Pros
There were upsides and downsides to working as an emergency department scribe but I did enjoy most of my time there. A good shift and bad shift are completely dependent on the attending that you are paired up with. Some are angels, and some are very strict with little respect for the work that you do. Overall, the process is fairly simple and easy to learn. Most attendings are very understanding and know that most of us are here to learn, not write notes. While you don't need to go into rooms for procedures, there are some doctors who value learning so much that they make you stand in the room without your laptop just as a learning opportunity. You will learn a lot being a scribe. When there are very few patients, on a relatively slow day, you basically have free time to do whatever (I usually bring my ipad to do HW or read). I was very fortunate enough to be placed with a great team with a great manager that was super understanding about scheduling, time commitments, and emergencies.
Cons
The hours can be very difficult. Some attendings are very anal. If you work in peds, get ready to have to deal with alot of parents. Hours range from 8, 10, 12 hr shifts. Sometimes, time goes by very slowly. You don't really get to know other scribes so theres a bit of a lack of teamwork, but i was lucky to have really nice coworkers.
