Medical Secretary:
Ask any GP, nurse or medical practitioner if they could provide a good service to patients without the support of a medical secretary and they’ll all tell you what an essential role the secretary plays in a practice. Medical secretaries can work in a variety of environments like GP surgeries, complementary health centres, hospitals, prisons and schools.
Day to day
Once you’ve learnt the ropes, you could move on to a bigger practice with more responsibility or apply for a position as a senior medical secretary. With appropriate training you could go on to become office or practice manager.
Day to day
Your main task as a medical secretary is to provide administrative support to medical staff. Depending on where you work, you may also be the first point of contact for patients – a role that requires tact, discretion and understanding. You duties will include:
- Dealing with incoming and outgoing mail
- Providing personal assistant support to medical staff
- Answering phone calls and arranging appointments
- Writing letters or recording medical notes
- Ensuring medical samples are properly labeled
- Filing and typing up reports
- Providing administrative assistance with medical research
Qualifications
Most employers will look for at least four GCSEs (A -C grades, including English). Strong secretarial skills are a prerequisite and medical secretaries also need to have some understanding of medical jargon and processes, so specialist training is also required. AMSPAR run a variety of courses including:
- The Level 2 Diploma in Medical Administration
- The Level 3 Diploma for Medical Secretaries
- The Level 3 Certificate in Medical Administration
- The Level 3 Certificate in Medical Terminology
- Or you could consider the AMSPAR Certificate in Health Service Administration.
Once you’ve learnt the ropes, you could move on to a bigger practice with more responsibility or apply for a position as a senior medical secretary. With appropriate training you could go on to become office or practice manager.Useful sites
British Society of Medical Secretaries and Administrators: www.bsmsa.org.uk
Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists: www.amspar.com
Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists: www.amspar.com