Does anyone have experience with medical scribing who can give feedback on how beneficial it was? I have an interview for a medical scribe position, and I would love to do it for the learning experience. However, I’m a little concerned about the pay because I have 3 kids, and my husband is also going back to school. I have another job opportunity that would pay twice as much and give me more flexibility (possibly to volunteer in other settings).
I worked as a social worker in an emergency department alongside scribes. I think it would be very beneficial. Scribes accompany the doc to the patient room, take notes, and then learn how to write an H&P. If you’re lucky and you work alongside a mentoring type of physician, he or she might even write a recommendation for you. And more importantly, it is an incredible experience seeing the types of cases that come in. It would certainly make medicine come to life for you if you don’t have this kind of exposure already.
But i would like to add that i am a mom, any finances are important so listen to your gut and do what is best for you.
I’m currently scribing in the ED at a local hospital. The company I work with is very flexible, and I just pull 1-2 shifts per month on the weekends these days. I definitely don’t rely on it for my primary income. But, I do really enjoy the work.
We’re assigned to a single doctor for our shift, and we follow them into the rooms while they examine the patients and we record the history and physical exam findings. Plus, we get to see the results of the patients labs and imaging studies and how the docs disposition the patients. It’s a tremendous learning experience, especially in gaining familiarity with medical terminology. It also helps in a lot of other areas, like seeing how the docs approach the patients, how they focus their exams, what labs and meds they order for certain cases. It also gives insight into their differential diagnosis, and what they’re trying to test for or exclude. Last of all, it gives you a great example of what being a physician in the real world is like.
If you can make it work with your schedule and finances, I’d recommend it. However, keeping your family fed is definitely more important, so be sure that’s covered first.
There was just an article in the New York Times a few days ago on scribes; you can read it here. Enjoy!
Liza