How to start your Medical Secretarial or Administrative career in Cork - Pitman Training Career Q & A Series

How do you know if a medical secretary job will be right for you? It’s hard to determine how our personalities will match one career over another, however there are a few key personality traits ideally suited to a career as a medical secretary.

First up has to be organisational skills, and highly organised at that. You also would need to be someone who enjoys the company of people with good interpersonal skills as you are most often the first line of contact with the public. It is also critical to be able to keep a cool head under pressure and be able to multi-task effectively. The switchboard could be ringing, whilst you are invoicing a waiting patient and directing another to the waiting room. GP/Dentist/Clinic settings can be quieter than a hospital setting in general however the role of the Medical Secretary can also be one of Office Manager in a smaller practice with many responsibilities falling to you. Attention to detail is crucial, as you are often dealing with very critical and sensitive information. Excellent PC skills and awareness of ethics, diplomacy and confidentiality are also a must. Click here for further reading on the role of a Medical Secretary.

Q What qualifications would you need?

A In general you would need a specialised vocational training course such as Medical Secretary Diploma or a Medical Admin Diploma or Medical Receptionist Diploma in Cork with Pitman Training. These Cork courses specifically train you for a career in this area rather than a general secretarial qualification. One of the most important training you would do is in Medical Terminology where you learn very necessary medical and nursing terms, along with high-speed typing and Microsoft software. Read 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 types of salaries are you looking at?

A An average salary for a Medical secretary in Ireland is €26,816 per year. Entry level starting at about €25K which tends to grow with years of experience up to about €32K per year. The good news is that salaries for Cork Medical Secretaries are above the national average. According to payscale.ie the average wage for a Medical Secretary in Cork is €13.15 per hour with the hourly rate ranging from €10-€17. Total pay scale ranges from €20,830-€40,246.

Q What does your average day look like?

A Roles change on any given day and depending on the working environment you are in. However some common themes would be typing and transcribing dictation, preparing medical reports, recording patient information, managing office files, calendar and appointment management, liaising with laboratories, invoicing, managing office supplies.

Q What is the Cork jobs market currently like for medical secretary and administration jobs?

A Demand for medical administration, support and secretarial staff has never been better in Cork. With many private and public hospital based roles providing career progression throughout a number of interesting departments. Smaller clinic and practice roles are readily available from GP, dental practices, health clinics and many more.

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 Secretary/Administrator is a specialised role with many progression routes as your experience and qualifications grow. There are opportunities to work within different industries such as Pharmaceutical along with Health, or perhaps in a Research organisation or in Community Healthcare for example. There are many management opportunities in these various sectors and additional responsibilities and corresponding increased salary scales go hand in hand.

Educational Training centres such as Pitman Training are regularly contacted by businesses looking for medical secretarial and medical office admin graduates to place in either a work experience setting or indeed with a view to interviewing for a paid position. If you are looking for career advice about jobs and training in these areas, one of the best steps you can take is to check out your local Pitman Training centre.

We offer over 400 flexible learning, full and part-time Cork courses in a wide range of subjects from IT, Technical training courses, Programming to Web Design, Management courses, Digital Marketing, Accounting courses, Event Management, Medical Secretarial and Legal Secretary training.

Contact us on 021 484 9989 /FREEPHONE 1800 532 632, email cork@pitman-training.ie or WhatsApp/SMS 086 739 9557. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @pitmancork