Top Skills You’ll Need to Excel as a Medical Scribe

Have you been eyeing a career in the medical field, but the first line responder position isn’t really what you were thinking of? The great news is that the medical field is one of the most varied fields out there, offering all kinds of different career paths, which means there is bound to be something that appeals to you. One area you may want to look into is a career as a medical scribe. As a medical scribe, you are an essential piece of the healthcare system, and you act as a personal assistant to the physician in many ways.

Curious about what kind of skills you need to excel as a medical scribe? Let’s take a closer look.

Work Well Under Pressure

One of the top skills you’ll need to possess isn’t one that you can learn in school, rather, it tends to just be part of your general personality. A person that is able to perform well under pressure and stress tends to do much better in this career. The job is very fast-paced, and sometimes you need to work very quickly and be able to multi-task without getting flustered.

You’ll Need Amazing Typing Skills

Here’s a skill that is also important, but one that you can certainly work on perfecting with practice. Not only do you need to be able to type extremely fast, but you also need to be accurate when typing. At the same time, your computer skills, in general, need to be quite high, so you can easily find documents, use various software, and stay on top of your ever-growing workload.

Understand All Medical Terminology

It’s also your job to be fully literate in terms of medical terminology. You need to know the common medications, treatments, procedures, anatomy, physiology, and more. As a medical scribe, it’s always a good idea to have a medical dictionary on hand just in case, but ideally, you want to have the majority of the content memorized.

Excellent Communication Skills

Communication skills are also another key aspect of the job. Not only do you need to have superior listening skills so you are catching everything that is being said, but you also need to be able to communicate with the physician, administrative staff, and sometimes even the patients.

Tips for Securing Your Future Career

Of course, after all your training, the goal is to be a successful medical scribe, but did you know that you can actually engage in scribing as an undergrad? Take, for example, the EPPA Medical Scribe Program, which is meant for those looking to get clinical work experience. Typically, you’ll need to have completed your core science pre-requisites and labs in order to qualify for the program, as well as some other requirements. This experience can certainly help to give you that jump start you’ll need to excel in the field.

Each of these skills is extremely valuable to possess and work on perfecting if you plan on excelling in a career as a medical scribe.