Medical Secretaries

Description

Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

Tasks

Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
Complete insurance or other claim forms.
Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.
Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
Compile and record medical charts, reports, or correspondence, using typewriter or personal computer.
Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
Perform various clerical or administrative functions, such as ordering and maintaining an inventory of supplies.
Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
Transcribe recorded messages or practitioners' diagnoses or recommendations into patients' medical records.
Arrange hospital admissions for patients.
Prepare correspondence or assist physicians or medical scientists with preparation of reports, speeches, articles, or conference proceedings.

Knowledge

Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Medicine and Dentistry: Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Work Activities

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Performing Administrative Activities: Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Deal With External Customers: How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Exposed to Disease or Infections: How often does this job require exposure to disease/infections?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks: How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?

Interests

Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Social Orientation: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Work Values

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

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National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $15.07 hourly, $31,350 annual.

Employment (2008):: 509,640 employees