Activities	Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.
Outlook	Slower-than-average job growth
Median Income	$29,700 per year in 2008
Work Context & Conditions	Medical secretaries usually work in offices or hospitals. Their jobs often involve sitting for long periods. It's very important in secretarial work that all the details of the job be performed and that everything is done completely.
Minimum Education Requirements	Vocational High School Program
Skills	Active Listening, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Office & Administrative Support
Job Description		Medical secretaries perform highly specialized work requiring knowledge of technical terminology and procedures. They transcribe dictation, prepare correspondence, and assist physicians or medical scientists with reports, speeches, articles, and conference proceedings. They also record simple medical histories, arrange for patients to be hospitalized, and order supplies. Most medical secretaries need to be familiar with insurance rules, billing practices, and hospital or laboratory procedures. Other technical secretaries who assist engineers or scientists may prepare correspondence, maintain the technical library, and gather and edit materials for scientific papers. Secretaries and administrative assistants are aided in these tasks by a variety of office equipment, such as facsimile machines, photocopiers, and telephone systems. In addition, secretaries and administrative assistants increasingly use personal computers to create spreadsheets, compose correspondence, manage databases, and create reports and documents via desktop publishing, and using digital graphics.
Working Conditions		Medical secretaries usually work in offices or hospitals with other professionals. Their jobs often involve sitting for long periods. If they spend a lot of time typing, particularly at a video display terminal, they may encounter problems of eyestrain, stress, and repetitive motion, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Office work can lend itself to alternative or flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work or telecommuting (especially if their jobs requires extensive computer use). More than 1 secretary in 7 works part time and many others work in temporary positions. A few participate in job sharing arrangements in which two people divide responsibility for a single job. The majority of secretaries, however, are full-time employees who work a standard 40-hour week.
Salary Range		Medical secretaries earned a median annual salary of $29,700 in 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $24,500 and $36,100. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,900, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $42,700. Salaries vary a great deal, reflecting differences in skill, experience, and level of responsibility. Salaries also vary in different parts of the country; earnings are usually lowest in southern cities, and highest in northern and western cities. In addition, salaries vary by industry. Beginning salaries were slightly higher in selected areas where the prevailing local pay level was higher.

Education Required		Specialized training programs are available for students planning to become medical secretaries. Bachelor's degrees and professional certifications are becoming increasingly important as business continues to become more global. Medical secretaries should be proficient in word processing, writing, and have good communication skills. However, employers increasingly require extensive knowledge of software applications, such as desktop publishing, project management, spreadsheets, and database management. Secretaries generally advance by being promoted to other administrative positions with more responsibilities. Qualified secretaries who broaden their knowledge of a company's operations and enhance their skills may be promoted to other positions such as senior or executive secretary, clerical supervisor, or office manager.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Clerical, English, Health
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Computers and Electronics, Clerical, English Language
Certification and Licensing

Interest Area		Conventional Involves following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. There's usually a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values		Company Policies and Practices Treated fairly by the company. Working Conditions Good working conditions. Activity Busy all the time.
Skills		Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Assistant, Medical, Technician, Medical Records and Health Information
Job Outlook		Medical secretaries held 471,100 jobs in 2008. Employment growth in the health industries should lead to average growth for medical secretaries through 2018. In some physicians' offices, medical assistants are assuming some tasks formerly done by secretaries. As other workers assume more of these duties, there is a trend in many offices for professionals and managers to "share" secretaries and administrative assistants. The traditional arrangement of one secretary per manager is becoming less prevalent; instead, secretaries and administrative assistants increasingly support systems, departments, or units. This approach often means secretaries and administrative assistants assume added responsibilities and are seen as valuable members of a team, but it also contributes to the decline in employment projected for overall numbers of secretaries and administrative assistants.
More Information		International Association of Administrative Professionals
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Secretaries and Administrative on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos151.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/43-6013.00