Pros
The medical exposure is great. For anyone who is pre-med, this is definitely a great way to gain exposure. It's like shadowing, but with compensation. This is perhaps the only pro of the job.
Cons
Scribe America does not seem to have any interest in going above any minimal effort that an employer should display. I have been with this company for 3 months and it is a joke. Compensation: You get paid "$10 an hour", but you really get paid $8 for the first 90 days. Keep in mind that they do not tell you about this on the interview, they just told me about the $10 part. Management has lied to me many times, and this was perhaps the most upsetting one. They like to say you get a "raise" after 90 days. You also get a lovely performance based raise at 1 year. However, since most scribes are pre-med I would bet that most of them never see that lovely raise which is probably about $0.20. This job pays a full $5-$7 less than other scribe companies in my area. Unfortunately those are extremely competitive because they treat their employees with respect. "Benefits": There are none, at least none that nay reasonable person would designate as a benefit. There is absolutely no difference between part-time and full-time at this company, besides the hours. No difference in pay. Full-timers do not get any PTO, no sick days, no bonuses, no nothing. If you read the job packet when you get hired, the only benefits that apply to scribes are lunch breaks. I didn't know lunch breaks were considered a benefit. We received a video about a week ago about how we are getting health care under Obamacare. Rather than talking about how this will do good for employees, the theme of the video was "We have to do this by law and you need it or you will be taxed". Breaks: Speaking of breaks, they are apparently optional if the day is busy. This is what I was told on my first day, but luckily the actual physicians and nurses are very good about making sure you eat. I'm pretty sure what my director told me is against the labor board rules. They did tell us that we get a 30 minute break per 12 hours, whereas the job packet says it is a 30 minute lunch for every 6 hours. The fact that they say it's optional and I am the only person around means that I can eat and stay on the clock. We get paid so poorly that at least I can still get paid a little that way. Providers: You will be told at training that doctors love having scribes. This is not entirely true. There are some that really like it, and there are some who really don't like the idea of scribes. They will hint at you that they don't really care for your presence. Don't take it personal, because they feel that way with all of us. It's new to most of them as well. However, it really sucks not knowing if you'll enjoy your day until you know who you are paired with. This job is 100% based on who you are paired with, and some doctors are way better with scribes than others. Training: Company provided training is a complete joke. Mine did not even have any practice with the particular EMR we were using. We just typed into word or used pen and paper. I learned everything during my floor training. Floor training was 4 days, but after the first 1/2 of the first day I did all my work while my trainers sat on their laptops and phones because they are so busy doing managerial things. Keep in mind that they get very mad when you are on your phone or the internet, but it's totally cool for them to do it while there. Lastly, this company has still not made any efforts to offer me a flu shot. I am so baffled by this. I got mine on my own, and every person I told this too was in shock, including the specific location I work at. I thought it was common for almost every healthcare worker to be required to have a flu shot. Especially when you are right in the room with every patient.
