Skills Needed for Medical Scribing in the Age of AI

Medical scribe abilities depend on having strong knowledge in important areas of healthcare. As a scribe, you become a key part of the clinical team by helping to keep clear and up-to-date records of patient visits.

To do well in this role, you must understand medical terms, including body systems, diagnosis names, and common procedures. Being familiar with medical coding and billing also adds to your strengths and supports other administrative work. Knowing HIPAA guidelines is also necessary, since protecting patient data and keeping privacy is part of your job.

You’ll also need to work well with electronic health record (EHR) software, as you’ll be recording patient data digitally. These essential skills are important for anyone looking to work as a medical scribe and help medical staff while also improving patient care.

This blog takes a look at the main skills a medical scribe should focus on.

Important Healthcare Skills Needed for Medical Scribing in 2025

To become a medical scribe, you need to learn key healthcare-related knowledge. But what should a scribe actually know?

Here are the basic abilities and knowledge areas a medical scribe must be familiar with:

Medical Terminology

A scribe must know basic medical terms such as names of body parts, types of conditions, and common procedures.

Medical Coding and Billing

To work better as a scribe, it’s helpful to know how medical billing and coding works. Being skilled in these areas helps you perform extra tasks when needed.

HIPAA Guidelines

Medical scribes must follow HIPAA rules carefully. It is one of the most important parts of the job, helping protect patient information and records.

Electronic Health Records (EHR)

A main job for scribes is to update patient records during each visit using EHR software. If you want to begin a career in this area, it’s important to learn how the system works.

Top 5 Medical Scribe Skills That Help You Improve in 2025

You don’t need a medical degree to be a scribe. But you do need good training, some background knowledge, and practice. Here are five important skills that can help you become better as a scribe:

Fast Learning

If you plan to work in medical transcription, it’s important to pick up terms, clinical procedures, and rules quickly. Within your first few days, you should also understand HIPAA basics and how scribing works in a healthcare setting.

Besides that, you must be good with EHR systems. Also, good listening and the ability to type at least 70 words per minute with around 95% accuracy is a must.

Medical Terms Knowledge

Scribes often work directly with doctors and other health staff to write down patient details properly. That’s why you should know medical terms, names of diseases, procedures, and coding systems.

Hospitals and clinics usually prefer pre-med students for scribe jobs, as they already understand medical terms. So, if you don’t come from a medical field, try to build up this knowledge.

Good Communication

Another important part of being a scribe is strong communication. Scribes help doctors by keeping records accurate and on time. To do this, they must understand conversations and write clearly and correctly. So, writing and communication skills are very important.

Keeping Skills Up to Date

Healthcare keeps changing with new treatments, rules, and demands. To be a good medical scribe, it’s important to keep learning and stay informed.

Working Under Pressure

Healthcare spaces are busy and can be very intense. Doctors often make life-saving decisions in minutes. As a scribe, you must be able to handle stress and still record key details correctly. You need to keep calm and focused even in high-stress situations.

On top of that, having a kind attitude, a wish to support others, and the will to grow in this job are also important things to keep in mind.

The Future of Learning Medical Scribing in the Age of AI

With AI medical scribes entering the healthcare field, many wonder about the future of learning medical scribing. It's true that AI tools are changing the way documentation is handled, reducing the need for traditional human scribes in some areas. However, understanding medical scribing still holds value, as human oversight, clinical knowledge, and communication skills remain important in many settings. Learning these skills can open doors to support roles that work alongside AI tools and improve overall care delivery.

Pursuing a medical scribe career is not a lost effort, especially as the industry adapts to blend human and AI support. Tools like SOAPsuds AI Medical Scribe are great examples of this shift—helping doctors by handling note-taking tasks like SOAP and DAP notes, easing the pressure of documentation. By reducing physician burnout and streamlining workflows, SOAPsuds allows providers to focus more on patient care. As the role of AI expands, skilled individuals with medical scribing knowledge can still find meaningful roles in clinical support teams.

Also, working as a scribe gives you a good chance to support healthcare work in a meaningful way. Starting in medical scribing with no earlier experience might be a bit hard.

But don’t worry! With the right learning and a proper certification, you can build your scribe abilities and get real-world training. If you’d like, you can try a demo to see how our platform helps you get started, or sign up for a free trial to explore our services. Learn more about SOAPsuds AI Medical Scribe.

Best wishes for your future path!