What does the day-to-day work of a medical and hospital secretary look like?

As a medical secretary / hospital secretary, you will work in a doctor's surgery, hospital, insurance company or health insurance fund. You manage the consultation agenda, receive patients, record patient data and create dossiers. You provide information on the telephone, arrange appointments and deal with inquiries. You will write medical reports and certificates from the dictaphone and compose medical correspondence. You will also enter service invoices and carry out the usual administrative tasks.

Target group and skills: Who is the medical secretary training program suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The medical secretary training program is aimed at the following target groups:

Professionals who wish to prepare for a career in a doctor's practice, hospital, retirement and nursing home or in a health insurance company and have one of the following qualifications:

• Basic medical or paramedical training
• Basic commercial training
• Other professional qualification or high school diploma and professional experience

Medical secretaries and hospital secretaries should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Organizational skills
• Quick comprehension
• Ability to work in a team
• Communication skills
• Computer skills
• Precise working method
• Flexibility
• Service and customer orientation

Requirements for admission to medical secretary training / hospital secretary training:

In order to start training as a medical and hospital secretary, you must generally meet the following requirements when you start the course:

• Federal apprenticeship diploma with federal certificate of proficiency (EFZ) in the commercial or medical field

Or

• Matura and professional experience

Or

• Other professional qualification and work experience

And

• Good written and spoken German (level C1)
• IT user knowledge / EDP knowledge / MS Office

Note: The medical and hospital secretary training course leading to a "school certificate/diploma" is not federally regulated (i.e. officially regulated), which means that the admission requirements, course content, costs etc. may vary from provider to provider. This should be taken into account when searching for a suitable school/course.

In addition: Many schools offer preparatory courses, for example in languages, German grammar, computer science, keyboarding, etc. Please contact the provider of your choice directly for further details.

Subject matter and content of the training

The course content for medical secretary training and further training is compiled by the schools. Most schools work closely with hospital associations and the Swiss Commercial Association (SKV).

The following topics are usually covered:

• Anatomy/Physiology
• Pathology (theory of disease)
• Pharmacology (theory of drugs)
• Medical terminology
• Hospital science / Industry knowledge / Tarmed
• Health insurance
• Social insurance
• Practice organization and practice administration
• Correspondence
• Computer science

Note: The course content and the modules you attend also depend on whether you complete the course with basic medical training (EFZ) or basic commercial training (EFZ).

Costs and financing of further training

The costs vary depending on the school and the course offered. In general, the following costs must be expected for the 1 to 2-semester, part-time training course for medical secretaries / hospital secretaries:

• Course fees:Between CHF 5,400 and CHF 7,000
  Note: Members of the commercial association can benefit from aDiscountof up to 10%.
• Examination fee:The examination fees are usually already included in the course fees/course costs
• Some providers requireExtra costsfor
  • Enrollment
  • Teaching aids
  • Training documents
  • Internal examinations and examination training
  • Simulation test

It is best to contact the provider of your choice directly regarding the possible extra costs.

Duration of studies, training options and learning effort

• Duration:The training to become a medical and hospital secretary has a modular structure and is designed to run alongside the job and lasts 1 to 2 semesters (depending on the provider and course offered).
• Lesson times:Lesson times vary depending on the school. As a rule, day and evening courses are offered. The lessons then take place, for example, on two weekdays in the evening or in the morning/afternoon. There are also all-day courses where lessons take place on a weekday or Saturday. In some cases, so-called intensive courses are also offered, where lessons take place half a day from Monday to Friday, for example.
• Teaching format:Many schools offer a mix of face-to-face and online courses (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning) as well as self-study. You can therefore choose the format that allows you to combine further education with your family, career and free time in the best possible way.
• Learning effort:Thanks to the in-service training concept, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. Important aspects on the way to a successful graduation. It is best to contact the school of your choice directly for a taster lesson.

Degree, diploma and title

In medical secretary training / hospital secretary further training, each module, i.e. subject, is usually examined individually and also completed at the same time (so-called intermediate examinations).

However, some schools also hold final examinations in which the subject matter taught is tested in a large examination at the end of the course.

Please contact the provider of your choice directly to find out which examination system the school uses.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates receive the school's own certificate/diploma "Medical and hospital secretary (school abbreviation)"

What does "school certificate / diploma" mean?

Certificates from schools or organizations (so-called school certificates) are not recognized by the Federal Office for Professional Education and Training (SERI). However, this does not mean that the qualifications are less prestigious in the relevant sectors or less good than federally recognized diplomas. There are numerous training courses that conclude with a school's own certificate and are absolutely profitable and career-enhancing.

There are many advantages of school certificates:

• They have a foreseeable course duration so that you can reach your training goal quickly.
• The courses are offered at a reasonable cost.
• They offer a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with a new topic or to get a taste of it, as well as to delve deeper into certain topics.