If you’re interested in a healthcare career – but either not sure about whether you want to become a physician, or work in medical admin then a great first step to take is to consider becoming a medical scribe. There are plenty of opportunities for learning and advancement and it’s a role that’s in demand in our increasingly digitized world. Here’s everything you need to know about what training to be a medical scribe looks like.
First step into the healthcare industry
Training to work as a medical scribe and then finding work through a reputable scribe company is an excellent first step into the healthcare industry as a whole. It’s a way to explore whether you’d like to further your career or learn and advance within the transcription industry.
What training do you need to be a medical scribe?
A lot of people who are interested in a role like this think it might be something that they can just walk into and learn on the job – and for other transcription services and roles in other industries that might be the case – however, for the medical industry it’s a bit different and often more training and qualifications are required, as you’ll be dealing with highly sensitive information – as well as needing to know a lot of medical technological terms.
The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for the US government means that by law healthcare workers who handle specific patient information must undergo highly specific training if they handle patient information via an Electronic Health Record system. As medical scribes will do this regularly, they are legally required to undergo this before they are allowed to work.
There are also specific skills and evaluations related to the medical aspects of their work which should be undertaken before starting work and to keep skills and knowledge current.
Medical scribes don’t have to have a degree in any healthcare-related field, but knowledge of medical terms and procedures is a key element of the role.
What does medical scribe training consist of?
There are several aspects to the formal training and they’re connected to both the terminology used and the procedures.
Some medical scribes work generally, but others choose to work within specialist areas such as cardiology or gynaecology. In these cases, additional training might be needed alongside basic skills and qualifications. The basic core tenets of training to be a medical scribe consist of:
- Training on handling patient and personal information (HIPAA compliant)
- Training on diagnostic terms
- Training on medication (naming and spelling)
- Training on medical procedures undertaken
- Specialized training (if desired).
How long does it take to qualify as a medical scribe?
How long does it take to get your qualification and begin looking for work as a medical scribe? Well, this actually depends on the type of course you take and what you want to specialize in (indeed, if you do want to specialize – you may want to work in a more general capacity)
There are some training programs that teach knowledge and terminology related entirely to becoming a general medical scribe, whilst others teach specialisms. Your aim should always be to get your initial qualification – and then follow up with additional specialist modules if you want to train to be a medical scribe in a specific healthcare arena. Therefore your first qualification should take anywhere between six months to a year.
Complex training and work experience will enhance your chances of getting the medical scribe job of your dreams.
What are you waiting for? It’s the perfect gateway role into the healthcare industry that allows you to become proficient in understanding medical terms and issues and get to know how the medical landscape works from the inside out. You can progress your career to a very high level!
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