Medical Secretary
Healthcare
Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.
You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.
What you'd do all day
The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.
- 1Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
- 2Transcribe recorded messages or practitioners' diagnoses or recommendations into patients' medical records.
- 3Compile and record medical charts, reports, or correspondence, using typewriter or personal computer.
- 4Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
- 5Complete insurance or other claim forms.
- 6Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
- 7Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
- 8Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
- 9Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
- 10Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.
- 11Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
- 12Schedule tests or procedures for patients, such as lab work or x-rays, based on physician orders.
- 13Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
- 14Prepare correspondence or assist physicians or medical scientists with preparation of reports, speeches, articles, or conference proceedings.
- 15Perform various clerical or administrative functions, such as ordering and maintaining an inventory of supplies.
Also known as
What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.
- CMMA
- Scheduler
- Secretary
- Unit Clerk
- Ward Clerk
- Reception Tech
- Ward Secretary
- Dental Secretary
- Front Desk Agent
- Medical Scheduler
How far is this from you?
Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.
1
Entry straight after SPM
Typical entry
SPM + sijil / short TVET course
3
Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)
4
Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)
5
Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route
Subjects that matter here
The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.
What you'd need to know
The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.
- Customer and Personal Service89%
- English Language85%
English
- Administrative79%
Business
- Medicine and Dentistry72%
BiologyChemistry
- Personnel and Human Resources68%
Business
- Computers and Electronics68%
Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies
Tools you'd use
Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.
What the work feels like
Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.
- Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
- Contact with other peopleConstant contact
- Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
- Leading or coordinating othersVery high
- Handling conflict situationsEvery day
- Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
- Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
- Noisy environmentAlmost never
AI and demand for this job
A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.
Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)
This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.
Pay in Malaysia
We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.
Where to check:
- JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
- DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
- SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
Check what you may qualify for
Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.
How to get here
Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.
Related careers
If this interests you, these are worth a look too.
About this information
This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.
O*NET occupation: Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org