Medical Secretary
Also advertised as: Clinical Secretary, clinical transcriber, clinical transcription suite typist, clinical transcription typist, clinical transcriptionist, Consultant's Secretary
Provides administrative and typing support to doctors and clinical teams.
What the job involves
Medical secretaries manage clinicians' diaries, type up clinic letters and referrals, and act as a point of contact for patients navigating appointments. Accurate medical terminology and confidentiality are essential, since errors in letters can affect patient care. The role suits people who are highly organised and comfortable working to deadlines.
Typical responsibilities
- Type clinic letters and referral documents
- Manage clinicians' diaries and appointments
- Handle patient correspondence
- Maintain confidential medical records
- Coordinate with other departments
Common employers
- NHS trusts
- GP surgeries
- Private hospitals and clinics
Pay, hours and working environment
Typical pay
£22,000 – £25,000 a year
With experience
£26,000 – £30,000 a year
Typical hours
37.5 hours, Monday to Friday daytime
Working environment
Office within a hospital or clinic
Remote working
hybrid
Demand for this work
steady
Pay ranges are indicative guidance drawn from advertised UK vacancies and published careers information. They are not an offer, and actual pay varies by employer, location and experience.
Skills and qualifications
Core skills
- Fast accurate typing
- Medical terminology
- Organisation
- Confidentiality
- Communication
Transferable skills you may already have
- Administrative or secretarial experience
- Typing speed and accuracy
- Diary management
Requirements employers ask for
- Fast accurate typing
- Medical terminology
- Organisation
- Confidentiality
- Communication
- GCSEs including English
- Medical terminology course (often provided on the job)
- Basic DBS check
- grammar
- transcribe medical data
- database
- health records management
- maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
- apply organisational techniques
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- use electronic health records management system
- edit dictated medical texts
- comply with legislation related to health care
- archive healthcare users' records
- manage digital archives
Useful but not essential
- Administrative or secretarial experience
- Typing speed and accuracy
- Diary management
- RSA/OCR qualification in medical typing or audio transcription
- Experience in an administrative role
- display medical problems
- health care system
- participate in medical records' auditing activities
- review patient's medical data
- use shorthand
- handle paperwork
- work in multidisciplinary health teams
- perform clinical coding procedures
Helpful qualifications
- RSA/OCR qualification in medical typing or audio transcription
- Experience in an administrative role
Licences and checks
- Basic DBS check
Ways into this career
A degree is only one route. Where an apprenticeship, work-experience or qualification route exists, it is listed here alongside the academic option.
Apprenticeships and work-based routes
- Business Administrator (Level 3) with NHS medical secretary training
Degree and college routes
- Related subject: Business studies
- Related subject: English
Where this career can lead
next
Senior Medical Secretary
next
Practice Manager
next
Clinical Services Coordinator
The good parts and the hard parts
What people enjoy
- Regular daytime hours with weekends off
- No clinical qualification required
- Stable demand across the NHS and private sector
What people find hard
- Pay plateaus without further administrative progression
- High volume of correspondence deadlines
Common questions
- Do you need a degree to become a medical secretary?
- No. As well as degree routes, this career can be entered through an apprenticeship or by building experience and qualifications on the job. not_required
- How much does a medical secretary earn in the UK?
- Typical advertised pay runs from £22,000 to £25,000 a year, rising towards £30,000 with experience. Figures are indicative guidance rather than an offer.
- What skills transfer into this career?
- Skills that transfer well include Administrative or secretarial experience, Typing speed and accuracy, Diary management.
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Where this information comes from
- National Careers Service
- Institute for Apprenticeships
Last reviewed 15 September 2026.
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