A Day in the Life of.... Tracy Grafton

I'm a very practical person, and when it came to choosing a career at school I wanted transferable skills that would be of use anywhere. Of course, secretarial work fitted the bill. I've always been interested in all things medical, and taking this role allowed me to combine the practical skills of a secretary with the medical knowledge that so interested me.

I've worked in healthcare for twenty one years, although not all of those have been as a medical secretary. After gaining my AMSPAR Diploma in Medical Secretarial Studies (as it was called then) my first job was as a medical secretary in the Microbiology Department at St Thomas' Hospital in London. After that, I worked in a variety of London hospitals before moving into NHS management. When my husband was appointed as director of human resources in Leicester, I decided to return to the job I loved best - medical secretary.

My job involves maintaining my consultant's diary, typing clinic letters, discharge summaries, operation notes, operating lists and medical reports. I also take queries from GPs, patients and relatives or carers regarding expected admission or operation dates. I sort out clinic appointments; chase results; bring to the attention of the doctors any abnormal results; give patients their results; arrange emergency admissions (when patients or relatives ring to say they are unwell); liaise with the clinical nurse specialists, medical students and other doctors in my consultant's firm regarding patient care issues; obtain notes and x-rays from other hospitals when patients have been referred...as you can see, the list is endless!

If my job sounds appealing, and anyone out there thinks they'd like to become a medical secretary, the skills needed (apart from the obvious secretarial skills and medical knowledge and know how) are:

• Being able to prioritise work (which comes not just from the medical staff at your place of work, but from patients, carers/relatives and GPs)
• Ability to keep calm in a pressured environment
• Patience, understanding and a genuine desire to help people.
• Common sense and the ability to work on your own (particularly if the doctor you work for is not always readily available)
• (Self) motivation
• Getting on well with people at all levels (from doctor to cleaner)
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• The job is not particularly well paid, so there has to be an altruistic streak in you!

Click the logo above to visit the AMSPAR website

Some areas in the country will not employ medical secretaries unless they have gained their AMSPAR Advanced Diploma for Medical Secretaries, which is seen as a hallmark of excellence. You would need four GCSE passes, or at the discretion of the college, you would need to be a mature student with existing secretarial skills, or experience in a health care environment in an admin or clerical role. The course is available for full or part time study with an average course length of 12 - 24 months and there are five modules, each of which can be separately certificated.

The diploma gives an excellent all round training into healthcare and includes subjects like anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, medico-legal issues, becoming familiar with the NHS of today and its legislation and of course, office skills. During the course, you will also get to go on healthcare placements, which could be in a hospital or GP practice or other healthcare establishment. AMSPAR also offers courses to develop particular skills in either hospital or general practice reception, medical terminology and the Diploma in Practice Management (for those working in general practice).

There is no recognised career path as such, but many healthcare receptionists have gone on to be medical secretaries and many medical secretaries have become NHS managers. Some secretaries also move into research work at a hospital, undergraduate/postgraduate posts at university medical schools, or become general practice managers - the choice is endless!

The good bits about being a medical secretary are being able to make a difference each day, feeling you've actually helped or reassured someone. I enjoy being part of a team, and seeing a patient referred with cancer, being able to go back to their normal daily living. Of course, the bad bits are not being able to make a difference (whether that's due to not being able to admit a patient due to a lack of beds, theatre space etc), working for an organisation that can't always take into account individual's needs (although I believe we do our best) and the phones - they don't stop ringing all day!

The difficult bits are working in an organisation that is constantly influenced by the political party of the time, and also having people (whether it's the media, patients or the local MP) constantly knocking the NHS. Patients' expectations have really grown and sometimes it's difficult for people to realise that we aren't always able to achieve the timescales that they expect, the doctors aren't freely available (no, they aren't to us either!) and it can take a while for us to get back to them with what may seem a very simple answer.

All in all though, the good points far outweigh the bad, and I wouldn't work in another industry for the world!

If you would think a career as a medical secretary might be of interest to you, contact 'Amspar' for friendly helpful advice and to find out about the right training programme for you. Visit www.amspar.co.uk, or call 020 7387 6005

Since writing this article, Tracy has gone on to become PA to the National Director of the Cancer Collaborative.