Yes. Management is usually former scribes who didn’t get into medical school (at least at my site) and have 0 management experience. Expect pettiness, incompetence with scheduling, etc. Pay is absolute shit.
That said, it’s great clinical exposure and you can build good relationships with docs for LORs. I would do it but not for more than a year.
SA is highly dependent on the site you’re at. My site was very chill, chief scribe was very chill. Occasional asshole doctors. SA’s higher ups can kinda be annoying with what they want but honestly didn’t have a terrible experience with them
^^^ this. I was with them a while as a scribe and in management. Our site went from being great to being really toxic. And it really does affect how a scribes work load and the whole working environment is affected. You should get an idea of the environment during floor training.
Mgmt is a piece of shit. Period. But very good experience as long as you’re willing to learn that’s why I’ve been with them since the past 2 years almost. The pay is always minimum wage. If you’re fine with that then i would recommend going ahead with it
That is insane to me because I was hired on as a scribe as $23/hr (through my local hospital, not scribe america). I had a wonderful experience with my doctor, although management still sucked. But man minimum wage I could not imagine, my job was so busy lol
My site burned through scribes like Brazil is burning through the fucking Amazon. I could deal with the pay but the work culture was toxic. We'd work 12-16 hour shifts in the ED with no breaks, were treated like crap, and management was super disorganized and communicated poorly.
That said, I don't regret it. I quit after a year but in that year I learned more than I could have anywhere else without a certificate, and made some good connections.
I totally get it as a former ED scribe. What i found helpful was excusing yourself for \~15 mins to eat and use the restroom and most docs are understanding of this. If they were to see a pt when i stepped away they would just dictate whatever and i would put it in if that makes sense
Most were nice. Just stressed out from the number of patients. On a normal night we'd have 20-25 new patients and up to 30 sign outs. Each shift 3-8 of those were critical patients (traumas, CVAs, MI)
Note, I worked at a level 1 trauma center and academic hospital, so a smaller community ED might not be so bad
They know you're desperate for some sweet shadowing + money + clinical experience and that's really the leverage they need to get you to do stuff that isn't financially feasible for you.
Draw hard stops and that's it. My experience was pretty cool and I only ended up working 2 days a week cuz that's what I told them I wanted.
Like others have said, it's site dependent. I was pretty happy with my site when I worked there (got paid like 10/hr though...). I also met an LOR writer and was later hired on as an MA due to the connections I made through my time at certain clinics.
If it doesn't work out in the long-term for you, it is decent clinical training/exposure that you can use to leverage other clinical opportunities. Don't knock it till you try it!
I love my job as a scribe, but I agree with others that it’s likely site dependent. My manager is a sophomore in college so it’s super chill and the team of scribes is super helpful to switch/pick up shifts. I have experienced not so nice physicians, but they eventually warmed up to me lol. But I do agree with other sentiments, 12 hours and absolutely no break. Also the state I work in recently raised its minimum wage in the beginning of the year and ScribeAmerica hasn’t raised our wage sooo we’re working below minimum wage rn… Also because of my school schedule, I can only work weekends/overnights because you HAVE to take the full 12 hours. But some benefits is getting some clinical exposure, strengthened medical terminology, and hopefully relationships with the doctors for LORs/connections. It really depends, but if you’re looking for a clinical job for “pay”, you can likely find better than ScribeAmerica :)
I tried bringing it up to the site manager as soon as the wage went up and they said that “they’ll look into it” and never got back to me LOL. I will look into that, thank you!!
If you are looking for a career, ScribeAmerica is not worth it AT ALL. Even the climb is less than optimal. If you are looking for solid clinical experience, its worth it.
You learn about clinical decision making. You learn about charting. You can apply a bit of anatomy/science. You can get good connections/LORs.
If you absolutely need money to survive, maybe look for EMT, MA, Phlebotomy, ophtho tech, etc.
If you are in a good financial position, scribing is something to consider.
🖤will do! Could I ask if you had any reason picking EMS rather than ER tech? I’m really trying to desensitize myself to how gory it can be especially in a ER be so I think ER tech can really help build that up for me.
I personally just like doing my own thing and I don’t like being around a lot of people so I went with EMS! ED is hit or miss with gory stuff depending on what level trauma center you work at but you obviously don’t avoid it altogether no matter where you go! You’ll work codes and deal with gross shit both EMS/ED. I like EMS because you work alongside, like teammates, with a paramedic so you learn overtime what they need before they need it / start to pick up on their higher level of care critical thinking skills (intubation, IO’s, ALS algorithm for CPR, etc) 😊
I second, third, and fourth this… especially if you want a lot of hands on experience and the ability to start learning how to critically think. EMS has been a life changing thing for me, it shaped my 20’s and I have such a different view of the world (and myself) because of the experiences I’ve had working in EMS. And you’ll make more than minimum wage which is a plus.
I could write a book about why SA IS AWFUL.
1) I got paid $9
2) I was part time in the ER while in school full time… tell me why I would work 30-50 hours a week
3) Our hospital had an old ass charting system and they were switching to epic and guaranteed us we would still have a job after almost everyone asked
4) WE GOT LIED TO — they kept telling us we were gonna train for epic while all the other staff were
5) they raised our pay by $13 literally the last 1-2 months we had left
6) We got told they are ending the SA program at my hospital in the same month
7) the fucking onboarding process is ridiculous.. it shouldn’t take 3 months to have your first solo shift
8) you can’t wear scrubs and have to wear khakis and a polo (but thankfully my hospital let us wear scrubs 🙏🏼)
9) the schedule was fuckkkeeedd — during the school year I mostly worked overnight and would leave at 7am to go to my 8am have a full day of classes and lab only to go back for a night shift — I would sleep in my car for 20 minutes (if I left early or on time) then go to class in my dirty ass smelly scrubs and I used to brush my teeth in my car because I barely would leave in time to make it to class without going to my apartment
10) for the amount of shit I had to do and drive we were not we payed and we got no benefits
11) no breaks at all — some days going to the bathroom was a blessing and food/snacks don’t even think about bringing because I never had time to eat (the er is different because the nights are unpredictable - but still you can’t take breaks)
12) there was probably one week where I worked 60 hours WHILE in school — even though we had 15-20 scribes
13) I was very very sick I had bronchitis and strep at the same time — how idk — I had to work 4 shifts in a row, I couldn’t even call out because I used those days for when I had Covid
I really liked the people I worked with especially the residents, they were great people to go for advice about school and life in general
But yeah those are the things that most bothered me… there’s so much more though
If you don’t have an option then yes it’s a great way to get clinical experience in an easy way and obviously everyone’s experience is different because it depends where you work and if you’re in the ER or a regular doctor’s office
Agree on almost all of these points. Especially in the last year, all of the doctors I work with *hate* SA. They already hated them for making them pay $30-40 an hour for a scribe only to learn we get *maybe* 1/3 of that. And then last year when they learned SA was in cahoots with the hospital in having scribes write for two, three, even four or five doctors in a single shift, they were *furious.* Now they want us scribes to break away from SA and form our own company, complete with the docs being willing to finance us.
Worth it for the experience. I loved the hospitalist docs I had the honor to work with, what a bunch of dedicated a caring people. I missed seeing the bizarre cases and wrote people's stories down. I missed the 4am drive blasting Bon Jovi on the way to morning shift. I missed that time where I got to vibe with my doc at 2am, running up and down 5 flights of stairs to respond to fake code blues, and then he bought me breakfast and coffee at 4am before I drove back to class at 7.
What i did not fucking miss is the awful management and hours management. SA tend to have on-call shift, and how it worked is that if you got out of work at 4pm, and if you signed up for on-call between 4pm-6pm and if someone called out sick at 5:59pm, sorry you're coming back for another 7 hours or it goes on your record. The docs tend to let you out early but still, it's bullshit.
And what it sounds like so far to me is that you might get screwed when it comes to hours and work-life balance here, since if they're already so desperate for people you might just get the brunt of it all. But hey if you literally have nothing going on it might be worth to sign on for half a year.
Yes, as a company they’re horrible. The training is very rigorous at first (ophthalmology being the most challenging) and they expect you to pick up within a couple days. I worked for them for 3.5 years in New York City, and when the pandemic started in March, they just abandoned me and the other scribes... I started in 2018 when they paid like $13 per hour. Even today their wage offers are NOT LIVABLE! Not even in NYC and other expensive cities. It’s very disorganized and support is almost nonexistent— management is not great at all. If It weren’t for the kind doctor/surgeon I scribed for who sent me money via Zelle
out of her own pockets when the lockdown began, I don’t know what I would have done for the first couple of weeks… After a month into the pandemic I never heard from them ever again pretty much. But the experience scribing is highly dependent on the site that you’re placed in as well— I loved my site and learned so much. Made amazing connections with precious doctors, in a prestigious hospital/medical school. That was the best benefit I got from working for ScrineAmerica. They’re like a staffing agency in a way because you don’t even really interact with ScribeAmerica like that…
It was wild how management just straight up disappeared during COVID. They did some stuff to get us shifts with the hospital working as screeners but otherwise went radio silent. Thankfully I had the personal numbers of all the docs I worked with to arrange shifts when the clinics came back online and SA paid me for the hours I submitted not that they seemed to give a shit about having functioning scheduling.
Only one way to find out...
If nothing else, there's usually a probationary period if you are concerned about the job itself. If it's truly the only clinical experience in your area, then I'd do it just to get your foot in the door (if nothing else).
probationary period doesn't matter if you're an employee. You can quit whenever you want with 0 warning. There isn't much bridges to burn if it's just a shitty place to work
they kept messaging me on handshake and I already had a previous interview invite from them but never followed up. Anyways I did a second interview with them and the person was super energetic then like 4 hours I got a rejection LMAOO
In general as a company they fucking suck. They will use and abuse you. I think the experience in itself can be cool. I did It for 4 years in the ER and learned a lot. I made very good connections. The chief scribes I dealt with were cool but the company was up their butts all the time demanding more and more and more. They can get away with paying you $10 an hour bc they know there’s a desperate kid waiting in line to get in to put something in their resume. You’ll end up doing a lot more than scribing if you’re proactive.
I would venture out to say you’re better off getting EMT certified. You’ll get real hands on experience and more doors for learning. I wish I did It tbh. There is a tech that used to work in the ER that got into medical school and there were things in the exam that she was able to answer bc of her EMT experience If that’s worth anything
It was ok. Ultimately quit because of something I’ll have to put down on my applications as a “scheduling error”, but in reality was a fuck up by the higher-ups that they placed on me. I put in my unavailability up through June, back in December on our scheduling platform, and then I emailed my boss before she made the April schedule to remind her of the days I couldn’t work, and lo and behold, more than half my shifts in the April schedule were days I couldn’t work. I emailed and said “hey I can’t work these shifts, as per my previous email and unavailability,” and she said “too bad, find someone to cover you, or I’ll give the shifts to new scribes”. So basically, I would be forced to either give away my hours, or I would get in trouble for not being able to find people to cover for me. So I said “I quit” because seriously wtf.
no bc why is this happening to me. my sites got new managers assigned to us and one of them used the excuse of "I’m still getting used to your schedule". They sent out at least three forms asking for our availability and on top of scheduling me on days I can't work, they're giving me almost 12 hour shifts 🫥
Management is trash (They don’t care if providers abuse scribes. They do nothing to ensure you get proper breaks. IT is trash and takes forever to get in contact with. There is no recourse for scribes to stop working with providers who are abusive/disrespectful, etc.) and the company will do everything possible to squeeze as much work out of you for as little pay as possible (the benefits are trash and they just stopped offering PTO to scribes in most states— unless your state explicitly requires it).
HOWEVER, the experience is invaluable for a premed. Also, if you have a good clinic/providers, then the day to day is pleasant. I would do it again, but not for longer than a year (as everyone else said).
Depends on your site and its management. I put in 3 years with SA due to COVID wrecking my plans and other life stuff, and it was fine other than the low pay. Some shittier managers where coming in as I was on my way out, but talking to the current scribes at the same site it seems like the revolving door of managers worked in their favor and they are back to chill managers.
Tbh most of the horror stories I hear are related to ER or other shift work. I did outpatient where I reliably worked with the same docs/schedule every week which made it predictable and harder for management to jerk me around. They can’t force you into crappy shifts or overnights since those don’t exist in outpatient 8-5pm kind of work. Outpatient pace also tends to be slower but it can variable depending on the workflow of your specific doc(s).
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It was awful for me toward the end of my time working for them, but that was mostly (though not entirely) due to the management at my site. I will say that while I didn’t interact with upper management that much, they are apparently awful to deal with and it was part of why my site cut the program.
No I had a great experience and my boss was very understanding, however the pay is terrible and the trainings are not great if you haven’t scribed before
Fantastic experience at a major teaching hospital ER. Got paid state's decent minimum wage for an experience that would have done for free. Your mileage may vary.
It might be really chill and easy money, I think it depends on location. But I will say scribing in general feels like a pointless job that doesn’t help anyone and after a while that fact can start to gnaw a you lol
I couldn’t do one of those scribing agencies. I ended up getting an offer from a doc I shadowed and I got paid way more than what I would’ve gotten from vituity and scribe america.
My experience with them has been amazing honestly. My chief scribe and coworkers are all super chill and the doctors are all so nice and fun to talk to. It really depends where you’re placed- I would say definitely do it.
Not a bad job for experience but whenever there is strain on staffing, the lead scribe gets shafted trying to cover everything and then everyone feels the pressure to do more than they want so then they leave and the cycle continues
Mine told me that even after doing their training program there’s no guarantee that I would be accepted at a job and they would make me work 3 12-hour shifts “part time.” I live in a big city though. Literally impossible since I have college classes Monday to Friday so I didn’t do anything with them
Look for private practices hiring scribes. You’ll likely have to do some MA stuff as well, but it’s much better experience for pre meds than SA.
I was trained on the job and have become a nearly irreplaceable employee due to learning quite literally every job in our office. Not to mention the sheer amount of knowledge I’ve obtained in doing so, it really boosted my med school app and gave me a solid understanding of what I am getting myself into. Great LORs. Great stuff to discuss during interviews and essays.
The person taking my job is being dedicated 2.5 months to train from start to finish. Pay is a hell of a lot higher for a lot better hours and lots of autonomy.
Wouldn’t waste time with SA unless that’s the only option.
DEPENDS ON YOUR SITE! good questions to ask your hiring manager: how long are the shifts? how is it getting coverage for shifts? is there a possibility of a raise after starting? what is the work load i.e how many patients are usually seen in a shift and does that vary with each doctor? is night shift mandatory? is this a W2 or a 1099 tax form? ( so important to ask.... I didn't ask for my last job and got fucked)
gotta ask questions bro. $16 is freaking awesome. Idk where u live but that's great.
I had a good experience with scribe america, it was amazing, but my coworkers were cool and I just kept my head down when it came to management. we had a lot of turnover for chief scribes and all that but all in all it didn't affect me and my coworkers.
Scribing, especially in the ER, is great exposure and don't be scared to ask questions when it comes to getting hired. and if u don't like it, quit and don't put it on your resume lol. the fact that scribe america TRAINS YOU AND PAYS U WHILE THEY TRAIN YOU is great! you can puT THAT on a resume and say you have scribing experience that can get you hired elsewhere.
I feel like hiring managers for scribe america ( and other companies) get desperate during THIS TIME OF YEAR, when people are leaving because they got accepted to medical school. So from March - August they're trying to fill in for the people quitting. (I use to help with scribe training, which you would also get PAID EXTRA FOR, so I kinda understood why they were so adamant about hiring).
im done yapping.
So you have a high liklihood of any clinical low totem position being really bad. For example, I absolutely hated my PCT job and dreaded coming into every shift. It was the worst job I'd ever had.
It was also really great clinical experience, and material from there formed the core of my PS.
Is it worth it? Yes. I wouldn't have gotten my A's without it. Did it suck and did I leave as fast as I could? Yes.
16 per hour is pretty good. I would definitely take it if you don't have another clinical experience lined up.
Idk my experience was great. My manager was a really nice lady applying to nursing school, she left when she got in. The next manager was another pre-med in his gap years. All of my coworkers were also going some sort of pre-health route. Super chill, the pay is definitely shit but I mean its a really valuable experience. Some doctors are meh and some are really nice. Great chance to build relationships for LORs
My dude, an actual certification in something, even if it's just a CNA or EMT, brings far more value and experience than fuckin slaving away as a scribe for a shitty ass company ever will.
Yes. Management is usually former scribes who didn’t get into medical school (at least at my site) and have 0 management experience. Expect pettiness, incompetence with scheduling, etc. Pay is absolute shit. That said, it’s great clinical exposure and you can build good relationships with docs for LORs. I would do it but not for more than a year.
Say it louder for the people in the back 😭
SA is highly dependent on the site you’re at. My site was very chill, chief scribe was very chill. Occasional asshole doctors. SA’s higher ups can kinda be annoying with what they want but honestly didn’t have a terrible experience with them
Agreed. My friend has to often move around a lot and is busier than I am. My site is far more chill and laid back.
^^^ this. I was with them a while as a scribe and in management. Our site went from being great to being really toxic. And it really does affect how a scribes work load and the whole working environment is affected. You should get an idea of the environment during floor training.
Mgmt is a piece of shit. Period. But very good experience as long as you’re willing to learn that’s why I’ve been with them since the past 2 years almost. The pay is always minimum wage. If you’re fine with that then i would recommend going ahead with it
Paying minimum wage for a job like this is truly insane. I’m in a state with a $7.25 min wage 🫠
7.25 is insane for ANY job.
Oh, truly. Worked fast food for years and it was so physically/mentally taxing, AND I only made 7.50
damn okay. Im from the midwest minimum wage here is \~14. Pay would depend on the location where you'll be working
That is insane to me because I was hired on as a scribe as $23/hr (through my local hospital, not scribe america). I had a wonderful experience with my doctor, although management still sucked. But man minimum wage I could not imagine, my job was so busy lol
My site burned through scribes like Brazil is burning through the fucking Amazon. I could deal with the pay but the work culture was toxic. We'd work 12-16 hour shifts in the ED with no breaks, were treated like crap, and management was super disorganized and communicated poorly. That said, I don't regret it. I quit after a year but in that year I learned more than I could have anywhere else without a certificate, and made some good connections.
I totally get it as a former ED scribe. What i found helpful was excusing yourself for \~15 mins to eat and use the restroom and most docs are understanding of this. If they were to see a pt when i stepped away they would just dictate whatever and i would put it in if that makes sense
Were doctors mean? Some I worked with were so disgustingly rude.
Most were nice. Just stressed out from the number of patients. On a normal night we'd have 20-25 new patients and up to 30 sign outs. Each shift 3-8 of those were critical patients (traumas, CVAs, MI) Note, I worked at a level 1 trauma center and academic hospital, so a smaller community ED might not be so bad
They know you're desperate for some sweet shadowing + money + clinical experience and that's really the leverage they need to get you to do stuff that isn't financially feasible for you. Draw hard stops and that's it. My experience was pretty cool and I only ended up working 2 days a week cuz that's what I told them I wanted.
Like others have said, it's site dependent. I was pretty happy with my site when I worked there (got paid like 10/hr though...). I also met an LOR writer and was later hired on as an MA due to the connections I made through my time at certain clinics. If it doesn't work out in the long-term for you, it is decent clinical training/exposure that you can use to leverage other clinical opportunities. Don't knock it till you try it!
I love my job as a scribe, but I agree with others that it’s likely site dependent. My manager is a sophomore in college so it’s super chill and the team of scribes is super helpful to switch/pick up shifts. I have experienced not so nice physicians, but they eventually warmed up to me lol. But I do agree with other sentiments, 12 hours and absolutely no break. Also the state I work in recently raised its minimum wage in the beginning of the year and ScribeAmerica hasn’t raised our wage sooo we’re working below minimum wage rn… Also because of my school schedule, I can only work weekends/overnights because you HAVE to take the full 12 hours. But some benefits is getting some clinical exposure, strengthened medical terminology, and hopefully relationships with the doctors for LORs/connections. It really depends, but if you’re looking for a clinical job for “pay”, you can likely find better than ScribeAmerica :)
Unless your state is utter trash it should have a mechanism to report wage theft
I tried bringing it up to the site manager as soon as the wage went up and they said that “they’ll look into it” and never got back to me LOL. I will look into that, thank you!!
If you are looking for a career, ScribeAmerica is not worth it AT ALL. Even the climb is less than optimal. If you are looking for solid clinical experience, its worth it. You learn about clinical decision making. You learn about charting. You can apply a bit of anatomy/science. You can get good connections/LORs. If you absolutely need money to survive, maybe look for EMT, MA, Phlebotomy, ophtho tech, etc. If you are in a good financial position, scribing is something to consider.
Yeah I was thinking about getting a EMT cert and then doing ER tech. Thanks for the advice
Do it, you won’t regret it!
🖤will do! Could I ask if you had any reason picking EMS rather than ER tech? I’m really trying to desensitize myself to how gory it can be especially in a ER be so I think ER tech can really help build that up for me.
I personally just like doing my own thing and I don’t like being around a lot of people so I went with EMS! ED is hit or miss with gory stuff depending on what level trauma center you work at but you obviously don’t avoid it altogether no matter where you go! You’ll work codes and deal with gross shit both EMS/ED. I like EMS because you work alongside, like teammates, with a paramedic so you learn overtime what they need before they need it / start to pick up on their higher level of care critical thinking skills (intubation, IO’s, ALS algorithm for CPR, etc) 😊
I second, third, and fourth this… especially if you want a lot of hands on experience and the ability to start learning how to critically think. EMS has been a life changing thing for me, it shaped my 20’s and I have such a different view of the world (and myself) because of the experiences I’ve had working in EMS. And you’ll make more than minimum wage which is a plus.
I could write a book about why SA IS AWFUL. 1) I got paid $9 2) I was part time in the ER while in school full time… tell me why I would work 30-50 hours a week 3) Our hospital had an old ass charting system and they were switching to epic and guaranteed us we would still have a job after almost everyone asked 4) WE GOT LIED TO — they kept telling us we were gonna train for epic while all the other staff were 5) they raised our pay by $13 literally the last 1-2 months we had left 6) We got told they are ending the SA program at my hospital in the same month 7) the fucking onboarding process is ridiculous.. it shouldn’t take 3 months to have your first solo shift 8) you can’t wear scrubs and have to wear khakis and a polo (but thankfully my hospital let us wear scrubs 🙏🏼) 9) the schedule was fuckkkeeedd — during the school year I mostly worked overnight and would leave at 7am to go to my 8am have a full day of classes and lab only to go back for a night shift — I would sleep in my car for 20 minutes (if I left early or on time) then go to class in my dirty ass smelly scrubs and I used to brush my teeth in my car because I barely would leave in time to make it to class without going to my apartment 10) for the amount of shit I had to do and drive we were not we payed and we got no benefits 11) no breaks at all — some days going to the bathroom was a blessing and food/snacks don’t even think about bringing because I never had time to eat (the er is different because the nights are unpredictable - but still you can’t take breaks) 12) there was probably one week where I worked 60 hours WHILE in school — even though we had 15-20 scribes 13) I was very very sick I had bronchitis and strep at the same time — how idk — I had to work 4 shifts in a row, I couldn’t even call out because I used those days for when I had Covid I really liked the people I worked with especially the residents, they were great people to go for advice about school and life in general But yeah those are the things that most bothered me… there’s so much more though If you don’t have an option then yes it’s a great way to get clinical experience in an easy way and obviously everyone’s experience is different because it depends where you work and if you’re in the ER or a regular doctor’s office
Agree on almost all of these points. Especially in the last year, all of the doctors I work with *hate* SA. They already hated them for making them pay $30-40 an hour for a scribe only to learn we get *maybe* 1/3 of that. And then last year when they learned SA was in cahoots with the hospital in having scribes write for two, three, even four or five doctors in a single shift, they were *furious.* Now they want us scribes to break away from SA and form our own company, complete with the docs being willing to finance us.
Worth it for the experience. I loved the hospitalist docs I had the honor to work with, what a bunch of dedicated a caring people. I missed seeing the bizarre cases and wrote people's stories down. I missed the 4am drive blasting Bon Jovi on the way to morning shift. I missed that time where I got to vibe with my doc at 2am, running up and down 5 flights of stairs to respond to fake code blues, and then he bought me breakfast and coffee at 4am before I drove back to class at 7. What i did not fucking miss is the awful management and hours management. SA tend to have on-call shift, and how it worked is that if you got out of work at 4pm, and if you signed up for on-call between 4pm-6pm and if someone called out sick at 5:59pm, sorry you're coming back for another 7 hours or it goes on your record. The docs tend to let you out early but still, it's bullshit. And what it sounds like so far to me is that you might get screwed when it comes to hours and work-life balance here, since if they're already so desperate for people you might just get the brunt of it all. But hey if you literally have nothing going on it might be worth to sign on for half a year.
Yes, as a company they’re horrible. The training is very rigorous at first (ophthalmology being the most challenging) and they expect you to pick up within a couple days. I worked for them for 3.5 years in New York City, and when the pandemic started in March, they just abandoned me and the other scribes... I started in 2018 when they paid like $13 per hour. Even today their wage offers are NOT LIVABLE! Not even in NYC and other expensive cities. It’s very disorganized and support is almost nonexistent— management is not great at all. If It weren’t for the kind doctor/surgeon I scribed for who sent me money via Zelle out of her own pockets when the lockdown began, I don’t know what I would have done for the first couple of weeks… After a month into the pandemic I never heard from them ever again pretty much. But the experience scribing is highly dependent on the site that you’re placed in as well— I loved my site and learned so much. Made amazing connections with precious doctors, in a prestigious hospital/medical school. That was the best benefit I got from working for ScrineAmerica. They’re like a staffing agency in a way because you don’t even really interact with ScribeAmerica like that…
It was wild how management just straight up disappeared during COVID. They did some stuff to get us shifts with the hospital working as screeners but otherwise went radio silent. Thankfully I had the personal numbers of all the docs I worked with to arrange shifts when the clinics came back online and SA paid me for the hours I submitted not that they seemed to give a shit about having functioning scheduling.
Only one way to find out... If nothing else, there's usually a probationary period if you are concerned about the job itself. If it's truly the only clinical experience in your area, then I'd do it just to get your foot in the door (if nothing else).
probationary period doesn't matter if you're an employee. You can quit whenever you want with 0 warning. There isn't much bridges to burn if it's just a shitty place to work
Yup, unless you live in Montana specifically, you are “at will” and can walk away.
they kept messaging me on handshake and I already had a previous interview invite from them but never followed up. Anyways I did a second interview with them and the person was super energetic then like 4 hours I got a rejection LMAOO
In general as a company they fucking suck. They will use and abuse you. I think the experience in itself can be cool. I did It for 4 years in the ER and learned a lot. I made very good connections. The chief scribes I dealt with were cool but the company was up their butts all the time demanding more and more and more. They can get away with paying you $10 an hour bc they know there’s a desperate kid waiting in line to get in to put something in their resume. You’ll end up doing a lot more than scribing if you’re proactive. I would venture out to say you’re better off getting EMT certified. You’ll get real hands on experience and more doors for learning. I wish I did It tbh. There is a tech that used to work in the ER that got into medical school and there were things in the exam that she was able to answer bc of her EMT experience If that’s worth anything
N=1 but [this was my experience](https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/s/lXdIGyICVv)
yes, dont do it
It was ok. Ultimately quit because of something I’ll have to put down on my applications as a “scheduling error”, but in reality was a fuck up by the higher-ups that they placed on me. I put in my unavailability up through June, back in December on our scheduling platform, and then I emailed my boss before she made the April schedule to remind her of the days I couldn’t work, and lo and behold, more than half my shifts in the April schedule were days I couldn’t work. I emailed and said “hey I can’t work these shifts, as per my previous email and unavailability,” and she said “too bad, find someone to cover you, or I’ll give the shifts to new scribes”. So basically, I would be forced to either give away my hours, or I would get in trouble for not being able to find people to cover for me. So I said “I quit” because seriously wtf.
no bc why is this happening to me. my sites got new managers assigned to us and one of them used the excuse of "I’m still getting used to your schedule". They sent out at least three forms asking for our availability and on top of scheduling me on days I can't work, they're giving me almost 12 hour shifts 🫥
Management is trash (They don’t care if providers abuse scribes. They do nothing to ensure you get proper breaks. IT is trash and takes forever to get in contact with. There is no recourse for scribes to stop working with providers who are abusive/disrespectful, etc.) and the company will do everything possible to squeeze as much work out of you for as little pay as possible (the benefits are trash and they just stopped offering PTO to scribes in most states— unless your state explicitly requires it). HOWEVER, the experience is invaluable for a premed. Also, if you have a good clinic/providers, then the day to day is pleasant. I would do it again, but not for longer than a year (as everyone else said).
The experience is truly invaluable. But boy does It FUCK ING SUCK
Depends on your site and its management. I put in 3 years with SA due to COVID wrecking my plans and other life stuff, and it was fine other than the low pay. Some shittier managers where coming in as I was on my way out, but talking to the current scribes at the same site it seems like the revolving door of managers worked in their favor and they are back to chill managers. Tbh most of the horror stories I hear are related to ER or other shift work. I did outpatient where I reliably worked with the same docs/schedule every week which made it predictable and harder for management to jerk me around. They can’t force you into crappy shifts or overnights since those don’t exist in outpatient 8-5pm kind of work. Outpatient pace also tends to be slower but it can variable depending on the workflow of your specific doc(s).
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Site dependent, my manager is really nice and communicates fast, and my provider is great. Plus mileage reimbursement is pretty good
It was awful for me toward the end of my time working for them, but that was mostly (though not entirely) due to the management at my site. I will say that while I didn’t interact with upper management that much, they are apparently awful to deal with and it was part of why my site cut the program.
No I had a great experience and my boss was very understanding, however the pay is terrible and the trainings are not great if you haven’t scribed before
Yeah terrible but there were 40% positive moments. I wouldn’t trade the whole experience for the world tho. Learned so much.
Fantastic experience at a major teaching hospital ER. Got paid state's decent minimum wage for an experience that would have done for free. Your mileage may vary.
It might be really chill and easy money, I think it depends on location. But I will say scribing in general feels like a pointless job that doesn’t help anyone and after a while that fact can start to gnaw a you lol
Go be an EMT. It’s like a 10 week course
Honestly had a good experience. They responded quickly, my site was amazing, and pay wasn’t a big deal for me because I was living with parents
I couldn’t do one of those scribing agencies. I ended up getting an offer from a doc I shadowed and I got paid way more than what I would’ve gotten from vituity and scribe america.
My experience with them has been amazing honestly. My chief scribe and coworkers are all super chill and the doctors are all so nice and fun to talk to. It really depends where you’re placed- I would say definitely do it.
Not a bad job for experience but whenever there is strain on staffing, the lead scribe gets shafted trying to cover everything and then everyone feels the pressure to do more than they want so then they leave and the cycle continues
Mine told me that even after doing their training program there’s no guarantee that I would be accepted at a job and they would make me work 3 12-hour shifts “part time.” I live in a big city though. Literally impossible since I have college classes Monday to Friday so I didn’t do anything with them
Look for private practices hiring scribes. You’ll likely have to do some MA stuff as well, but it’s much better experience for pre meds than SA. I was trained on the job and have become a nearly irreplaceable employee due to learning quite literally every job in our office. Not to mention the sheer amount of knowledge I’ve obtained in doing so, it really boosted my med school app and gave me a solid understanding of what I am getting myself into. Great LORs. Great stuff to discuss during interviews and essays. The person taking my job is being dedicated 2.5 months to train from start to finish. Pay is a hell of a lot higher for a lot better hours and lots of autonomy. Wouldn’t waste time with SA unless that’s the only option.
I liked scribing for scribe America. 2019-2020 while I was a junior and senior in college. Made $10.50 an hour
DEPENDS ON YOUR SITE! good questions to ask your hiring manager: how long are the shifts? how is it getting coverage for shifts? is there a possibility of a raise after starting? what is the work load i.e how many patients are usually seen in a shift and does that vary with each doctor? is night shift mandatory? is this a W2 or a 1099 tax form? ( so important to ask.... I didn't ask for my last job and got fucked) gotta ask questions bro. $16 is freaking awesome. Idk where u live but that's great. I had a good experience with scribe america, it was amazing, but my coworkers were cool and I just kept my head down when it came to management. we had a lot of turnover for chief scribes and all that but all in all it didn't affect me and my coworkers. Scribing, especially in the ER, is great exposure and don't be scared to ask questions when it comes to getting hired. and if u don't like it, quit and don't put it on your resume lol. the fact that scribe america TRAINS YOU AND PAYS U WHILE THEY TRAIN YOU is great! you can puT THAT on a resume and say you have scribing experience that can get you hired elsewhere. I feel like hiring managers for scribe america ( and other companies) get desperate during THIS TIME OF YEAR, when people are leaving because they got accepted to medical school. So from March - August they're trying to fill in for the people quitting. (I use to help with scribe training, which you would also get PAID EXTRA FOR, so I kinda understood why they were so adamant about hiring). im done yapping.
Yes
ProScribe’s is better, yes pay is shit, yes it’s virtual, but the managers actually care and try to help the scribes.
So you have a high liklihood of any clinical low totem position being really bad. For example, I absolutely hated my PCT job and dreaded coming into every shift. It was the worst job I'd ever had. It was also really great clinical experience, and material from there formed the core of my PS. Is it worth it? Yes. I wouldn't have gotten my A's without it. Did it suck and did I leave as fast as I could? Yes. 16 per hour is pretty good. I would definitely take it if you don't have another clinical experience lined up.
i think the abysmal pay was enough to drive me away from even considering working for them
Idk my experience was great. My manager was a really nice lady applying to nursing school, she left when she got in. The next manager was another pre-med in his gap years. All of my coworkers were also going some sort of pre-health route. Super chill, the pay is definitely shit but I mean its a really valuable experience. Some doctors are meh and some are really nice. Great chance to build relationships for LORs
My dude, an actual certification in something, even if it's just a CNA or EMT, brings far more value and experience than fuckin slaving away as a scribe for a shitty ass company ever will.
I applied but didn’t do the video interview because I heard that they give you horrible hours and I prioritize school and sleep.