A Medical Secretary is an important member of any medical office. They perform a variety of tasks that keep the office running smoothly.
Medical Secretaries must have good computer/IT skills and have excellent organisational skills. They need to be able to handle a lot of paperwork, stay organised in a busy office environment and be able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. They also need to be good with people, as they often deal directly with patients, doctors, GPs and other medical staff and colleagues under stress.
Other tasks include handling patient records, scheduling appointments, and preparing reports. They also play an important role in patient communication by answering phones and responding to emails. Good communication skills are therefore essential, as is a willingness to learn new things.
Duties of a Medical Secretary
Medical Secretaries have a wide range of duties, which can be divided into three categories: clinical, administrative and secretarial.
Clinical duties include tasks such as preparing patients for examination and treatment, updating medical records, and ordering and stocking supplies.
Administrative duties involve managing the office budget, scheduling appointments, and handling correspondence.
Secretarial duties include typing letters and reports, formatting documents, and making travel arrangements.
Skills Needed
Organisational Skills – Medical Secretaries are responsible for managing a great deal of paperwork. They must be able to keep track of patient records, schedules, and appointment information. They also need to be able to stay organised in order to keep the office in good working order. Good organisational skills are essential for this position.
A good typing speed – The average medical secretary types at 45 words per minute with 80% accuracy or better. Medical secretarial duties include creating, editing, and formatting patient records and summary reports, scheduling appointments, writing correspondence and responding to email messages, generated by medical staff. Also, they create medical PowerPoint presentations, manage office spreadsheets and in general lift the administrative burden.
Courteous attitude – It is important that Medical Secretaries are friendly and have a courteous manner when interacting with patients. They are on the frontline working directly with patients so it is important that they are helpful and promote a positive image.
An effective communicator – Of course, it takes more than being able to answer the phone to communicate professionally with patients and the rest of the people outside the clinic. Medical Secretaries will also need to organise and coordinate so that the practice, clinic or hospital department runs smoothly.
Salary and Career Path
The average annual salary for a Medical Secretary is £23,025. However, this number can range from £20,801 for entry-level positions to £27,677 for more experienced Medical Secretaries. The career path of a Medical Secretary is relatively straightforward.
They usually start out as a receptionist or assistant and work their way up the ladder. There are many opportunities for advancement in this field. Medical Secretaries can become Managers, Trainers, or even owners of their own businesses.
How to Become a Medical Secretary
If you want to become a Medical Secretary, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success. First, get some experience in the medical field by volunteering or working as a medical assistant.
Next, get certified by taking a course from an accredited training organisation to help teach and develop all the skills needed to become a Medical Secretary and so that you have formal recognition of these skills in the form of certificates.
Qualifications Needed
One of the most important qualifications is having excellent computer/IT skills. Most of the work in this field is done on computers. You will be required to use a variety of software programs such as Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint, to complete your tasks, so it is important to be comfortable with these as well.
Another important qualification is being able to type quickly and accurately. As a medical secretary, you will be responsible for entering patients’ details accurately.
Finally, it can be helpful to have a good understanding and knowledge of medical terminology as you will be dealing with medical terminology in all sorts of documents and situations when working as a Medical Secretary.
Here at Lewis College, we offer two Medical Secretary Diplomas – a full course and then a short course which purely focuses on the main skills needed to become a Medical Secretary.
Both are fully accredited by NCFE, a UK awarding body that provides nationally recognised qualifications and awards in vocational skills. NCFE is recognised as an awarding body by the qualification regulators, the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual).
0% finance available on all courses with our ethical funding partner, Knoma.
For more information on either course, you can visit our Medical Secretary course page.