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Interesting Article about Scribes, etc. - MTKillingMe

Posted: Aug 28, 2013

"Wow, the rates have gone down! Only $8-$10 per hour for these folks? Thatâ��s great! Minimum wage in Oregon is currently $8.40 per hour. That means that I can get someone smart enough to learn medical terminology (the average medical studentâ��s vocabulary doubles over four years of medical school), operate an EMR (every one is different, and most all of them are hideously complex), listen carefully (a rare commodity in itself), type quickly (remember, the average follow-up visit only lasts around 7.5 minutes, and youâ��re supposed to speed things up rather than slow things down), follow instructions and not make any serious mistakes, all for the same salary as someone working at the Taco Bell around the corner. Is the high rate of unemployment in a severe recession great or what?" In a way, this is basically what MT has become (not necessarily scribes, though they aren't apparently paid all that great either)... Interesting article at: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/11/scribes-lead-unintended-consequences-electronic-medical-records.html

medical scribes - not me

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The other term being used is Clinical Information Manager. If you get job alerts from a job search site, type that in. Lots of opening in NJ and LA area. I was rejected because I did not fit their requirements. They are looking for premed, nursing, EMTs etc., not MTs. I find that so interesting. They should have at least one or two people who want to be just CIMs because when students are in school or studying, they will call in sick, etc.
The person who rejected me is less educated than me and looks about 24 years old (his linkedin page).

Also, took an online test to see if I qualified for a medical scribe position (only $8 but I thought I would take the test anyways). I didn't pass. I thought it was funny that I didn't pass. I don't know why, and I don't remember any of the specific questions, but they were not knowledge based. They might have been screening to bump off MTs.

Also notice that when field technician jobs (for scanning medical records) are advertised, they never list MTs, as people who would be qualified to do the job! But they list RNs and LCSWs, etc. Why would a social worker want to scan documents. Not an outstanding hourly wage, usually only part time, but you may qualify for a $25 week bonus!

I have been wondering about the extent that MTs are being blacklisted, not just by MTSOs (who cares about that?), but by human resource people in general. They do blacklist people -- maybe even groups of people.

Wouldn't touch it. Plus I think the so called - scribe profession is just a fad.

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*

Been wondering the same thing! - MTKillingMe

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I have seen local jobs just like you posted, and I also noticed they never include us. On top of that, the hospital in my area rejects every application I submit, even for "entry level" clerical jobs. They send me back a letter about how they're pursuing other candidates who more closely match the job (despite working clerically part time while being an MT and being computer savvy)! I'm surprised that I don't even warrant an interview as I have a combination of skills.

I did locate a couple companies that will hire MTs to be scribes, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable being in the patient's room, and I'm also wondering if this job will be a temporary stop gap and then eliminated down the road. I surely could see patients also objecting to having a scribe in the room while being examined!

Mts and HR - sm

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A good majority of people don't know we exist, let alone what we do. To say that there's HR people out there blacklisting MTs as a group is absurd. Also, I would say that the reason the look for premed, nurses, EMTs, etc for scribe positions is because people with that type of experience would be comfortable in a patient's room.

So a hospital wouldn't know what an MT does? - Really?

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What I'm finding is they DO know and they don't value it, so in a sense, we're blacklisted. They don't value introverts who've been working in isolated settings for decades, and they know we haven't exactly multi-tasked. Anyway, that's what it feels like after numerous rejections.

Think about what you just said - sm

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Who *would* want to hire employees who assert that they are introverted, have worked in isolation for decades, and claim they are not multitaskers?

You may as well hang a sign around your neck saying you are a card-carrying dysfunctional.

Whether you know it or not, you are broadcasting those beliefs to employers. Do something to correct that.

Nothing wrong with being introverted. It does not preclude working successfully with others.

Nothing about MT means "not multitasking." If you think it does, you do not understand what multitasking is.

Now, now, it's kind of unreasonable to assume - a thoughtful person is a stupid one. nm

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x

That post did not call anyone stupid - nm

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nm

You're offering good advice, but "Really?" makes a good point, too. - Des

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I don't know exactly what caused it, but we MTs just do not have the respect we once had. Maybe it's because we went home and they forgot about us, maybe it's because all these diploma mills regurgitated out a bunch of lazy wannabes who poisoned the workpool, maybe it's because VR has given the illusion that our jobs are easy and can be done by a mindless computer, or maybe it's because our pay had gotten so high at one point that no one would see us as serious job seekers if the job we're seeking pays less than the perceived pay of MT. Bottom line is, the stereotyping and prejudice is out there and it's got some power behind it.

Des - Old Pro

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After seeing about a thousand people from "institutions" such as AHP and TranSCAM and hearing them whine about how no one will give them a chance, I think our profession has been degraded. Why these places are allowed to stay in business is just beyond me. It is heartbreaking to see these naive folks, their newly-minted "certificates" in hand, come in to apply for jobs for which they are in no way qualified. They might as well apply for the position of Chief of Neurosurgery. They have about an equal chance of success at either. I think a lot of people got sucked into MT who do not belong here. Schools need to tell the truth. If UCLA can say, "We're just as sorry as we can be, but you don't have the math skills needed for admission to the School of Engineering" (and they did), why on earth can't these profiteers develop a conscience and stop robbing people and degrading the profession? Okay, sorry, I must have had too much coffee this morning.
/rant off

Considering that I'm doing laundry, answering - phone calls, putting out

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fires, paying bills, etc while I work, I definitely consider myself a multitasker!

I'd like to know... - MT

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why it is that MTs automatically think that HR knows you work at home in isolation just because you put that you are an MT on your resume. Not every single MT works at home and unless you are including the information of where the company is located on your resume, then how would they know? Just seems like a very strange assumption to me. They have no idea if you have moved around a lot.

A true story about a hospital administrator - Old Pro

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Back in the day, a looong time ago, one of my first jobs was working as an MT in a large metropolitan hospital. We were in a room that used to be the coal room for the furnace! Whenever we would ask for something, we were refused. One day I personally heard the hospital administrator say "We could bring anybody in off the street to do this job." He had no clue what MTs did. Personally, I thought he had the intelligence of an ant.

Very interesting, you guys. Have we developed - a bad reputation? Sure, our

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work is very narrow and we would tend to need to build competence on standard office programs, but would that alone account for this?

Average age is high. It may be part of our "identity."

We've had a shaking out of some of the people who once flooded into the field for "easy" work and didn't work out. Could they be part of it?

Of course, a glut of applicants on the clerical market.

Just musing here. What you're seeing is very dismaying -- and foolish on HR's part. We also have many, many extremely detail oriented and conscientious people, and with excellent English skills. Companies who need those will run through a number of new hires before finding one who matches most of us.

The problem is not the job, but the resume - presentation is the key

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The problem is not WHAT you did. It is not the JOB, but the way it is presented on the resume.

You have to present it in a way people can understand what it is.

No, HR folks do NOT know what MT is. Why would they when they have not had those positions for more than 10 or 20 years?

If they do know, they recognize it as a job done by a machine.

You know what MT is, and half of you still refer to it as typing, still underestimate your abilities, and still see it as "at-home" work. And half of you still attack anyone who offers job-seeking advice.

Presentation is indeed the key - Old Pro

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I have often said that one of the most serious errors an MT can make is to refer to him or herself as a "typist." I personally refused to hire anyone who called themselves that. If they did not know the difference between typing and transcribing, why should I hire them?

electronic applications - Des

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When you fill out an electronic application, it's determined by a computer whether or not you're right for the position. It's all about keywords. You have to tweak your resume, work experience descriptions, cover letter, etc., to match the keywords in the job ad. Letting the computer "weed" through the multitudinous number of resumes they get every day is just a way to reduce staff in the HR office.

If you want your resume to get noticed enough to get an interview, you have to please the almighty computer gods.

Here's another article about scribes, asserting that MTs are the best candidates - Joe

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http://smartype.com/id12.html

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