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I didn't go through scribe america but worked as an ER scribe for a bit over a year and you pick it up in person really quickly, especially with the bread and butter type cases (e.g. CP or UTI) since it basically becomes muscle memory. Good luck!
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If you haven't worked in the healthcare setting before writing notes, then there definitely are growing pains. I needed a few months of training before I felt ready to be released as an independent scribe, and eventually became a chief scribe and helped people work through the same adjustments. Starting out, you can write a list to have nearby of what to include: chief complaint including time/date of onset, progressive symptoms, modifying factors (what makes x symptom better or worse), descriptors like severity and whether they took medication, pertinent negatives, significant social factors possibly at hand, at the very end drug allergies or current medications, etc. That way you can sort of mentally check them off. I would say the most difficult part is learning to filter what is pertinent in the patient's story to add to the note and what is not necessary. Everything should relate back to the CHIEF complaint.
The good news is that medicine speaks a similar language throughout disciplines. These skills will be easily translatable to working as an EMT/paramedic, PA/NP, or physician. Once you hone in on these skills, you develop that mind for medicine (or at least what the insurance companies want in a note for full reimbursement). It just takes practice, practice, practice at the beginning, but once you develop some skill and confidence in it, it can become cakewalk as you develop an intuition for routine appointments.
The good news is that medicine speaks a similar language throughout disciplines. These skills will be easily translatable to working as an EMT/paramedic, PA/NP, or physician. Once you hone in on these skills, you develop that mind for medicine (or at least what the insurance companies want in a note for full reimbursement). It just takes practice, practice, practice at the beginning, but once you develop some skill and confidence in it, it can become cakewalk as you develop an intuition for routine appointments.
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I went into scribing with no prior healthcare experience too. It was a little bit slow at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes much easier. After like two or three weeks I had no problems at all. You eventually get used to the EMR and the doctor's flow, which makes things go more smoothly.
It also helps immensely if you have a more experienced scribe there on the first few days who can help you out and if you have an understanding and helpful doctor. I did have the former but unfortunately not the latter, but it worked out in the end anyway.
It also helps immensely if you have a more experienced scribe there on the first few days who can help you out and if you have an understanding and helpful doctor. I did have the former but unfortunately not the latter, but it worked out in the end anyway.
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I am currently a SA scribe for a pediatric PCP. I finished the virtual centralized SA training in January and trained under an experienced scribe for two weeks after that. There was definitely a learning curve, as I took a few weeks to get comfortable and efficient with scribing. I have been scribing independently for 2.5 months now and feel pretty good about having my bearing on things.
I remember feeling overwhelmed writing the HPI for those hypothetical scenarios too. Remember, those are intentionally overloaded scenarios that do not represent what you do on the real job. When you get to train for your actual clinician, you will learn that scribing is very provider- and department-specific. They have established notetaking templates or Smarttexts (if they use Epic) for established conditions/visits (in the case of my provider: well-child exam, ADHD, Newborn weight check, etc) that auto-fills a lot of information for you so you only need to edit/write in certain fields. Each clinician/provider also has their own preference and little quirks about how they like their notes, which are much more important to learn than anything SA teaches you.
Also just as a general thing, patients do not talk nearly as fast/coherent as in those hypothetical scenarios. They pause, they ask questions, providers (ideally) spend time going over everything, so actual scribing is nowhere near as fast-paced. Again, those scenarios are super-condensed, ultra-hypothetical cases because SA wants to throw everything at us
TL;DR don't get caught up by SA training and just focus on the training you will do at your actual workplace/with the provider you are scribing for.
Good luck!
I remember feeling overwhelmed writing the HPI for those hypothetical scenarios too. Remember, those are intentionally overloaded scenarios that do not represent what you do on the real job. When you get to train for your actual clinician, you will learn that scribing is very provider- and department-specific. They have established notetaking templates or Smarttexts (if they use Epic) for established conditions/visits (in the case of my provider: well-child exam, ADHD, Newborn weight check, etc) that auto-fills a lot of information for you so you only need to edit/write in certain fields. Each clinician/provider also has their own preference and little quirks about how they like their notes, which are much more important to learn than anything SA teaches you.
Also just as a general thing, patients do not talk nearly as fast/coherent as in those hypothetical scenarios. They pause, they ask questions, providers (ideally) spend time going over everything, so actual scribing is nowhere near as fast-paced. Again, those scenarios are super-condensed, ultra-hypothetical cases because SA wants to throw everything at us
TL;DR don't get caught up by SA training and just focus on the training you will do at your actual workplace/with the provider you are scribing for.
Good luck!
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You pick it up after a few shifts. Maybe 4-5 12 hour shifts. I never trained anyone that couldn’t handle it after 80ish hours of on the job training and no outside study. The main thing is learning the vocabulary and the EMR. Ask questions when you don’t understand what to write and eventually you won’t have to ask questions that often.
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I'll echo another poster's comment: having a mental (or written) "template" for how you formulate an HPI tends to be helpful for new scribes. In the ED, this is what I give new trainees:
Chief complaint + Onset
Location
Duration
Characteristics (quality, constant/intermittent, radiation, severity)
Modifying factors (anything make it better or worse? can also include treatments tried, if any)
Associated symptoms + other relevant information
Denies (pertinent negatives)
This might not work if you're not in the ED, or if your providers like shorter/longer notes. You're also not always going to hit all of the above points. But should give you an example if you're struggling to organize information quickly.
Chief complaint + Onset
Location
Duration
Characteristics (quality, constant/intermittent, radiation, severity)
Modifying factors (anything make it better or worse? can also include treatments tried, if any)
Associated symptoms + other relevant information
Denies (pertinent negatives)
This might not work if you're not in the ED, or if your providers like shorter/longer notes. You're also not always going to hit all of the above points. But should give you an example if you're struggling to organize information quickly.
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