Medical scribes work alongside doctors as assistants who jot down critical information about patients' histories, medications and complaints. These notes are then transformed into electronic medical records that can be accessed by a network of healthcare professionals.
For students pursuing a career in medicine, working as a scribe serves as a way of gaining clinical acumen through shadowing doctors and other providers. In my first week of med scribe training (albeit, I still have so much to learn), I've incorporated 5 key points to memory.
1. Knowing medical terminology isn't enough.
I took anatomy and physiology classes in high school. I've seen a few noteworthy episodes of "Untold Stories of the ER." I'm doing pretty well in college biology courses. I thought I was in great shape until I realized I forgot what exactly a pneumothroax entails.
It's important to stay fresh on terminology (some prefixes are more obvious than others) and brush up on some common medications. In short, it's impossible to know everything, but you will learn copious amounts of new information every day that you're in the hospital setting, and eventually, medical jargon will feel like second nature.
2. Training is one of the most fun and fast paced experiences you can imagine.
If it weren't for my awesome trainers, I'd be too overwhelmed to function. They've helped me to feel confident and competent in spite of the endless questions I generate. I've been lucky enough to score extremely knowledgeable and patient trainers each time I've worked thus far.
On my first day, I was already working on charts (with a lot of much-needed guidance) and learning how to write brief medical histories. Better yet, I got insider tips on the hospital food.
3. You will truly discover if a career in medicine is right for you.
Even after only a week of charting information and following doctors around, I've gained so much certainty in my passion for healthcare. It's a pretty awesome feeling knowing that the dream I've been chasing since I was a little girl still resonates with the woman I've grown up to be.
4. You create your own shorthand that's essentially illegible to anyone else.
It's obviously not practical to neatly write every letter of the word hyperlipidemia, so HDL becomes your normal abbreviation. Other times, you'll mix pictures with words, write only the first and last letters of a medication, etc. The shorthand you develop is basically your own language, and it saves time so you can absorb more details about each patients' individual case.
5. You realize how human doctors, nurses, PAs, and patients are.
Doctors crack their own lame jokes, nurses go the extra mile to put a little pep in their step, and PAs work their a**es off. They're just so cool and you naturally aspire to be like them. Equally important, you develop empathy for patients and their concerns. Plus you gain an uncontrollable desire to wear scrubs all the time.
Essentially, if I do my job correctly and efficiently, a doctor can treat more patients in less time. With that in mind, it's effortless to work as hard as I can so that one day, I can have my own scribes and relate to the position that they're in.
