The first note you generate with Doximity Scribe will be good. It probably won't be perfect. That's expected, and it's not a flaw in the tool. Physicians who build a few intentional habits in the first week close that gap quickly. Day 1: Pick your template and dictate one note
Before your first encounter, choose the note template that fits your practice. Scribe offers SOAP, H&P, Consult, and simple dictation formats. You can also build your own from scratch if none of the defaults match how you document. Then dictate one note on a routine follow-up. Read what Scribe generates. Notice what it got right and what you'd phrase differently. Don't revise everything yet, just observe.
Day 2: Dictate in full sentences
The fastest way to improve Scribe output is to speak in complete clinical sentences rather than shorthand. Instead of "SOB x3d, no fever, vitals stable," try: "The patient presents with a three-day history of shortness of breath. She denies fever. Vital signs are stable."
Complete sentences give Scribe more context to assign content to the right sections. Notes come out cleaner and need less editing.
Day 3: Use pause and resume intentionally
Scribe lets you pause and resume recording mid-encounter. This is especially useful when a patient goes off-topic, when you step out of the room, or when you're pre-charting before the visit starts. Pausing during non-clinical conversation keeps your note focused and reduces cleanup afterward.
Day 4: Try Smart Edits on your first rough note
After Scribe generates a note, Smart Edits gives you one-tap tools to refine it. Tap "More Concise" to tighten a note that ran long, "More Detailed" to expand a section, "Add Billing Codes" to append billing documentation, or "Update Pronouns" to correct pronoun usage throughout in one step. For anything more specific, the "Suggest a change" text field lets you describe what you want adjusted in plain language. Scribe applies it without you rewriting manually.
Day 5: Use Refine with Ask for deeper edits
The "Refine with Ask" button hands your note directly to Doximity Ask, where you can make freeform requests: reformat a section, adjust clinical emphasis, add context that was missed during dictation, or ask for a patient summary. It's the same Ask you already use, applied directly to your Scribe note.
By the end of week one
Most physicians find that by Day 5, review time per note has dropped to under a minute for routine encounters. Better dictation habits, Smart Edits for quick cleanup, and Refine with Ask for anything deeper makes the workflow feel genuinely fast.
