medical secretary

The work

Medical secretaries give administrative and secretarial support to doctors, nurses, medical researchers and hospital administrators and managers. They can work in health centres, hospitals, medical schools or pharmaceutical companies.

Depending on the setting, their duties and responsibilities may include:

• dealing with patients to make appointments
• updating patient records
• using a computer for typing correspondence or updating medical notes
• answering telephone enquiries
• maintaining a filing system
• liaising with other health professionals.

Some medical secretaries may act as personal assistants to health service managers or senior medical staff, and could be asked to arrange meetings, keep diaries and organise travel arrangements.

Hours and Environment

Most medical secretaries work from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Flexitime and part-time work is often available.

Most of the working day is spent sitting at a desk in an office.

Skills and Interests

To be a medical secretary you should:

• be highly organised
• have good spoken and written communication skills
• have good people skills, for dealing with patients and relatives in a tactful and sympathetic way
• pay attention to detail
• be able to work as part of a team
• work well under pressure
• have computer skills
• respect confidential information
• be interested in health and medical matters.

Entry

There are no set entry requirements, but employers often ask for some GCSEs (A-C)/S grades(1-3) or equivalent qualifications, usually including English. You will usually need typing and computer skills, so office experience or word processing qualifications are useful.

You may find it useful to take a general secretarial or medical secretarial course before looking for work.

Some medical secretaries begin as medical receptionists. If you are a medical receptionist you may find it useful to gain the Level 2 Intermediate Diploma in Medical Reception from the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR). 

If you are aged 16 to 24 you may be able to enter secretarial work through an apprenticeship scheme. In England these are currently Apprenticeships (level 2) and Advanced Apprenticeships (level 3). To find out more about these, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

Apprenticeships may be different in other areas. For further information see Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland.

Training

You will usually be trained on the job, and also study for the AMSPAR Level 3 Advanced Diploma for Medical Secretaries. This is the only nationally-recognised qualification for medical secretaries, receptionists or administrators in the health care field.

To enter the AMSPAR Advanced Diploma, you must have at least four GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3) including English, or the AMSPAR Level 2 Intermediate Diploma in Medical Reception. You must also gain OCR or Pitman qualifications in two of the following:

• medical shorthand
• medical audio-typing
• medical word processing.

AMSPAR also offers the Level 3 Certificate in Medical Terminology for Non-Clinical Professionals, which is useful for medical secretaries. You can study for this part-time at college or by distance learning.

Please see AMSPAR's website for full details of their qualifications, and a list of centres where you can study.

You may also have on-the-job training in using specific computer software such as databases.

 

Opportunities

There are opportunities for medical secretaries all over the UK, in:

• GP surgeries
• health centres
• National Health Service or private hospitals
• supporting academic staff in medical schools
• in the pharmaceutical industry
• in complementary medicine.

Some medical secretaries are employed by agencies.

Some develop their skills and become personal assistants, either in the health care field or in industry or commerce. It is possible to progress to become an office manager or general practice manager (see the Practice Manager: General Medical profile for more information).

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only:

The starting salary for a medical secretary is around £12,500 a year.
An experienced medical secretary can earn £14,000 to £17,000 a year.
Senior medical secretaries usually earn between £18,000 and £20,000 a year.

Employment agency rates may differ.

Further information

Tel: 08000 150 850
Email: learning@nhscareers.nhs.uk

Tavistock House North
Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9LN
Tel: 020 7387 6005

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