Which HCE is best?

[patobe123]

Which would you choose?

 

Optometric Assistant:

Noting patient history, assist doctor with performing tests and performing Lasik Sx

 

or 

 

Clinical/Front Office Assistant (Derm):

"Training" period where I would begin with more clerical duties along with back office training; I would eventually help with patient intake, medical documentation, suture removal, labs, prescriptions, etc.

 

or 

 

Scribe in ED

[EMEDPA]

derm assistant sounds the most "clinical".  the other two probably not accepted at most PA programs at all.

[ndpa09]

Many programs are actually starting to accept ED scribe as HCE. You won't get much (if any) hands on experience but you learn A LOT about medicine and clinical decision making. A mixture of one of the first two with scribe would be great experience. 

 

As aways, it would be beneficial to call and check with the programs you're interested in.

[EMEDPA]

I would agree with above that if you do scribe you also do something else. scribe is beneficial only as shadowing experience in that you watch others work, but a scribe is basically a mobile transcriptionist. they have no responsibility for any aspect of pt care other than writing down what other people tell them to and never even touch patients. hardly "direct patient care" required by most programs. sure, they soak up some clinical info from watching others work, but so does someone who just shows up and follows a clinician around at work for a week.

[LESH]

Obviously I have to say "Always check with the program." Now that I have said that I can say that I've seen all three of the HC experiences you mentioned accepted by PA programs. Good luck in your future PA endeavors.

[paapp123]

I worked in a derm office as a medical assistant and then a scribe in an urgent care center and taking both jobs was the best thing I could have ever done. I worked with a Mohs surgeon and assisted with complicated surgeries and was able to assist with grafts and flaps, wrote prescriptions for the physicians, performed suture removals, injected lidocaine before procedures etc. but as a scribe, I truly began to think like a clinician. When someone came in with chest pain, I knew which questions to ask to r/o an MI vs GERD vs musculoskeletal CP etc., and I became very familiar with medications. My advice, take both part-time!

[paapp123]

Also, I really learned how to write a precise HPI and also know what to include in charts in terms of billing requirements and for thoroughness. I know I am biased, but it's much much more than a mobile transcriptionist.