Working for iScribes

As I've mentioned, I work from home. I have worked from home at least part of the time since about 1999, first as a court transcript proofreader, then a freelance writer, doing some crafts, and most recently as a medical scribe for a company called iScribes that's based out of North Carolina.

The reason I took the job in the first place was that I was training to be a medical coder, and many companies look for some prior medical background before hiring you even with an education and credentials. I figured I could work there part-time and get that background and some experience with electronic medical records systems.

Quite a few other medical coders in training that I know also began working at iScribes at about the same time that I did, medical scribing seems to be a natural fit for those transitioning to medical coding or medical transcription.

It took about 6 weeks before I got a call back for an interview after submitting my application, which was fairly standard a few months ago but I've heard the turnaround time is now much quicker. The "interview" is really just a nice phone conversation with a recruiter wherein the job is explained to you and you are then sent an assessment which they say takes about an hour but took me about 3 hours - which maybe should have been an indication that this might be a problem for me.

The assessment contains a grammar test, a typing test and a practice recording to scribe along with a little training on what you will be looking for and how to fill out the chart on their system. Within a day of doing the assessment, I had a job offer in my email.

Right when I started with iScribes, the company had just rolled out a new training system, which is very detailed and well thought out. I only wish it had been explained at the time that when you are actually paired with a doctor that many of the things you are taught will be out the window and you will be focused much more on the doctor's preferences.

After the initial training, there is a 10 chart challenge where new scribes have to show off their skills by getting a near perfect chart within the first 10 charts, with a bonus incentive if it's accomplished within the first 5 charts. Once you pass that point, you are matched with a doctor (at this time I believe it's only orthopedists) and trained in your subspecialty. I had 2 doctors, a foot and ankle doctor and a general orthopedist.

For the first week to several weeks, scribes work directly under their team lead, who checks all of the charts carefully and makes suggestions and offers help when scribes get stuck. When your trainer feels you are ready, you are trained on whatever electronic medical records system your doctor or doctors will be using, and released to scribe on your own. This process varies according to how quickly you pick things up. One new scribe I know was released to work on her own in just over  week, for me it took about 4 weeks.

So, the good and bad parts about iScribes? The good is that you can work from home, gain medical experience, have a job that makes a difference by helping doctors and making their workload lighter so they can concentrate better on their patients. There is SOME flexibility with the hours you work.  Although you are required to work at minimum 20 hours a week, scribes who want more hours seem to be able to easily get more days or more doctors. The work is very interesting, I've learned so much more about medical issues and common orthopedic procedures than I ever would have known before. Because there are different patients every day, it never gets boring.

The bad? ALOT seems to depend on the doctor you are assigned. If a doctor chronically uploads late at night instead of throughout the day as he is supposed to, you may end up either working late nights or throwing off your whole schedule for the next day if you have another doctor to work for the following day. Scribing is not as easy as I assumed it would be AT ALL. Sometimes doctors have accents that are hard to decipher or mumble or eat while they are dictating. Some dictate in loud rooms with alot of background noise. You have a certain amount of work that needs to be done in a day and you have to work until it's done. For some scribes, their doctor only does 10 recordings a day. For one of my doctors, I was responsible for 30 charts a day and I was never able to get that done in less than 10-11 hours, which was too much for me with 4 young children at home to care for, another job and school - I felt overwhelmed. This may be an issue on my end though, not iScribes, as I seemed to scribe much slower than many others.

As far as pay, training begins at 8.50 and is supposed to go to 10.00 an hour once you are independent or 2.00 per chart, whichever is higher. Depending on where you live, that can be a good or a bad rate, but the pay structure is outlined clearly upfront at least. There also seems to be room for advancement, as scribes may become team leads with time or assume other responsibilities.

With my current responsibilities and life, scribing has been a much more difficult fit than I anticipated, but most of the scribes seem to thrive there. I know many recent hires who are very happy. If you think it sounds interesting, check out their website! http://iscribes.co/#/jobs

Proud to Be a Medical Scribe! T-shirt by ILoveOnlineWriting
Find more Medical T-Shirts at Dazzle

Show pride in your profession! messenger bag by ILoveOnlineWriting
See other Rickshaw messenger bags.