• Nidhi Garg, Pridha Kumar, and Sanjey Gupta.
• Southside Hospital, Northwell Health, 301 E Main St, Bayshore, NY 11706, United States of America. Electronic address: ngarg1@northwell.edu.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2021 Sep 1; 47: 30-34.

BackgroundDue to the unique nature of working in the field of emergency medicine (EM), physicians often find it difficult to engage in research and scholarly activity while also working clinical shifts. Barriers to engaging in both academic and clinical work include lack of time, resources, and incentives. EM physicians are familiar with the concept of scribes working alongside them in the emergency department, and there are multiple papers published that examine and advocate for their benefits.ObjectivesThis paper aims to introduce the concept of virtual research scribes in clinical research in EM to offer physicians an opportunity to alleviate the burdens of balancing clinical work and academia simultaneously.MethodsA research scribe is a student who is interested in healthcare and research and aids the PI in literature reviews and manuscript writing and editing, completely remotely. Six research scribes were hired in a pilot program to test their efficacy in a clinical research setting. The scribes were assigned tasks including manuscript writing and editing, performing literature reviews, and writing newsletters.ResultsThe six research scribes in the pilot program proved to be beneficial for time management, collaboration, and editing in the research and scholarly process. The remote nature of the program allowed for flexibility in scheduling on both the PI and scribe's behalf.ConclusionBy utilizing a research scribe in their academic career, EM physicians can increase efficiency and productivity in scholarly work.Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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