Geriatric medical scribes are crucial in this field of medicine. Not only do they help physicians record all the patient information, but they also take the burden of administrative work off them. As such, they are an invaluable asset, enabling geriatricians to focus fully on treating their patients, thus providing better care. In this article, we describe their role, required skills, and tasks in more detail. We invite you to read on!
What Is A Geriatric Medical Scribe? What Do They Do?
Medical scribes in geriatrics are responsible for aiding the geriatricians with administrative work. As such, those scribes record patient visits, input the data into EHR systems, and ensure that all the information is up to date.
What is their role in the healthcare system? Since they take over the administration, they enable geriatricians to focus fully on patient care, contributing to better treatment.
What Skills Does a Geriatric Medical Scribe Need?
There are two types of skills required from geriatric scribes:
- General medical scribe skills:
- fast typing,
- knowledge of HIPAA regulations,
- ability to navigate the EHR system,
- stamina,
- medical billing and coding,
- great manners.
- Specialty-specific skills:
- great communication skills with the elderly,
- overall medical terminology knowledge, with a specific focus on geriatrics—the conditions and problems that touch the elderly.
The skill set of geriatric scribes is quite demanding as they deal with a plethora of different conditions. After all, the geriatrics specialty was created to reduce the need to visit specialists. Hence, a potential scribe needs to be well-versed in almost all types of medical terminology, with a great command of those related to the most common old-age health problems.
Is a Geriatric Scribe a Good Career?
Working as a geriatric scribe has its own ups and downs. On the one hand, you get to observe multiple, different procedures, as the range of issues the patients come with is wide. On the other, not everybody feels comfortable working with the elderly, and communication skills are crucial in this role.
Who could be interested in this role?
- premed students,
- those interested in becoming a geriatrician or a geriatric nurse in the future.
Can you make a career as a geriatric scribe? Most people treat this role as a valuable experience and then proceed to follow up with their education and become healthcare providers themselves. However, you can pursue a career as a scribe as well. Here the next steps would be:
- chief scribe,
- trainer,
- scribe ambassador,
- transition into a corporate role.
Naturally, it all depends on you—even if you won’t become a scribe for life, you can consider other medical administration jobs and, for instance, become a care navigator.
The Takeaway
Becoming a medical scribe in geriatrics isn’t for everybody, but if you find work with the elderly rewarding, you should really consider this job. And if you’re sure it is for you, check our career page and find medical scribe job opportunities in your area!
You may also read: How to Become a Medical Scribe?
