A medical secretary is an alternative title for this job Medical, Personal Assistant. They offer office maintenance in hospitals, GP surgeries, private clinics and universities.
Medical secretaries conduct documentation and managerial tasks in the office of a doctor or other health practitioners to assist consistent care for the patients. A medical secretary ‘s responsibilities include numerous types of clerical work.
They assist front medical liners by serving doctors, categorising emails, records and phone calls, organising patient visits, making approvals and dealing with billing. Medical secretaries are also accountable for transcribing dictation; managing receivables transactions, writing diagnostic reports, case history, operation documents, emails, and preserving office archives as well as hospital information.
Responsibilities as a medical secretary
As a medical secretary, he or she works for hospitals, doctor’s offices or other clinical institutions. They serve as a communication medium between the office and outside parties.
Schedule time of working: 8 am to 6 pm
Typical hours: 35-37 per week
Photo source: career addict
Responsibilities of a medical secretary:
- Regular contact with patients in person, over the telephone and via text message
- You have to handle appointments and fix the time for the doctors
- Manage files and documents digitally and manually to provide easy access as required.
- Supervises the finances, including both patient and insurance payments.
- Manage sensitive medical information carefully, respecting all privacy laws and regulations
- Scheduling diagnostics tests such as x-rays, physical therapy, MRI's, CT scans and other lab tests etc.
- Recording and transferring messages, scheduling the visitors, receiving and announcing scheduled patients
- Track productivity of physician via maintaining calendars as well as scheduling patient appointments
- Arrange and schedule meetings, conferences, teleconferences and travel.
- Recording meeting discussions
- Calculate revenues
- Bill management and monitoring accounts
- Securing existing information
- Keeping confidential information safe.
- Office management as equipment and kit operation, including following instructions: troubleshooting, supply maintenance, repair management.
- Checking store stock as well as placing and receipt verification.
- Ensuring quality results by applying standards.
- You can help health professionals a community by following the standards or as per requirements.
- Upskill your expertise area by educational chances and training as well as by reading professional research articles.
Skills required for medical secretary
As a medical secretary, you need these following skills to perform the job successfully:
Organisational skill: Organisational skill is such ability that promotes productivity by maintaining harmony in a workplace. Medical secretaries generally organise and stock papers to build everyday tasks in the office.
To maintain a full schedule, the organisation is essential for a medical practice as a large number of records, and doctors need to access information about their patients quickly.
Accuracy: It is very much significant that every detail is accurate when managing the medical records and treatments. Holding right notes guarantees that people get the best care and that the manager is willing to produce appropriate invoices with different insurance agencies.
Oral communication: Oral communication helps a Medical Secretary to follow and pass knowledge during any chat. As a medical secretary professional, you have to communicate in person over the phone with patients, employees and other officials. Exceptional verbal communication skills will give you a head start in this medical secretary career.
Written communication: As a medical secretary, you need to connect through email, text messages or letters. You will be reacting to providers via text-based communications
Emotional intelligence: Interpreting another person’s visual or spoken clues and using the knowledge to react accordingly. Good communications skills help a clinician to disperse their clinical duties tactfully.
As a medical secretary, you are able to read the emotions of another person. And consequently, you can respond with your solid and responsive interpersonal skills.
Technical skills: If you are thinking about the medical secretary profession, you need to know the technical skills. Technological responsibilities such as updating patients’ history and treatment records, bill management, fax sending and emailing are the common duties.
A medical secretary requires further technical skills for their medical secretary position. So, you need to sharpen up your technical skill to get those Medical Secretary positions.
Some other required skills are as follows:
- Attention to detail
- Administrative skills
- Cooperative skill
- Altruism
- Patience
- Remain calm in the tense moment
- Customer service
- Sensitivity
- Able to work efficiently under pressure
- Able to accept criticism
How to get a medical secretary job?
If you are aiming at getting a medical secretary job, you need to follow the followings:
- College degree
- Direct apply
- An apprenticeship
- Working experience related to medical secretary
Qualification levels: Learn what qualification levels mean
1. College degree
If you can complete a college course, you will be skilled in a medical secretary related job which will expand your knowledge and experience you want.
To get an entry in the medical secretary profession, you could get a college degree. This degree will help you to get the theoretical and practical experience in this medical secretary position. You need to study Diploma in Medical Administration relevant subjects with a Level 2 or 3 education
Entry requirements:
- Two or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- Four or five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
2. Direct apply
You will find that some organisations require some specific skills such as knowledge of medical terminology, skills on technological expertise and organisation specific skills.
- You have another option to get an entry in the medical secretary position, which is direct application. Before applying directly, make sure that you have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English.
3. An apprenticeship
You will be able to become a medical secretary through advanced apprenticeship.
Entry requirements:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C). Or you need equivalent qualification, including English and mathematics, to get an advanced apprenticeship.
NHS: You will get opportunities to step into the NHS. Watch this Apprenticeships video on the NHS. If you are interested to know about the best thing about the NHS, watch this video. Meet medical secretary apprentice Louise.
4. Work
You may have experience in a healthcare setting; it may be as a receptionist or maybe as a clerical assistant. You have an opportunity to get a medical secretary role if you already got a relevant qualification while you are working.
Practice Managers, the Association of Medical Secretaries, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR) and the British Society of Medical Secretaries and Administrators (BSMSA) require:
- Level 2 Certificate and Diploma in Medical Administration
- Certificate in Medical Terminology
If you have experience in the secretarial role in your work experience, it can be a good way of getting this role.If you want to step
into NHS as a Medical Secretary, click here to learn more.
Career path and progression
If you can establish your profession, there is a chance to manage a team of secretaries in any large organisation. If you got proper experience and training, the chance to become an administration manager or become an office manager or GP practice manager by gaining experience, you could also switch your role in the finance or HR department.
Average Salary: Generally, the salary of a Medical Secretary ranged from £17,000 – £21,000. NHS Medical Secretary yearly salaries in the United Kingdom is £19,199 per year.
Conclusion
As a Medical Secretary, you can serve people in the hospitals, GP surgeries, private clinics and universities. Medical secretaries conduct necessary documentation and executive tasks in the doctor’s office or other health professionals.
You can establish your career as a Medical Secretary by fulfilling the entry requirement as well as you can improve your life skill and personal expertise in the Medical Secretary career. Through a Medical Secretary career, you can enter the NHS and will get the opportunity to hold a senior managerial position. If you are really strong minded to advance your career in the health sector, then being a Medical Secretary is the proper step to boost your career from the very beginning. START from HERE.
