12 Key Attributes Medical Secretaries Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Olivia Williams

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Medical secretaries perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

The core tasks that medical secretaries are likely to carry out include:

Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
Complete insurance or other claim forms.
Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that medical secretaries would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for conventional work environments. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 95.6%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 94%

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 93.6%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 91.6%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 91%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.6%

Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 88.4%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.4%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.8%

Preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.2%