Pitman Training Career Plan Q & A Series
Thinking about launching a medical secretarial or administrative career? While matching your personality to the perfect job role might feel daunting, several key traits point towards success in this dynamic field. Let’s explore what makes this career path a brilliant choice for organised, people-focused professionals.
Outstanding organisational prowess tops the list of must-have qualities. You’ll need genuine enthusiasm for working with people, backed by stellar interpersonal skills, as you’ll serve as the first point of contact for patients and visitors. Grace under pressure proves essential – picture juggling incoming calls whilst processing patient payments and guiding others to their appointments.
Though smaller practices like dental offices typically run at a steadier pace than hospitals, medical secretaries in smaller settings often take on office management duties. Your keen eye for detail will shine when handling sensitive patient information. Brilliant computer literacy, coupled with a firm grasp of healthcare ethics, discretion, and confidentiality, rounds out the core requirements.
Click here for Further Reading on the Role of a Medical Secretary.
Q: What qualifications would you need to be a Medical Secretary or Medical Administrator?
A: The path to a medical secretarial or administrative career starts with specialised vocational training. Pitman Training offers targeted programmes like the Medical Secretary Diploma, Medical Admin Diploma, or Medical Receptionist Diploma. These Cork-specific courses surpass general secretarial qualifications by focusing on essential healthcare sector skills. Medical Terminology training proves particularly valuable, teaching you crucial medical and nursing vocabulary alongside rapid typing and Microsoft software mastery.
Click here about what Alma, a recent Medical Secretary graduate in Cork, had to say about her specialised training in Cork with Pitman Training.
Q: What are the salaries of a Medical Secretary and Medical Administrator?
A: An average salary for a Medical Secretary in Ireland is around €35,500 annually, translating to roughly €17.00 an hour.1 Meanwhile, the average salary for a Medical Administrator in Ireland is €32,000, translating to roughly €15.00 an hour.2
Q: What does the average day of a Medical Secretary and Medical Administrator look like?
A: Your workday varies based on your specific healthcare environment. Common tasks include:
- Maintaining office supplies and systems
- Transcribing medical reports from dictation
- Managing patient records and information
- Coordinating appointments and office calendars
- Connecting with laboratories
- Handling invoicing and payment processing
Q: What is the Cork jobs market currently like for Medical Secretary and Administration jobs?
A: The Cork healthcare sector shows robust demand for medical secretarial and administrative professionals. Both public and private hospitals offer exciting career advancement paths across various departments. Opportunities abound in GP practices, dental surgeries, health clinics, and specialist medical centres.
Q: Is work experience or volunteer work a good idea?
A: Certainly this is one area where if starting out, you could apply to your local GP or Dental practice to see if they would accept you for some work experience and where you could shadow the administrative and office staff there. This would give you excellent exposure to the type of work you would be doing and could further enhance your CV along with the specific Medical Secretary or Medical Administration qualifications you have received.
Q: What is the opportunity for career progression?
A: The medical secretarial path opens doors to diverse career progression. Opportunities span pharmaceutical companies, research organisations, and community healthcare settings. Management roles across these sectors bring increased responsibilities and improved salary packages.
At Pitman Training Cork, we regularly receive requests from healthcare providers seeking our Medical Secretarial and Office Administration graduates for both work experience and permanent positions. For expert career guidance in these areas, contact your local Pitman Training centre for a chat about your future.
- Average gathered from Glassdoor.ie, ie.Indeed.com, and Salaryexpert.com ↩︎
- Average gathered from Glassdoor.ie, ie.Indeed.com, and Salaryexpert.com ↩︎
