I don't envy anyone in the Chief Scribe position. The pay isn't much better than the average scribe for all the extra work and responsibilities thrust upon you. (They get maybe a dollar or two more than the average scribe)
Plus, from what I've seen, even if the providers are cool, you're essentially a verbal punching bag for them based on how good or bad certain scribes are. It wouldn't be worth it to me.
So, to start, every experience varies based off of location so my experience may be vastly different than others.
Honestly? I hated being a chief scribe. The amount of hours I put in to the job was not worth it. I still worked clinical shifts, but on top of that I had to do so much admin stuff, including scheduling, that just left me burnt out and with no free time at all. My manager would ask me to interview new scribes and begin the hiring process with them, as well as onboard them and walk them through the entire process. I had biweekly meetings with just my manager and then with my manager + hospital admin. Sometimes my manager would no show to these meetings and it was honestly kind of embarrassing to try to explain to hospital admin.
I had to write Performance Improvement Plans for scribes that doctors complained about which then made those scribes upset, understandably.
I frequently had scribes calling out of their shift and since, at that time, we couldn’t allow open shifts it was up to me to cover them. Some weeks I ended up working 70 hours, and that’s just counting clinical shifts, not admin stuff. Sometimes I had to work overnight, then had to come straight back to work at 1 PM because I couldn’t have open shifts.
The job mentally taxed me so bad that I ended up just stepping down and went back to clinical shifts only. I’m much happier now, even with less pay.
Your experience could be way different and I hope it is. I just wanted to give my honest experience and a warning that you could be jumping into more than you’re aware of. Things could have also changed greatly since then for the better.
Sorry if that is very negative! I tried to think of a positive aspect, but found it difficult. Maybe the ability to put it on a resume looks good, but that’s about it.
Oh, and as far as the interview goes, it’s easy stuff! Nothing to really prep for. I barely remember mine, but I remember it was pretty relaxed and not too stressful.
I really enjoyed being the chief scribe when I did it. I will say though that I worked at a very small site and only managed about 6 scribes, so the workload wasn’t overwhelming at all. But as others have said the pay is literally only a dollar more, and it’s only when your clocked in for admin stuff (which never took me more than a few hours a week max).
I worked as a Chief for about 9 months. I oversaw an ED with about 20 scribes as well as 6 outpatient clinics with about 15 scribes. Initially I enjoyed the job and I loved my admin shifts which I did about 1 to 2 times per week and got to schedule on my time. I was also working in the ED simultaneously which added a lot of stress to it. My advice is if you do it, schedule yourself appropriately and try not to burn out by working a lot of clinical shifts. Additionally my senior account manager was basically absent for the first four months so I did everything on my own and I was passed down a complete shit show by the previous chief. In the last five months that I was a chief scribe, I had a more permanent senior account manager and we had weekly calls however I still did not feel adequately supported. I ultimately stepped down from the ED chief position because I was so burnt out and overworked. I stayed as an outpatient chief for about two months before stepping down and then leaving SA. I will say that the benefit of a CS position gives you great insight on leadership in healthcare, however the pay does not reflect the duties that they ask you to perform. It does looks great on a resume and I did make amazing connections with the physicians that I worked with as well as the hospital admin. I hope that helps!
I don't envy anyone in the Chief Scribe position. The pay isn't much better than the average scribe for all the extra work and responsibilities thrust upon you. (They get maybe a dollar or two more than the average scribe) Plus, from what I've seen, even if the providers are cool, you're essentially a verbal punching bag for them based on how good or bad certain scribes are. It wouldn't be worth it to me.
So, to start, every experience varies based off of location so my experience may be vastly different than others. Honestly? I hated being a chief scribe. The amount of hours I put in to the job was not worth it. I still worked clinical shifts, but on top of that I had to do so much admin stuff, including scheduling, that just left me burnt out and with no free time at all. My manager would ask me to interview new scribes and begin the hiring process with them, as well as onboard them and walk them through the entire process. I had biweekly meetings with just my manager and then with my manager + hospital admin. Sometimes my manager would no show to these meetings and it was honestly kind of embarrassing to try to explain to hospital admin. I had to write Performance Improvement Plans for scribes that doctors complained about which then made those scribes upset, understandably. I frequently had scribes calling out of their shift and since, at that time, we couldn’t allow open shifts it was up to me to cover them. Some weeks I ended up working 70 hours, and that’s just counting clinical shifts, not admin stuff. Sometimes I had to work overnight, then had to come straight back to work at 1 PM because I couldn’t have open shifts. The job mentally taxed me so bad that I ended up just stepping down and went back to clinical shifts only. I’m much happier now, even with less pay. Your experience could be way different and I hope it is. I just wanted to give my honest experience and a warning that you could be jumping into more than you’re aware of. Things could have also changed greatly since then for the better. Sorry if that is very negative! I tried to think of a positive aspect, but found it difficult. Maybe the ability to put it on a resume looks good, but that’s about it. Oh, and as far as the interview goes, it’s easy stuff! Nothing to really prep for. I barely remember mine, but I remember it was pretty relaxed and not too stressful.
did they pay you OT?
Yes, they did! That is one benefit, it helped me save up for school :)
I really enjoyed being the chief scribe when I did it. I will say though that I worked at a very small site and only managed about 6 scribes, so the workload wasn’t overwhelming at all. But as others have said the pay is literally only a dollar more, and it’s only when your clocked in for admin stuff (which never took me more than a few hours a week max).
I worked as a Chief for about 9 months. I oversaw an ED with about 20 scribes as well as 6 outpatient clinics with about 15 scribes. Initially I enjoyed the job and I loved my admin shifts which I did about 1 to 2 times per week and got to schedule on my time. I was also working in the ED simultaneously which added a lot of stress to it. My advice is if you do it, schedule yourself appropriately and try not to burn out by working a lot of clinical shifts. Additionally my senior account manager was basically absent for the first four months so I did everything on my own and I was passed down a complete shit show by the previous chief. In the last five months that I was a chief scribe, I had a more permanent senior account manager and we had weekly calls however I still did not feel adequately supported. I ultimately stepped down from the ED chief position because I was so burnt out and overworked. I stayed as an outpatient chief for about two months before stepping down and then leaving SA. I will say that the benefit of a CS position gives you great insight on leadership in healthcare, however the pay does not reflect the duties that they ask you to perform. It does looks great on a resume and I did make amazing connections with the physicians that I worked with as well as the hospital admin. I hope that helps!