scribe work?

[NCswimmer]

Hi there,

I just got accepted into a medical scribe position for my gap year. I have seen a surprising lack of information on scribing throughout these polls, except for a comment or two saying that not all schools take it as hours of experience. Is this true? From the research I have done on the schools I am interested in, not once is it mentioned that being a scribe would not count... so now I am just confused. Help would be greatly appreciate. Thanks!

[Victory1322]

It depends on the schools, some count it as HCE while others consider it as PCE. Regardless, even if accepted as PCE it is often considered low tier since you are not actually involved in direct patient care, just documenting it. Of course, people still get accepted solely with scribing experience but it is usually offset with high GPA, excellent LORs and a stellar personal statement. If you still have questions on how the schools you're interested in view scribe hours, contact them directly, they'll be able to give you the best feedback. 

[BlueWhale]

I completely agree with Victory. The best way to know if scribe hours will be accepted by a school (or as partial hours) is to contact programs directly. Here are two links from FSU stating that they don't accept scribe hours and UF stating that some types of HCE (not scribing) only count as partial hours. 

https://med.fsu.edu/pa/admissions

https://pap.med.ufl.edu/admissions/prerequisites-2/patient-care-experience/

Keep in mind that, in addition to total hours, programs value what you learned from your HCE and how these experiences have affected you. If you work as a scribe but also take vitals, check sugars and do EKGs then you will have more intentional patient contact, but you usually need a license to do these things.