Job responsibilities
JOB
PURPOSE
The
post holder will provide a comprehensive medical secretarial service to the
Consultant and the medical team. They
will support and administer processes to sustain the Consultants practice
through administrative protocols, processes, and procedures in line with
service needs. They must be able to
communicate sensitively and effectively with a wide range of people including
patients, medical staff, and colleagues.
The secretary may be required to cover for colleagues during absence
and work flexible hours when necessary.
JOB
DIMENSIONS
The
post holder will be responsible for ensuring clinical correspondence and
administrative tasks aligned to a consultants practice are maintained to
ensure that internal and National standards/targets are met. The post holder will be required to
deputise and assume supervisory responsibilities during periods of absence.
To ensure that processes/procedures comply with legislative requirements
covering Health & Safety, Data Protection, and confidentiality.
PRINCIPAL
DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Knowledge
Application of Trust policies,
hospital practices and procedures associated with the role of the medical
secretary which require specialist knowledge e.g Medical Terminology, Patient
Pathway protocols.
Appreciation of clinical/operational
areas that the service area interacts with.
Application of data protection and
copyright laws and their affects on the service.
Appreciation of the aims and
application of standards of care e.g. Patient Charter.
An understanding of the relationship
and impact on the service of a range of IT applications e.g. PAS.
Skills
Appropriate typing/IT qualification
or equivalent.
An ability to accurately transcribe
complicated/complex audio tapes, short hand notes and type complicated
medical information while subject to frequent interruption.
The ability to cope with the
sometimes distressing and emotional nature of the work when dealing with
situations requiring sensitivity involving colleagues, patients and their
families.
An ability to exercise judgement
when dealing with patient enquiries to evaluate the situation and resolve
problems.
Excellent organisational skills with
the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, prioritise
workload, work under pressure, multi-task and meet deadlines.
Highly developed interpersonal
skills with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels,
i.e. patients, relatives, colleagues and health professionals, within the
Trust and externally.
Must be tactful and diplomatic.
Experience
Working in a customer focussed
environment.
Understanding and knowledge of
office-based procedures/systems gained over a significant period.
Interpretation and analysis of
reports, databases, and spreadsheet information.
Experience of using a variety of IT
applications in a Windows base.
Qualifications
GCSE (or equivalent) English
Language grade C or above.
RSA Stage II typing/word processing
or equivalent.
PRINCIPAL
DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Work closely with the consultant and
his/her team, clerical, secretarial and other Trust staff to ensure the
delivery of a co-ordinated and consistent operational management service.
Drafting standard clinical letters
on behalf of the Consultant prior to checking and signing by the Consultant.
Provide and receive routine
information requiring tact/provision of sensitive information.
Exchange information with patients
and staff for appointments, admissions, and meetings verbally, in person and
in written format.
Filing correspondence and results of
tests/investigations in a timely manner and liaising with the Consultant with
reference to these results.
Supporting the consultant in his/her
wider role e.g. medical committees, research activities, producing
publications, in role of Regional Adviser etc.
Compiling and collating data from
various sources, following up contributions to publications etc. including
assembling information in an appropriate format for the Consultant.
Creating and maintaining appropriate
record systems.
Using a range of IT skills to
support the clinical work of the consultant e.g. development of databases and
spreadsheets, inputting and reporting from these on a regular basis and
preparation of power point presentations.
Provide training and support to
clerical or trainee staff and to new/temporary staff, checking their work and
allocating work to ensure the most urgent work is given priority.
Liaising with patients, general
practitioners, and hospital staff.
Respond to written and telephone
enquiries in a polite and helpful manner, prioritising messages and taking
responsibility for any follow-up action.
Handling the administrative process
for the admission of patients and liaising with appropriate colleagues to
achieve the smooth and timely admission of the patient.
Give support to ensure effective
running of all clinics by taking to and collecting from the clinical areas
all information relevant to patients attending that clinic.
Support administrative processes
where clinics need re-scheduling.
Work as part of the administration
team and, when necessary, provide interdepartmental cover, where appropriate
and in discussion with the line manager.
Comply with the requirements
dictated by regulatory bodies and their code of practice throughout all
disciplines in the CMT, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and the NHS.
Other
duties as applicable:
Maintain an accurate and up-to-date
waiting list/patient target list (PTL) under the instruction of the
consultant/s.
Maintaining an efficient process for
ensuring that all results are received, seen by a doctor, actioned and
available in patients medical case notes when attending clinic.
The post-holder may be expected to
deputise in a supervisory capacity as and when required.
TRAINING
AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The
jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for
his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional
Development remains a priority. The
jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.
COMMUNICATION
& WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The
post holder will be required to establish, maintain and respect working
relationships and communication networks associated with the post. Communication will include those
organisations, individuals, and institutions which the post holder comes into
contact with. Typically, these will include internal networks associated with
the specialty area as well as other external contacts as appropriate. The
post holder will be expected to represent themselves and the service in a
professional, courteous and respectful manner at all times.
SPECIAL
WORKING CONDITIONS
There
may be a requirement to support the delivery of the service at other sites as
necessary. This could be a regular
feature of the post or only an occasional requirement. This will be confirmed following a
discussion with their line manager.
i)
PHYSICAL EFFORT:
Frequent
requirement for sitting in a restricted position. Word process and input for a substantial
proportion of working time.
There
may be a requirement to undertake some heavy lifting of paper reams.
ii) MENTAL EFFORT:
Prolonged
periods of concentration, e.g. transcribing complex medical information,
waiting list management etc, while subject to frequent interruption.
iii)
EMOTIONAL EFFORT:
Yes,
on a daily basis, depending on service area, when dealing with sensitive
issues, e.g. bereavement, distressed/anxious patients and their families.
iv)
WORKING CONDITIONS:
Requirement
to use VDU continuously.
Occasionally,
the post holder may encounter aggressive behaviour of patients, clients etc
as patients/families can be hostile and may occasionally become abusive or
aggressive, usually on the telephone, occasionally face to face.
