If you have decided that you would like to be a Medical Secretary then you will probably know what a secretary role is really about. The difference in this case is that a Medical Secretary works to provide support to doctors and hospitals and they are required to learn and know the medical language.
There are no formal secretary qualifications however you will need to have excellent typing skills including office experience and good IT skills.
Normally a medical secretary will be assigned to one or a few different doctors and they will work to their requirements keeping patient records up to date, handling enquiries, organising the consultant or doctors diaries or that of a surgery, managing waiting lists, sending samples for testing, typing letters and reports etc. These roles are done in a few different areas either a hospital setting, a GP Health Centre or private practices.
Although it’s not essential for entry into this role, there are some qualifications that may be of benefit to the medical secretary role:
- City & Guilds/Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR) Level 2 Certificate and Diploma in Medical Administration
- British Society of Medical Secretaries and Administrators (BSMSA) Certificate in Medical Secretarial Studies.
To perform this role you must be able to work effectively in a team, have excellent communication skills for the times when you are on the telephone and also dealing with clients face to face. You will be highly organised and pay great attention to detail ensuring that you achieve as close to 100& accuracy as possible due to the seriousness of this role.
This is a very professional role that requires a mature attitude and a very smart appearance.
At an interview you may be required to do a typing test, maybe prove that you know medical language and terms, spelling tests etc as these are all important factors of what you as a medical secretary need to be able to do in this role.
You should also be prepared for basic interview questions as well:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What motivates you?
- Why do you want this job?
- Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
- What’s your ideal company?
- What attracted you to this company?
- Why should we hire you? What makes you a better candidate than others?
- What did you like least about your last job?
- When were you most satisfied in your job?
- What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
- What were the responsibilities of your last position?
- Why are you leaving your present job?
- What do you know about this industry?
- What do you know about our company?
- Do you have any questions for me?
Good luck and let us know if you have any questions about your interview.
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