Which job to take? Scribe

[CuriosityKillsMe]

I've been offered a position in a small doctor's office as a scribe/technician at 14 dollars/hour. At the same time I'm applying for scribeamerica and a large hospital in my area. What would you take or do and why?

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[Planes2Doc]

Which one is going to give you the best schedule to study? Your grades are far more important than entry-level clinical work. If a scribing gig ends up destroying your GPA or MCAT, then you will be fighting an uphill battle as your clinical experience won't make up for it. Do you know this doctor or staff at the office? If you get a lot of down time to study, it may be better than Scribe America. Scribe America is a brilliant company that takes advantage of pre-meds, which is great for their bottom line, but not for yours. Good luck with whatever your decision may be!

 

[CuriosityKillsMe]

Which one is going to give you the best schedule to study? Your grades are far more important than entry-level clinical work. If a scribing gig ends up destroying your GPA or MCAT, then you will be fighting an uphill battle as your clinical experience won't make up for it. Do you know this doctor or staff at the office? If you get a lot of down time to study, it may be better than Scribe America. Scribe America is a brilliant company that takes advantage of pre-meds, which is great for their bottom line, but not for yours. Good luck with whatever your decision may be!

I've already graduated and taken the MCAT and I'm using this gap year to increase my clinical exposure, so if I don't get in this cycle, which is possible, my resume is more padded.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I've already graduated and taken the MCAT and I'm using this gap year to increase my clinical exposure, so if I don't get in this cycle, which is possible, my resume is more padded.

Oh okay, that really changes things... I think either one would be fine, but either way, you should take the schedule into account. If the doctor's office has you working less hours, you can add more volunteering to pad your resume even further.

 

[CuriosityKillsMe]

My main concern is experience. The doctor's (opthamology) office, which has a very narrow demographic of patients seen, think queens population, explained the role as machine technician/scribe. If I am given a job at a large hospital/scribeamerica I'll be working in the ER most likely and I'm not sure about the role I'll have and what type of experience I'll be exposed to.

 

[Arturiase]

if pay is a choice take the local bc scribe will pay u minimum wage. otherwise next i would look at schedule optho clinic probably a 9-5 vs the ER where you could be working longer shifts but less often. Finally experience i dont think the adcoms will favor one over the other, but i think Er will prob be more interesting and see a wider range of patients and diseases.

 

[oregonian19]

Do people generally like working for Scribe America?

I just applied to them and they seem suspiciously eager to get me into an interview and starting training.

Given the sketchiness of Scribe America, the independent clinic might be better? But people are right, hours and pay really need to be considered.

 

[Aurarice]

I've been offered a position in a small doctor's office as a scribe/technician at 14 dollars/hour. At the same time I'm applying for scribeamerica and a large hospital in my area. What would you take or do and why?

Is the doctor's office full-time? Depending on the ScribeAmerica site, you may only be able to get two or three shifts a week, which is plenty to experience a significant part of what the emergency department has to offer. You COULD potentially take both, but remember to have time to pursue volunteering!
(FYI: Emergency scribes generally work either 8 or 12-hour shifts, depending on the site, and the hours can be all over the place. Be wary of your sleeping schedule)

Do people generally like working for Scribe America?
I just applied to them and they seem suspiciously eager to get me into an interview and starting training.
Given the sketchiness of Scribe America, the independent clinic might be better? But people are right, hours and pay really need to be considered.

Very high turnover in the role due to the surplus of medical school applicants means people pop in and out all the time.
It depends on what you mean by the "sketchiness". Poor pay is expected given the supply (of people who want the exposure) vs demand, unfortunately.
How much you enjoy it will depend on your site, the physicians there, the other scribes, and your local administration. My area was extremely flexible, understanding, and my coworkers were all perfect with regards to covering each others' shifts when needed. Other sites...not so much.

 

[Robin-jay]

Independent clinic.

 

[diene_daily]

If it's pay, I would take the local clinic. I've been with ScribeAmerica for two years and the pay is minimal (increases ~$2 after 90 days--depending on state minimum wage), but everyone going into the job is aware of this low pay and is mostly there for the experience (I've been lucky to move up in management).

If it's experience, definitely do the large hospital with SA. From experience, you see SO much, from the diversity of patients and their complaints, procedures, patient-physician interactions, etc. I just don't think you can get the same experience from an outpatient clinic with only one specialty, so it makes it worth it. The hours can be wiring, but if you're not in school and just in a gap year, it's totally doable.

I wouldn't say SA is the best company, but I also think it's site dependent. I love where I work and the physicians I work with (only reason I've stuck around for so long)

 

[dr_kateb]

Do people generally like working for Scribe America?

I just applied to them and they seem suspiciously eager to get me into an interview and starting training.

Given the sketchiness of Scribe America, the independent clinic might be better? But people are right, hours and pay really need to be considered.

LOL

Nope.

 

[PickleRickelus]

The hours are long and the pay is meager but scribing in the ER is a great way to see what medicine is like. Unlike outpatient clinics, ER doctors are generally free to order whatever tests they want in order to rule out acute conditions which can be a valuable learning experience. Every shift is different and the job never gets boring or mundane.

If you play your cards right, you may even secure a LOR from a physician or PA which can provide ADCOMS with an account of how well you handle stress. This shouldn't be too difficult because you are bound to work better with certain providers due to similarities in personality and work flow habits. In summation, I think the ER scribe gig would be better especially in your case since you are doing a gap year and the long hours won't interfere with your studies.

 

[CuriosityKillsMe]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. It seems as though the consensus is take the independent clinic/specialty if I'm concerned about money, take the ScribeAmerica/ER job if I'm concerned about personal experience. I just got off the phone with ScribeAmerica and they said they only place 5% of their scribes in the ER in my location, so it seems as though I'll take the ophthalmology office scribe/tech job. Hopefully I'll be able to get a recommendation out of it. Apparently there is an opening at a large hospital in the area who needs ER scribes specifically and I'll apply there as well.

 

[flatsilver]

Do people generally like working for Scribe America?

I just applied to them and they seem suspiciously eager to get me into an interview and starting training.

Given the sketchiness of Scribe America, the independent clinic might be better? But people are right, hours and pay really need to be considered.

They’re probably eager because the chief scribe is covering all the empty shifts and needs to find someone ASAP to work those unfilled shifts. At times this meant their previous scribe left abruptly, which may or may not indicate something bad with that environment.

You’ll definitely get a polarized biased view. People who worked there for 2 years will usually say good things. People who quit after a few months will usually say bad things.

 

[confusedstudent2195]

Just quit SA. Private practice or whatever all the way. At SA you're a mute behind the computer screen and there are so many administrative issues...They can't staff worth a damn and take advantage of any eager person willing to work. Please take my advice! The eye doc might be narrow scope, but you'll still learn SO much! And you'll get to talk to the patients, do their interview, and help with procedures, unlike with SA where you're just typing. It's so different typing versus actually speaking with humans...

As far as pay w/ SA I started off at 8$/hr then increased to 10$ after training. Not worth it.

 

[tekkenman11]

Scribe America is trash go with what pays more.