being secretary in a pp good experience?

[upsidedown]

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[ilovescrubs]

would that be considered good experience?

has anyone here done paperwork in a private practice and gotten anything useful out of it?

seems kinda interesting. i guess i'd learn about policy and the healthcare system. no so much about medicine though.

I have worked in a couple medical office jobs from time to time and I can tell you all that's going to get you is papercuts. Seriously though, I agree with you that you may find it useful in gaining some insight into what a medical office is like and how it is run, etc. But in terms of actual experience I'd say that working with or shadowing a physician will prove to be much more helpful. Though if you do have a title from this job that would look good on your resume and you could discuss and play up the side concerning any experience you may have gained regarding medicine...then I say go for it, definitely. If you wanted to learn about medical insurance and policy, I'd say take some public health courses or try to work for a doctor studying medical insurance trends...we have a few in my public health program. I say use it the best you can towards getting in, but I wouldnt count on it being recognized as quality experience with medicine. Hope this helps...

 

[Catalystik]

would that be considered good experience?

I was a medical receptionist during my last two years of college. I was called upon to assist in procedures, take messages from patients about their problems, and then relay back to them the physician's advice. I also learned to do EKGs and some simple lab tests. I had access to all the doctor's reference books and used them to look up the patient problems. Additionally, I learned book keeping, besides the usual paperwork (like insurance submissions) and chart maintenance. It was a great job and gave me more insight into what a physician does all day than any other experience. I think it will be a great EC for you and a terrific learning opportunity.

 

[ilovescrubs]

Ok just to clarify my earlier post, I meant if you were strictly doing filing and paperwork. If you do all of those things then heck yeah that would be good experience. I assumed you meant a more secretarial position.

 

[upsidedown]

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[nick_carraway]

I worked at a practice doing receptionist duties (confirming appts, filing charts) but also got the chance to work with surgical fellows and also help fix tissues for biopsies. It wasn't terribly mind blowing at the time (it was only for one summer), but that experience has allowed me to return to the practice for my gap year to conduct clinical research and to observe procedures so in the long run, it paid off.

 

[Catalystik]

were you given tasks of so much responsibility because the doctor knew you were planning on attending medical school?

I was given that responsibility slowly, over a two-year time, as the practice got busier, mainly because it was a one-doc office and I was the only employee evenings and weekends. It was a gastroenterology practice, so I leave it to you to imagine what I was assisting with. Anything that required trained technical assistance was done at the hospital.

Subsequently, I worked in a podiatry office doing the same office tasks, but also assisting in office surgery.

If you seem interested, read the boss's books, and ask good questions, you get more explanations and responsibility.

 

[em8r]

worked for me 😎 any experience will work, i think, so long as you explain how it's helped you learn some things about the realities of working as a doctor, or other such aspect. in my interviews, whenever it was brought up i talked about how it exposed me a little bit to the business side of medicine (esp. since the doctor i worked for retired and a younger doctor took over, so i got to see how the process of setting up a private practice, initial issues w/ insurance payments, setting up hospital affiliations, etc.), and also how it helped shaped my ideal doctor-staff relationship, doctor-patient relationship, good clinical environment, etc. i also talked about things that i genuinely liked - the older doctor was an internist, and so most of his patients have been going to him for years (some for 20 more), and sometimes sees whole families, which really made an impression on me and kind of pushed me to pursue internal medicine (at this point, anyway).


no matter how mundane you think it is, you're still getting experience in some aspect of healthcare. i'm sure if you reflect on it you'll find that you might learn some useful things 🙂