Medical secretaries are required to perform administrative duties in general health service centres, academic medical research environments, GP surgeries, and hospitals. Among their duties, they need to keep patient records accurate and up to date, commonly using computarised systems for data backup. They also deal with public ensuring interaction between people and the medical facility.

A Medical Secretary usually performs many of the following tasks:
• Making appointments.
• Writing letters.
• Filling in complex forms.
• Sending samples to laboratories.
• Phoning patients to inform them about test results.

• Having good organisational skills.
• Having high attention to details.
• Being able to stay calm under stressful circumstances.
• Having interpersonal abilities.
• Being tactful.
• Having IT skills.
• Being discreet with confidential information.
• Having good written and spoken communication.
• Being able to work with a team.
• Having interest in medical matters.

Medical secretary job placements do not require specific qualifications, but it would be a big advantage for most posts to have word processing and computing skills. A minimum requirement for many employers is to have A levels and good GCSE grades for application process.

There are further optional qualifications for people working in this area such as the Certificate in Medical Secretarial Studies offered by the British Society of Medical Secretaries.