Abstract
Background: Studies report the benefit of medical scribes in the emergency department on patient throughput, clinical documentation, patient outcomes, and provider and patient satisfaction. However, studies are silent on the benefits of being a scribe for premedical and medical students.Methods: The senior author interviewed 8 scribes who were applying for medical school and 9 medical students who had been scribes prior to medical school. Discussion was prompted on undergraduate education; scribe recruitment and training; career intentions; experience as a scribe; and the value of being a scribe to themselves, to the doctors with whom they worked, and to the hospital where they were employed.Results: The typical scribe had become a scribe to support his or her chances of entry into medical school. Those already in medical school were not convinced that this experience had actually made a difference in their acceptance. All 17 scribes were emphatic that the role had benefitted them in other ways, specifically, by learning medical terminology, observing communication between doctor and patient, and understanding the practice of medicine in an emergency department. For many scribes, the experience reinforced the desire to become a doctor. The scribes recognized their value in the areas of process and finance. They also recognized that many doctors, particularly those working in academic health centers, derived satisfaction from the training and mentoring that they offered.Conclusion: Scribes perceive the role of a scribe to be highly valuable in terms of their career decision making and future medical education.
Highlights
After they are trained in medical terminology, charting methods, physical assessment, clinical investigations and interpretation of findings, elements of professionalism, and bedside etiquette, scribes follow doctors during patient care to record patient data and procedures
The American College of Medical Scribe Specialists estimates an increase from 20,000 scribes in 2015 to 100,000 by 2020.4 Despite the popularity of scribes in the United States, their use is not common outside of the US health system; the use of scribes has been described in Canada[5] and Australia.[6,7]
The entire premed cohort intended to continue in the role until they were accepted into medical school
Summary
After they are trained in medical terminology, charting methods, physical assessment, clinical investigations and interpretation of findings, elements of professionalism, and bedside etiquette, scribes follow doctors during patient care to record patient data and procedures. Discussion was prompted on undergraduate education; scribe recruitment and training; career intentions; experience as a scribe; and the value of being a scribe to themselves, to the doctors with whom they worked, and to the hospital where they were employed. Results: The typical scribe had become a scribe to support his or her chances of entry into medical school Those already in medical school were not convinced that this experience had made a difference in their acceptance. The experience reinforced the desire to become a doctor The scribes recognized their value in the areas of process and finance. They recognized that many doctors, those working in academic health centers, derived satisfaction from the training and mentoring that they offered. Conclusion: Scribes perceive the role of a scribe to be highly valuable in terms of their career decision making and future medical education
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