Pros
I loved some of the doctors I worked for and they made the job bearable.
Cons
I worked with them over a little over a year and through the entire pandemic. Only positive about this job is that I learned a lot from the DOCTORS who are NOT associated with the actual company. SA itself is awful. During the pandemic all the scribes in the ED worked the frontlines with little PPE when supplies were running low. We were only offered a 30 day unpaid leave during the first few months and thats it. No hazard pay and no bonuses. As a "thanks" for our hard work, I got a single email from higher ups about how appreciative they were of our work. Just an email, no pay raise or anything even though other employees of the ED (such as housekeeping) all got bonuses. Afterwards when the peak was over and their hiring freeze came to an end, management kindly let everyone know that our charts were lacking and we had to do "comfort rounding." Which was NEVER a part of our job description; they essentially wanted us to take on PCA duties such as restocking carts and cleaning beds without the pay raise that should've come with increased work. And all these emails came from management in the middle of a freaking pandemic, who were cozily working from home while the scribes were risking their lives. No thanks. Their complaints about the quality of charting only came up when it would be easy to replace people. The reason they didn't say anything during peak COVID was because losing a single scribe meant losing revenue from the hospital. When the hiring freeze lifted, their complaints started. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I asked my chief scribe about whether we'd be vaccinated and she let me know that we were likely not that high on the list to get vaccinated even though we were STILL CONSIDERED FRONTLINE WORKERS. Imagine risking your life every shift for the past 8 months for 15 dollars an hour just to be told that you wouldn't even get the vaccine?! And surprise, surprise, I was let go just a single day after I pushed for the vaccination. SA wants us to go above and beyond for a job that pays minimum wage with no other incentives. They don't give bonuses, hazard pay or lunch breaks. Scribes who work for 3 doctors at once get paid the same amount as those working for just one doctor. Scribes who are working night shift in a dangerous neighborhood and going home at 4 AM are still paid the same as day shift. You can't call out sick even if you are sick because that would count as a no show if you can't find coverage and no shows are grounds for termination. My coworker spent the entire night in the same worksite with a sick family member and she was told she'd be written up if she didn't show up for day shift. Even if you are sick, you don't get sick leave. I had a doctor I worked with who frequently sexually harassed me and asked my inappropriate questions about my dating life and constantly commented on my appearance. After one particular incident, I reported him to HR and HR did NOTHING. They never got back to me, never disciplined him, nothing. I guarantee that if the tables were reversed I would've been fired instantly. Some of the doctors you work with are nice, some are ridiculously rude and expect you to write the chart as though you're a doctor yourself. I'm not a doctor, I can't read your mind, and I can't interpret the significance of all the findings myself. You have to TELL me if there is something wrong. Every month they ask you what your exit date is because they want to be prepared to replace you. Sure I'll give you that advance of a notice when you give me a notice prior to terminating my employment. There's a reason why SA always has job openings and its because they're abusive to their employees who are quick to leave.
