Phlebotomy tech or scribe?

[Scarletknight21]

Hey guys, I just got certified as a phlebotomy technician. I had also applied for a scribe job and got called for an interview. I'm a little confused about what would look better on my resume? Having a year of scribe experience or phlebotomist. Should I just work full time as a scribe or Phlebotomist? or should I do part-time in both? Any suggestions and insight would be greatly appreciated. 

[yellowpadofpaper]

I would do both if that really is an option. That way you get hands on experience and develop a sought after skill, while also learning how providers think. Phlebotomy is a hard skill that you can market as leverage for your next job up the experience ladder and you can always find a job in phlebotomy.

Some schools don't accept scribe hours because you're not actually touching patients.


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[panglossian]

Doing both is a good option. Scribing is not very strong in terms of PCE and phlebotomy is better but not great. If you have some time to build your PCE, then I would suggest working full time as a phlebotomist and then trying to find a position as an ED tech/MA/CNA. 

[Southpaw45]

I'm certified in Phleb and have enough hours to gain attention, however I was given feedback that its it 'low quality", in other words doing the same thing over and over.  I talked to a lot of medical scribes and although they don't physically touch patients however get a lot of back ground information, technical terms and coordination with other health care individuals (doctors, nurses, etc).  As it has been said, both are on the low end of the scale.  I've been told to get back and get more direct patient care - where your actions are involved in care.   

Remember PA's started from corpsmen in the service.  Its hard to get PCE if your path is non traditional.  Wish I could give you a straight answer on the best way to proceed, however I can say what I've experienced.

Good luck with whatever you choose and don't give up the hope or desire!

[lauralondon254]

While some schools do not accept scribing for PCE hours, the schools that do accept scribing say that scribes are very highly regarded and tend to do very well in PA school as they are well prepared. I can not harp enough about the benefits of being a scribe. Think of it this way: you can be a CNA doing the same tasks (mostly patient hygiene/bathing/feeding, I would know, I got my CNA certification), or you could be sitting next to a doctor literally all day, going into exam rooms, watching both sides of the patient/physician interaction, hearing all the medical decision making between physicians, nurses, PAs, techs, and be exposed to medical terminology on many fronts. As a scribe, you get to be a fly on the wall for every part of the patient care process, and although you are not physically touching patients, you get incredible exposure to medicine that perhaps a CNA or medical assistant would not be able to obtain. I am by no means putting down these professions, as they are each essential, but I feel that scribing has to be one of the best experiences in preparation for PA school. I have obtained ONLY scribe hours in various fields (internal medicine, ER, OB/GYN, and orthopedic surgery) to use for my PCE and have been invited for an interview next month. I do plan to harp on my experience as a scribe at my interview as much as I have here.

[karebear12892]

1 hour ago, lauralondon254 said:

While some schools do not accept scribing for PCE hours, the schools that do accept scribing say that scribes are very highly regarded and tend to do very well in PA school as they are well prepared. I can not harp enough about the benefits of being a scribe. Think of it this way: you can be a CNA doing the same tasks (mostly patient hygiene/bathing/feeding, I would know, I got my CNA certification), or you could be sitting next to a doctor literally all day, going into exam rooms, watching both sides of the patient/physician interaction, hearing all the medical decision making between physicians, nurses, PAs, techs, and be exposed to medical terminology on many fronts. As a scribe, you get to be a fly on the wall for every part of the patient care process, and although you are not physically touching patients, you get incredible exposure to medicine that perhaps a CNA or medical assistant would not be able to obtain. I am by no means putting down these professions, as they are each essential, but I feel that scribing has to be one of the best experiences in preparation for PA school. I have obtained ONLY scribe hours in various fields (internal medicine, ER, OB/GYN, and orthopedic surgery) to use for my PCE and have been invited for an interview next month. I do plan to harp on my experience as a scribe at my interview as much as I have here.

Agree 100%. OP - please see my prior posts regarding scribe experience. PM me if you still have questions! 

The scribes in my program have outperformed everyone else in our class during both didactics and clinicals. All of us have attributed this directly to our scribe experience. My PA program has actually modified its admissions process in order to more heavily weight scribe experience. Of course, other programs have completely different views on scribes, so just make sure you do you research and plan ahead before making a decision.

Best of luck to you! 

[Apollo1]

Devil's advocate here, OP. Scribing is good for getting a base exposure to healthcare, but a PA incorporates having your hands-on experience to combine with the didactic info. Know that C.diff smell? Had a hard time getting access on that dialysis patient? Worked a code with a patient that went into DIC? There's a reason why getting the exposure before school pays off-->because not everything falls within the textbook presentation, and we are already in an accelerated timeframe.

18 minutes ago, karebear12892 said:

The scribes in my program have outperformed everyone else in our class during both didactics and clinicals. All of us have attributed this directly to our scribe experience. 

 

Good job so far, however there is no way to know if this is merely correlational or some other factor (ex. your school could have admitted people with weaker HCE).

[karebear12892]

3 hours ago, Apollo1 said:

Good job so far, however there is no way to know if this is merely correlational or some other factor (ex. your school could have admitted people with weaker HCE).

True. Our class has a mix of scribes, paramedics/EMT's, medical assistants, CNA's, PT techs, pharm techs, sleep study techs, and various volunteer roles. We are the first graduating class so it is too soon to say there's a definite trend. Either way, if I could do it again, I'd be a scribe 100%. Just my experience. 

[Notfall]

On 10/21/2018 at 9:56 AM, Southpaw45 said:

I'm certified in Phleb and have enough hours to gain attention, however I was given feedback that its it 'low quality", in other words doing the same thing over and over.  I talked to a lot of medical scribes and although they don't physically touch patients however get a lot of back ground information, technical terms and coordination with other health care individuals (doctors, nurses, etc).  As it has been said, both are on the low end of the scale.  I've been told to get back and get more direct patient care - where your actions are involved in care.   

Remember PA's started from corpsmen in the service.  Its hard to get PCE if your path is non traditional.  Wish I could give you a straight answer on the best way to proceed, however I can say what I've experienced.

Good luck with whatever you choose and don't give up the hope or desire!

I wish more people heard this!!! Phlebotomy tech and scribing “sound” like amazing jobs with great pre-pa experience but in all actuality they are very low quality to the point that phleb is typically awarded .5 hours per actual hour, and scribe is health care experience not patient care experience!! This post is spot on.