Scribe-X training provided me with a solid foundation in the essential skills of a medical scribe. A foundation, however, is just that: something to build upon. A year and a half into being a scribe, I still learn new skills regularly.
Whether your motivation is professional advancement or personal accomplishment, I believe continued growth through learning is vital.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to coax a busy provider into taking the time to teach you new skills. In this post, I figured I could share some strategies that have worked for me in the past.
When a provider asks me if I know how to do something I don’t know how to do, my answer will always be, “not yet, but I can learn.”
In my experience, providers often take me up on the offer. They’re happy to spend five minutes teaching me to do something so they’ll never have to do it themselves again. All they needed was the little extra nudge.
Sometimes, it can take a little extra effort on your behalf to initiate the learning process.
Suppose a provider always enters their own medications. You might ask them at the beginning of the shift if they would be willing to let you practice on some of the simpler entries that day.
Because healthcare providers are busy, it can be daunting for them to think about teaching you a whole new skill. You can make this less of a hurdle for them by being specific about what they can do to help you learn.
For example, asking, “can you let me enter one prescription today?” is much more clear and actionable to the provider than, “can you teach me how to enter prescriptions?” The easier you make it for them to teach you, the more likely they are to do so.
Thus far, I’ve mostly discussed strategies for learning from your provider. We should also acknowledge that we are surrounded by other skilled professionals who might be less busy than your provider. Sometimes, the nurses even know more than the doctors about a particular topic. I can’t count the number of times a nurse has helped me through entering and printing orders!
Your fellow scribes can also be a valuable resource. Starting out, I would often text my trainer for help. Now, as a trainer, I always encourage my trainees to do the same.
