A Day in the Life of an AQuity Scribe – Cody

I have had the amazing opportunity of working with Dr. Fleet of Huggins Hospital in New Hampshire.

Clinic starts at 8:00 AM; however, I log in about 7:30 so I can start his chart prep. We use a lot of templates and pull over pertinent information from the prior charts. We have anywhere from 12 to 16 patients a day. Dr. Fleet logs into FFS about 8:05 and we are ready to start the day. Prior to seeing each patient, Dr. Fleet will give me a rundown of what he hopes to review during the visit. During the rundown, he tells me what orders are needed (these are normally labs), historical dates to include, and the preliminary diagnosis that we will be using.

In the room I cover the HPI, ROS, additional vitals, PE, additional historical information, ordering labs, pending medications to be sent to the pharmacy, ordering referrals, coding, return visits, and anything else that may pop up during the visit. This sounds like a lot of information to keep track of, and it is, but we make a great team. You will learn that at some offices the assistants do very little, so the scribe will update the medication list, social history, family history, etc.

In between patients, Dr. Fleet will play music or we converse while I am cleaning up the chart for him to sign. I always make sure my chart is completed before we go into the next patient’s room; this insures that Dr. Fleet is not bombarded with a lot of charts at the end of the day.

The key to a successful provider/scribe relationship is communication between us. If you are not sure how to word something, or spell something, or how to order it, just ask. The providers want you to get it right and ask questions rather than guess and never talk. Just like if you were there in person, you have to keep the communication lines open.

Another important factor for successful scribing is to not get frustrated. In the beginning, there is always going to be a learning curve. We, as scribes, are learning a new EMR system that we have probably never used prior to joining the team, and we are learning a provider that we have never physically met. We cannot tell what is going on because we cannot see, so we are having to rely on our hearing. If you cannot hear, speak up. Your provider will use either a JABRA device or their cell phone for the FFS room. The JABRA is greatly preferred and appreciated because it can pick up everything; I think it is the best device for us scribes.

I have learned through my short time here at AQuity (3 months at the end of May) that we are all a family. Learn to talk to your provider, teammates, and managers. We all want each other to succeed! 

(Cody lives in North Carolina, where he is a virtual medical scribe for a doctor in New Hampshire.)