illnesses, and the craziest stuff you could possibly imagine. I would totally recommend it to ANY and ALL pre-med students. It looks great putting down a thousand hours of shadowing on your application. And on top of it all you get to learn a ton of medical terminology because you are constantly using it while writing the charts for a physician. I can answer any questions about scribing or recommend scribe companies to work for. Sending me a PM will probably be best because I don't know if I'll get back to this thread anytime soon.

 

[Pacna]

I work as a scribe and it is bar none the best thing you can do pre-M1. I learn so much every day, and I have a doc to answer any questions I have 8 hours a day. You will not regret being employed as a scribe (unless you breach HIPAA).

 

[RedClementine]

Which hospitals in the DC area have scribe programs that you know of?
I'm working at NIH currently but my fellowship ends in July 2014. I'm applying next cycle to MD programs (matriculated in 2015) and I need a job during that year that I apply. I've been looking into scribe programs but don't know of any hospitals in the area.
Any help or advice is appreciated.

ScribeAmerica has a stronghold on most of Northern Virginia. You can fill out an application and apply to multiple hospitals at the same time. The scribe programs are usually pretty packed in that area but I would suggest applying again every few months. Usually the key to getting a job is availability. If you have seven days a week, 24 hours a day to work a few shifts, they'll likely highly consider you for the job. When it comes to scribe programs, usually all the people are "qualified" so it comes down to availability. Also, if you apply and don't hear back, don't continuously bother the chief scribe with "follow-up" emails. PM if you have anymore questions.

 

[AkGrown84]

Scribing is in my opinion the number one experience any pre-med student can acquire. I've working for almost a thousand hours with more than 35 physicians at five hospitals. The training is minimal and requires only a few days of classroom training with a few training shifts. All are usually paid. The pay isn't that great but the experience is totally worth it. I've seen tons of procedures, illnesses, and the craziest stuff you could possibly imagine. I would totally recommend it to ANY and ALL pre-med students. It looks great putting down a thousand hours of shadowing on your application. And on top of it all you get to learn a ton of medical terminology because you are constantly using it while writing the charts for a physician. I can answer any questions about scribing or recommend scribe companies to work for. Sending me a PM will probably be best because I don't know if I'll get back to this thread anytime soon.

While I agree with everything said in this, scribing (if that's a word!) is actually considered clinical experience, which is even better. I've been a scribe for about a year and a half, and it's definitely the greatest pre-med experience I've had thus far! I've talked to both my pre-med adviser, as well as some of the medical professors (who are ER docs), both of which say that it's considered clinical experience, and that med schools look very highly upon scribe experience. I don't know any other companies other than Scribe America (the one I work for!), but maybe a good google search will be helpful?!

 

[Bea5T]

Anyone know if there are any scribe programs/opportunities in the Bay area?

 

[mmbrink6]

I live in Northern VA/ DC and I am a scribe for a company called Emergency Medicine Associates (EMA). Great organization to work for, and the physicians who work for them are all great as well. Being an ER scribe is probably the most informative, educational, and telling experience you can gain if looking to go to med school, or PA school. I have heard mixed opinions on how highly schools look at scribe experience on your application. The only drawback to being a scribe, if you can even call it that, is you get no hands-on experience with patients. But you are boss at writing histories, learning how to dictate physicals, what meds get prescribed for different ailments, what labs and imaging get ordered for different differential diagnoses, you become more intuitive to ruling out different diagnoses with questions physicians ask their patients. And you get to work for 9-12 hour shifts with many different physicians each shift. So there are obviously a lot of perks to the job (income not necessarily being one of them), but emergency medicine is so diverse with patient demographics, different past histories, and present histories. You cover the spectrum of peds, psych, geri, pulm, cardio, trauma (depending), derm, neuro, and primary care.