I often ask patients to "squiggle over a little bit on the stretcher,"...

Oh! Doc! You could ask me to squiggle for you anytime! But this is where I would use scootch again. Meaning, to move over a bit. It is a well understood word here. I took an ambulance ride last week and when I got to the hospital, they asked me to scootch over from the stretcher to the gurney in the hallway.