Does anyone know what the qualifications are to be a medical secretary?

CreamSoda | 18:54 Tue 27th Dec 2011 | Jobs & Education

6 Answers

Do you have to have some sort of certificate in it, and what type of typing speed do you need?

Declining a Job... Advice Please :)

crusader

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cathfromsaron

yes you need to get a really good speed at typing and office/word, audio and then medical audio at various grades!

usually lots of evening classes and venues for those! x

murraymints

In Scotland there is a Medical Administration diploma course..lasts one year...has about 5 different subjects...typing speeds when I did it were to 35 wpm...not fast really ..accuracy in medical world more important...Jewel and esk college in Edinburgh..they may be able to tell you about other colleges..

boxtops

No, you don't, but if you do have a qualification or certificates, it proves that you can deliver properly put together letters and referrals, and that you understand all that's necessary about confidentiality etc. You need to be accurate and understand paper and electronic filing systems, and medical records.

If I were going to recommend a qualification to you, you'd need either the AMSPAR (Association of Medical Secretaries and Practice Administrators) certificate, which may run at your local FE college and costs about £2k over two years (one evening per week), or look at the on-line courses run by the BSMSA (british Society of Medical Secretaries and Administrators) at www.bsmsa.org.uk (about £800 for full certificate course). If you don't have the qualification then I would suggest that you need certificates demonstrating your typing speed, and some consultants still use audio tapes for dictation - shorthand isn't needed but something like Pitmanscript can help you write quickly! Some Med Secs in the area where I work also have the NVQ level 2 or 3 in Business Admin, to demonstrate they are working to national standards.

You might need also to study topics like Medical Terminology (on the BSMSA site) or Understanding Investigations, or Prescription Medicines explained - all to help your understanding.

I hope this helps!

Slapshot

You need to have the personality of a Nazi female prison guard, dress like you are applying for the local school of dominatrixes and enjoy taking sweets from kids.

Maybe that's just our surgery...;-)

boxtops

No, no, slapshot, that's the receptionists..... :-)