Medical scribes are a little known, yet important group of professionals. They are little known because few people know what a medical scribe actually does. But, as their name implies, these professionals perform secretarial tasks for doctors.
However, they also handle any non-clinical tasks that arise. In short, they free up a doctor’s time. Doctors, then, can focus only on medical tasks. This is why scribes are important and also why you should consider becoming one.
Gain Medical Experience
To be an effective medical scribe, you must follow a doctor’s every move. By shadowing them, you are always on hand to perform any tasks they need to delegate. Being this near to a doctor has its advantages. From the doctor’s side, you observe how medical professionals interact with each other and with patients. Over time, you gain first-hand medical experience. This experience proves valuable if you intend to join medical school later.
For one, medical school admission boards look favorably on applicants who have medical experience. Such applicants already know the medical language, a little about diagnoses, and how to work with patients. Since they have worked with other medical professionals, they also communicate and work well with others. Finally, they have a professional network they can rely on when they leave medical school. They are, therefore, more likely to succeed in their profession.
Learn Record Keeping
Recent medical legislation and reform has led to the wide-scale adoption of the Electronic Health Record or the EHR. This digital patient record system allows medical providers to share a patient’s medical history. Doing so improves healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
In the future, all medical professionals will interact with the EHR in one way or another. To be effective in their work, they must, therefore, familiarize themselves with the system. This is especially true of those who directly interact with patient records, such as medical scribes. As one, you will become not only familiar with but also proficient in the EHR system.
Career Advancement Opportunities
Regardless of size, all medical institutions need the services of a medical scribe. For this reason, medical scribes are in high demand. As one, you can work in large hospitals, small practices, private doctors, or apply for EPPA scribe jobs. The choice is yours.
Opportunities in this field are many and, better still, are increasing. In 2015, the American College of Medical Scribe Specialists predicted a growth of 80,000 jobs by 2020.
Touch Patients’ Lives
Whatever their field, all medical professionals touch a patient’s life in some way. Yes, some, such as doctors and nurses, have closer contact with patients than others. But, all have a part to play. When you work as a medical scribe, you will go home each day knowing that you changed someone’s life for the better. Few people can say that.
Although it is a little-known profession, working as a medical scribe comes with many benefits. For instance, you not only gain valuable medical experience but also learn how to work with digital patient records. In addition, the medical scribe field is growing fast. You, therefore, have many opportunities to advance in your career. Finally, like all medical professionals, you get to improve someone else’s life.
