Des Spence is one of my heroes and what he says normally makes a lot of sense but on this occasion I have to disagree with him. As a GP I find our practice secretary invaluable. She can do a myriad things that help my working day - chase up missing follow up outpatient appointments, request discharge summaries to be faxed over while I am still seeing the patient, get through to the hospital rather than me wasting 3 minutes of my consultation doing the same, liaise with hospital secretaries ( whom she knows and has developed a good working relationship with) over the above, draft responses to complaints or letters to the PCT, solicitors etc which I can then edit which is far quicker than writing them myself from scratch. As the letters above from secondary care colleagues have emphasised a secretary is far more than just a typist.As a GP trainer I encourage my registrars to use the practice admin staff to help them with these kinds of tasks rather than getting overwhelmed trying to do everything themselves. GPs, as small business owners, often economise on admin and support staff or out of a misplaced sense of egalitarianism feel uncomfortable asking staff to do simple tasks for them. It's a false economy and recipe for burnout and stress as the volume of patient contact, administration, audit and complaints grows exponentially. Why do lawyers and other professionals have PAs or secretaries? Not primarily as a status symbol but to enable them to work more efficiently and focus on the job they were trained for rather than trying to do everything.Multitasking is not necessarily the best way to be productive - ask any housewife or read Tim Ferris' "4 hour work week". So GPs, if they don't have a secretary at their practice, or staff who act in that capacity even if called by another title ( such as practice manager) , should seriously think of getting one. It will make their life easier!
Rapid Response:
Re: Doctors no longer need medical secretaries
Des Spence is one of my heroes and what he says normally makes a lot of sense but on this occasion I have to disagree with him. As a GP I find our practice secretary invaluable. She can do a myriad things that help my working day - chase up missing follow up outpatient appointments, request discharge summaries to be faxed over while I am still seeing the patient, get through to the hospital rather than me wasting 3 minutes of my consultation doing the same, liaise with hospital secretaries ( whom she knows and has developed a good working relationship with) over the above, draft responses to complaints or letters to the PCT, solicitors etc which I can then edit which is far quicker than writing them myself from scratch. As the letters above from secondary care colleagues have emphasised a secretary is far more than just a typist.As a GP trainer I encourage my registrars to use the practice admin staff to help them with these kinds of tasks rather than getting overwhelmed trying to do everything themselves. GPs, as small business owners, often economise on admin and support staff or out of a misplaced sense of egalitarianism feel uncomfortable asking staff to do simple tasks for them. It's a false economy and recipe for burnout and stress as the volume of patient contact, administration, audit and complaints grows exponentially. Why do lawyers and other professionals have PAs or secretaries? Not primarily as a status symbol but to enable them to work more efficiently and focus on the job they were trained for rather than trying to do everything.Multitasking is not necessarily the best way to be productive - ask any housewife or read Tim Ferris' "4 hour work week". So GPs, if they don't have a secretary at their practice, or staff who act in that capacity even if called by another title ( such as practice manager) , should seriously think of getting one. It will make their life easier!
Competing interests: No competing interests