Medical secretary

Medical secretary
medical assistant
Between telephone calls, welcoming patients and entering consultation reports, the medical secretary has varied tasks. His main assets: his sense of contact and his good knowledge of medical vocabulary. Recruitment is concentrated in medical offices, hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, etc. This profession is accessible after an SMS baccalaureate but additional training is recommended.

Professional life
The third in hospital
There are around 50,000 medical secretaries, a third of whom work in the public hospital sector. The profession is established in social establishments. However, the development of group practices and telephone secretarial centers does not work in favor of the profession. Finding a first job is not always easy, with graduates facing competition from experienced people.
Different competitions
In the hospital civil service, two competitions are open to high school graduates: medical secretary and assistant to hospital executives. With the possibility of evolving as an assistant through internal competition. In the territorial civil service, the health and social sector specialty of the editor competition (baccalaureate level) leads to positions of medico-social secretary. The role of medical information technician, prepared within the framework of university diplomas, is a possible evolution. It consists of managing the medical information of a health establishment.
Beginner's salary
From the minimum wage and up to 1600 euros gross/month.
Working conditions
Varied exercise locations
The medical secretary works in medical offices, laboratories, radiology centers and clinics. But also in hospitals, maternal and child protection centers, public medium and long-stay centers. Medical-social secretaries work in public or private social or medico-social establishments or services: family allowance funds, health insurance funds, retirement homes, homes, etc.
Multiple statuses
The status of medical secretaries varies depending on their place of practice. In medical practices and clinics, they have a private law contract. In hospitals and public medico-social establishments, they are civil servants recruited through competitive examinations.
SKILLS
The right word
An error in a medical report or a misclassification can have serious consequences. The medical secretary must be rigorous. And know the vocabulary used by doctors and biologists... Like them, it is subject to professional secrecy. Discretion is required.
Organized and warm
Managing diaries or operating theater reservation schedules requires a certain sense of organization. Constant contact with patients, sometimes in difficult situations, requires a lot of tact. The medical secretary must be attentive and reassuring.
Nature of the work
50% relational
Whether on the telephone to request an appointment or at the office during a consultation, the medical secretary is the patient's first contact. She filters requests, directs in the event of an emergency, welcomes you in the waiting room or in the hospital department. Always with the aim of building confidence. She responds to anxiety or impatience by remaining understanding.
From dictaphone to archives
Experienced in typing with a dictaphone and rapid computer entry, the medical secretary prepares daily reports of consultations, examinations or surgical interventions. She maintains medical records, classifies them and archives them. The day-to-day management of the medical practice is also his responsibility (scheduling, invoices, current accounting, orders for supplies and materials).
Training to enter the profession
• Eight Red Cross schools (Amiens, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Besançon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nancy, Paris) organize preparation for the Red Cross medico-social secretary certificate. The training lasts one year, including internships. It is aimed at high school graduates, but also at patent, BEP, CAP level graduates who have 3 years of experience in the medico-social sector or 5 years of experience in another field. Cost of training: around 3000 euros. • Public and private high schools offer one-year training. • The CNED organizes distance learning over a year (with an internship), which prepares people for civil service exams.