Patient care hours · Guide

Does scribing count as patient care experience?

By The Prereq Club, a pre-PA student and her mom (not PAs or admissions advisers). Every program rule below names its source and the month we checked it: October 2026.

Short answer

It depends on the program, and sometimes on where you scribe. CASPA lists scribing as an example of healthcare experience, not patient care experience. All five programs we checked count scribing in some form, each with its own conditions. Duke counts in-person scribing but not virtual. UNC Chapel Hill lists virtual scribing as acceptable (paid positions only). UW MEDEX counts it only in the patient room. Quinnipiac counts it only if the work is mostly hands-on.

What CASPA says

CASPA's Healthcare Experience category covers paid or unpaid work in health care "where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care, but may still have patient interaction." Its examples include "working as a scribe." Patient Care Experience is for work where you are directly responsible for a patient's care. CASPA also says each program's definitions vary, so the category alone doesn't decide whether a program counts your hours.

Five programs, side by side

ProgramDoes scribing count?The condition
Duke
2026–27		In person onlyVirtual scribing doesn't count
UNC Chapel Hill
Jan 2027 entry cycle		YesLists "Scribe/Virtual scribe" (paid hours only)
UW MEDEX Northwest
2026–27		In the patient room onlyNot telemedicine; must work directly with the provider (paid hours only)
Quinnipiac
current catalog		Only if mostly hands-onIts minimum is 2,000 hours of direct patient care (U.S. or Canada) for CASPA applicants
Yale
current page (checked Oct 2026)		Listed as an exampleYale recommends, but doesn't require, six months of full-time healthcare work or 1,000 hands-on hours

Five examples, not a ranking. Rules shown are for the cycle named; most of these 2026–27 cycles have closed, so check each page again when your cycle's requirements post.

If you scribe, do this

  1. Write down whether you scribe in person or remotely, and in which setting (ER, clinic). Two of the five programs above (Duke and UW MEDEX) don't count remote scribing.
  2. Log any hands-on tasks separately. If part of your job is direct patient care, CASPA says to split a mixed job's hours between categories instead of counting them twice.
  3. Check each program's job list on its own admissions page, and note the cycle and the date you checked.
  4. Consider a second, hands-on job if your list includes programs that don't count scribing the way you do it. Ask the program before you plan around it.

Free: the Patient Care Hours Starter Kit. A 3-step check for whether a job counts at your schools, CASPA's categories on one page, and a simple hours log. Built from the same program pages as this guide.

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Quick answers

Is scribing patient care experience or healthcare experience on CASPA?

CASPA lists working as a scribe as an example of Healthcare Experience, meaning work where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care. Each program then decides whether scribe hours count toward its requirement.

Does virtual scribing count for PA school?

At some programs. UNC Chapel Hill lists virtual scribe, while Duke counts in-person scribing only and UW MEDEX requires scribing in the patient room, not telemedicine.

Sources (all opened October 2026)

Rules can change from one cycle to the next. Before you count on any of this, check each program's own admissions page or email the program. This guide is educational only and isn't admissions advice.