- administration skills
- customer service skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- sensitivity and understanding
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- excellent verbal communication skills
- knowledge of English language
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Your day-to-day duties may include:
- handling questions from patients, staff and consultants
- organising a doctor's diary, booking consulting rooms and meetings
- making travel arrangements
- managing a waiting list of patients
- updating patient records and dealing with confidential information
- sending samples for medical testing and recording the results
- typing letters, clinical reports, minutes of meetings and filing
- monitoring an office budget and dealing with invoices
You could work in an office, at a GP practice or in an NHS or private hospital.
With experience, you could manage a team of secretaries in a large organisation.
With further training, you could become an administration manager, office manager or GP practice manager.
You could also move into roles in finance or HR.
You can find out more about medical secretarial careers from Health Careers.
