Aim
To improve productivity and efficiencies within the Emergency Department by introducing medical student scribes.
Outcomes
Early trials have shown that this role released the Emergency Physician’s time to be more focused with patients, and saved time in typing clinical notes. Both the productivity and primary consultations increased.
Benefits to the medical student included exposure to a wide range of presentations, improved intern-readiness and bedside manner exposure.
Background
There is a demand across the world for Emergency department doctors to see more patients and also in a timely fashion.
Scribes provide real-time charting in Emergency Department (ED) settings. A student trained as a scribe enters electronic documentation (notes) into the computer, including patient history, physician examination findings, test results, and other information.
By using students as scribes, doctors may feel less stressed and tired despite their heavy workload, and patients don’t mind if scribes are helping the doctor.
Redland Hospital is an outer metropolitan mixed ED seeing approximately 57,000 patients per annum.
