Editor—Medical secretaries are pivotal members of the clinical team in both primary and secondary care.1 Unfortunately they are usually conspicuous only in the event of mistakes, as with many other healthcare professionals.
The crucial role of medical secretaries seems to be barely recognised. Even more worryingly, many medical secretarial posts are being filled with unqualified people who may possess adequate secretarial skills but lack knowledge of medical terminology and the NHS processes required to take on such an essential role. Also, many experienced medical secretaries, who currently end up training new recruits, are of retirement age, which is going to leave a vast skills shortage for the future.
We think that the main problem is the lack of knowledge about the exact role of medical secretaries, particularly on the part of NHS management. Many trusts do not even ask for qualifications from the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists or the British Society of Medical Secretaries, let alone appropriate experience.
The only way forward is for management to realise the importance of appropriate qualifications and experience needed for the job and to design a pay and career structure commensurate with their training and skills. Until this happens many suitable candidates will be lost to other more lucrative sectors, leading to potential problems for consultants, other medical staff, other healthcare professionals and, most importantly, patients.
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Alis J, Blair M. Life as a medical secretary—a new learning experience for the aspiring consultant. BMJ 2003;326: 403. [Google Scholar]