HCE Advice... Scribe, MA, Phleb, or other?

[mich.harris109 6]

Right now I am working as a scribe but I can't afford to live in Dallas on scribe wages so I am getting ready to move home.

 

I'm having a hard time finding a scribe job in my hometown....

 

I am trained as a MLT (Lab person) and this includes phlebotomy, which pays better than scribe but less contact with Drs and staff.

 

I ran into a Dr. that I used to shadow who told me that her office needs an MA. Same thing, makes more than a scribe but it seems like they don't get the same type of experience out of the patient encounters as the scribes do....

 

Lastly, I was offered a job as a Clinical Allergy Specialist, which means that I would be performing allergy tests (skin tests) directly on the patients, interpreting the results and explaining them to the patients, and also lots of office work including dealing with insurance companies. This seems like the most well-rounded experience, but I'm afraid the schools won't know what it is, which means that I would have to rely on the right essay questions being asked where I could include information about that job.

 

I don't want to waste a year doing something that's not gonna help me get in. Any thoughts?

 

[TheMoYouKnow 40]

With any experience you choose, you will enter the duties and responsibilities into CASPA. I suggest taking the allergy specialist job. If that doesn't pan out, go for MA over lab work. A lot of programs do not recognize phlebotomy as PCE.

[Diggy 540]

I work as an MA and I can tell you I have more direct encounters/interactions with patients in comparison to a scribe. We do not have RNs in our office so everything the providers need done (vitals, injections, wound care, suture/staple removals, specimen collection, lab orders, etc) is done by me. I am the first person they see during triage and the last person they see during discharge and disposition. From a common theme on this forum, scribes are limited to being the provider's EMR personnel which means no touching the patient. BUT they are exposed to a wide array of medicine and go more in depth in regards to H&P, HPI, what lab tests are ordered and why. 

 

But with every entry level health profession, you get what you put in. As a MA I do more than I am required to do to keep the office running. Whenever I triage for earache I do not JUST take vitals, I look in both ears to see if I can see anything of significance ( otitis, otitis serous, FB in the ear, etc,) for sore throats, I take a peek at the tonsils, soft palate, adenoids etc, and touch the lymph nodes to see if there are any adenopathy. Ofc I cannot diagnose but I have gotten accustomed to recognizing whats normal and abnormal for easy chief complaints.  Same thing for chest congestions, can I hear an audible wheeze? Or fluid in the lungs?

 

No I am not out of scope here, I ask permission from the attending prior to triaging and they are more than welcoming to the idea because they know I am looking to advance into a provider type role. I've even gotten the chance to review xrays with the providers and see if I can spot any fx or abnormal markings. I miss 80% of the time, but it's the experience that matters lol.

 

This was one of the main reasons why I left my nursing assistant job, because there were no room for me to learn. Barely had time to look at each patient's medical chart. 

[moorecarson121 38]

I work as an MA and I can tell you I have more direct encounters/interactions with patients in comparison to a scribe. We do not have RNs in our office so everything the providers need done (vitals, injections, wound care, suture/staple removals, specimen collection, lab orders, etc) is done by me. I am the first person they see during triage and the last person they see during discharge and disposition. From a common theme on this forum, scribes are limited to being the provider's EMR personnel which means no touching the patient. BUT they are exposed to a wide array of medicine and go more in depth in regards to H&P, HPI, what lab tests are ordered and why.

 

But with every entry level health profession, you get what you put in. As a MA I do more than I am required to do to keep the office running. Whenever I triage for earache I do not JUST take vitals, I look in both ears to see if I can see anything of significance ( otitis, otitis serous, FB in the ear, etc,) for sore throats, I take a peek at the tonsils, soft palate, adenoids etc, and touch the lymph nodes to see if there are any adenopathy. Ofc I cannot diagnose but I have gotten accustomed to recognizing whats normal and abnormal for easy chief complaints. Same thing for chest congestions, can I hear an audible wheeze? Or fluid in the lungs?

 

No I am not out of scope here, I ask permission from the attending prior to triaging and they are more than welcoming to the idea because they know I am looking to advance into a provider type role. I've even gotten the chance to review xrays with the providers and see if I can spot any fx or abnormal markings. I miss 80% of the time, but it's the experience that matters lol.

 

This was one of the main reasons why I left my nursing assistant job, because there were no room for me to learn. Barely had time to look at each patient's medical chart.

I echo this! As a CCMA, I get so much hands on experience with patients. I work at an advanced urgent care and just as was previously stated, I do so much more than take vitals. I irrigate wounds, remove sutures, start IV's and hang fluids, run EKG's, apply splints and so much more.

 

I too take every triage as an opportunity to learn. With every patient I listen to heart and lungs and perform a basic, complaint specific exam, just to see what I can pick out. Often times the provider will send me in and let me loose and see what I come up with. Of course, the patient is always seen by a provider but this is a huge learning experience.

 

I was a scribe in the ER for about a year and it was fascinating. But nothing could beat the role I'm in now, besides actually being a PA.

 

 

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