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Job description: Medical Secretary
Medical secretaries are specialist secretaries, with some understanding of medical 'speak'. If you go into this field it's your role to help doctors, hospital consultants and other senior medical staff manage important administrative and secretarial tasks so they can spend more face to face time with their patients.
As a medical secretary you'll be seen as an important part of the team no matter where you choose to work - in a healthcare centre, GP surgery, medical school, for a private practice, in complementary medicine or for a medical charity or pharmaceutical company.
A typical day in the life of a medical secretary varies according to where you work. If you work in a GP's surgery you'll probably find yourself dealing with a lot of patients. If you work in a private or complementary medicine clinic then you might have to take payments and provide receipts.
General tasks you will be responsible for include:
- Dealing with incoming and outgoing mail
- Answering phone calls
- Using a computer to write letters or record medical notes
- Making sure medical samples are properly labelled
- Keeping on top of filing and making appointments.
Depending on your medic's schedule and needs, as you prove yourself you might also be able to take on some more PA-type responsibilities which could involve:
- Scheduling meetings
- Keeping track of a doctor's busy diary
- Organising travel
- Dealing with patients and visitors.
Hours and environment
You can expect to work a standard 35 to 37 hour week. This usually means you'll be onsite Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ish. Sometimes medical secretaries need to be on hand round their doctor's shift which could include starting early or working the odd evening or Saturday.
It is a flexible job and often part-time work and job share are available.
Most of your day will be spent sitting in front of a computer and using the phone. You might also be expected to take a turn at reception or to run important files to the right department.
Skills and interests
You'll need to be more than just an efficient general secretary to make it as a medical secretary. You'll need some specialist training in medical terms and jargon, so it definitely helps if you have an interest in medicine.
Skills that are a must for the job are:
- Well organised
- Good attention to detail to manage complex work
- Good communication skills to deal with patients and relatives in a sympathetic way and be able to cope with the emotional strain
- Good keyboard skills and be confident using technology
- Able to work as part of a team and on your own initiative
- Able to prioritise a number of different tasks
- Good concentration - you'll get lots of interruptions in the course of the day
- Discretion (all medical information is confidential)
Entry
Although there are no minimum entry requirements, you'll probably find that employers will ask for four GCSEs (A -C grades, including English). You will also be expected to be confident with technology and good at typing.
Taking a general secretarial course such as the City & Guilds, OCR and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry will help you get noticed. These courses are available (full, part-time and distance learning) at many colleges and private colleges across the UK.
Training
Once you've bagged the job, your employer might ask you to work towards the Advanced Diploma for Medical Secretaries from the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR). The course covers:
- Admin and legal issues relating to the NHS
- Rules for medical documentation and practice
- Spelling of medical words
- Correct use of medical terms and abbreviations (so you can read notes and prescriptions etc)
- Learning the meaning of medical terms
- Learning the correct use of titles, professional bodies and qualifications
The course takes between 12 and 24 months to complete and involves a combination of written exams, a research project and work experience. You'll need at least four GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3) or equivalent to be accepted on the AMSPAR course, but if you have A levels/H grades you may be able to take a shorter course. Full and part-time options are available and a list of colleges offering the course is available from AMSPAR.
You'll get on the job training to help you get to grips with the computer system and procedures used in your office.
If you work for the NHS you should be encouraged to go on some of the courses offered by the service.
Opportunities
There are more than 30,000 medical secretaries in the UK. Once you've got your feet under the table there are plenty of opportunities to progress.
Many stay within the field and are promoted to the role of senior secretary. Others move organisations to gain more seniority and responsibility, for example moving from a GP's surgery to a private practice.
You could also use your skills and go on to become a PA either in the medical world or in other industries. If you have AMSPAR qualifications you could even go on to become an office or practice manager.
Annual income
Where you work will have an impact on your salary but you can expect to start on around £11,500 to £12,500.
Looking ahead in your career, as a senior medical secretary you can take home between £15,000 to £25,000 depending on your level of experience.
Things are a bit different in the NHS where there are set pay bands ranging from £13,694 for a new entrant to £19,248 for a senior medical secretary. These rates are higher in London.
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