My daily routine scribing for Dr. Farooqi consists of the following (and I am a creature of habit):

Wake up with enough time to not feel rushed, meaning that I can wake feeling refreshed, I have my computer turned on and ready to log on for my shift, my pets are fed, breakfast is made, lunch and snacks are ready for the day, and beverages are by my side before I sit down in my comfy chair and prepare to clock in.

Upon clocking in, I document all the patients we are seeing for the day in M*Modal’s Fluency For Scribing. Then I review the patient list to get an idea of how our day will go; will it be a day of physicals and followups or is it going to be a day of acute visits? If the visits are physicals, I’ll go in and review what their histories are and review their labs so I have an idea of what I will be updating in the Assessment and Plan. If the patients are being seen for hospital followup, I will review why they went to the ER and make notes so I do not spend the encounter gathering data. If the patient is here for medication followup and/or refill, I will review what medication they’re coming in for and make a note so I can go through their chart quickly during in the encounter as those last about 5 minutes. For all other appointments, I just have to be prepared with my quick phrases that are saved in Cerner for URI or UTI or muscle pain, which are our most common acute visits.

After each encounter, I ensure that each chart is completed fully for the physician to review and close. If I have any questions regarding what he would like in his Assessment and Plan or the results of a musculoskeletal exam, I ask the physician.

At the end of shift, Dr. Farooqi and I make sure that we have all charts saved for his review if he has not closed them all through the day and answer any questions that may be lingering.

The most important advice I can give is wake refreshed, make sure you have your beverages and food by your side so you are not thinking about how thirsty or hungry you are, and if you need to take a restroom break, let your physician know in between encounters…Most likely, they will wait the few minutes it will take for you to go.

(Sarah lives on the East Coast and scribes remotely for Dr. Farooqi of BayCare Medical Group, which is located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.) 

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