6 Reasons to Become a Medical Scribe

A medical scribe is a new and revolutionary concept of modern medicine. Traditionally, healthcare providers would focus on providing direct contact and care to their patients. But, as health records have begun to be collected and stored electronically, the amount of documentation and clerical responsibilities is overwhelming physicians and providers, pulling them away from patient care.

That’s where medical scribes come into play.

A medical scribe assists physicians and healthcare providers in clinical and hospital settings. Their main job is to document the interactions between the physician and patient and input the info into the Electronic Medical Record (EMR.) A scribe’s job includes various tasks, such as taking notes, entering or retrieving information from the EMR, obtaining medical records, and generally improving the quality and efficiency of doctor-patient encounters.

If you are interested in a career in medicine or are a pre-med student who wants to get accustomed to the healthcare world, then working as a medical scribe is a great first step. If you are still trying to decide if this career is right for you, here are six great reasons to become a medical scribe will enhance your medical knowledge and skillset.

1. You Will Learn About the Medical Field

Figuring out what you want to do after graduation and choosing a career path can be a challenge for many. In some instances, you may be attracted to the idea of becoming a doctor or lawyer, or engineer, but when you get to the nitty-gritty of it, you realize that it’s not really a career path cut for you.

Becoming a medical scribe allows you to learn about the healthcare industry firsthand and experience both its highs and lows. You will see what it’s like to work as a healthcare provider and decide if practicing medicine is right for you.

2. You Will Learn the Medical Language

We learn better by practicing and through experience rather than trying to simply memorize different concepts that have no apparent connection to the real world. In fact, because of this disconnection between conceptual and practical, learning medical terminology is one of the biggest challenges medical students face. Becoming a medical scribe will give you plenty of opportunities to familiarize yourself with the medical lingo and have it become a second language.

3. First-Hand Learning

As a medical scribe, you will shadow physicians and learn not only how to connect with and care for patients but also how to handle the stress of being a busy healthcare provider. You will learn how to triage, how to recognize symptoms, what kind of tests to request, and how to work with the electronic medical records system all before you get enrolled in medical school.

4. Networking and Building Relationships

As a medical scribe, you will be in contact with various physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers and will be able to build solid working relationships with them. This extensive network that you will build during this period can be of great use when you decide to apply for a healthcare program. Most of the people you’ve worked with will probably be happy to write you a letter of recommendation.

5. You Learn More About Doctor-Patient Interactions

Healthcare providers only have a limited amount of time to learn about the medical history of their patients and determine a clear and accurate diagnosis. You will get to experience firsthand how doctors listen to their patients, what they pay attention to, and how they formulate their questions to quickly determine the best care and course of treatment.

6. Make Money

Not only that you will be able to learn the ins and outs of the healthcare industry, but you will also be paid for your work. Most medical scribe services offer both part-time and full-time jobs, flexible scheduling for students, and other perks that will allow you to explore this career path.

Over to You

As you can see, there are many benefits to becoming a medical scribe. You get to shadow physicians, experience the healthcare industry first-hand, learn through practice, and make money in the process. All this experience can help you understand if the medical field is the right call for you as well as make it easier to get into medical school.

At Skywriter MD, we can put you through a medical scribe training program and teach you everything you need to know about working as a medical scribe.