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What it's like to be a Doctors receptionist


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We are we portrayed as dragons, stuck up, miserable, rude, little hitlers the list goes on

 

I have been a receptionist for 8 years at big practice in quite a deprived area

what we deal with on a daily basis is quite challenging to say the least

 

From the moment the surgery opens at 8am we never know what we are going to be faced with, every day is challenging and never the same

We have every walks of life to deal with on the front desk and over the phone

 

From the old chap walking in with chest pains who has been up all night but decided to wait till the surgery opens

the alcoholic giving you hard time leaching over the counter making lewd comments

drug depedents kicking off if they cant have what they want ie I want my meds NOW....I cant wait till tomorrow, sort it

Mums in panic because their baby is stuggling to breath, walk in patients with cuts, scalds etc demanding to be seen there and then the list goes on and on......

We process hundreds of prescriptions a day and make sure the patients get their meds with a 48 hour turn around and even sooner if patients forget to order in time

We deal with hundreds of calls hourly (and yes we DO answer the phones, sorry if its not straight away but its because we are busy on other calls not filing our nails)

We are also taking requests for home visits, hospitals ringing, calls for gps, secretarys, nurses, blood test results, sick notes, ambulances, emergencies etc etc

I cant speak for other surgeries but we always go that extra mile for our patients..................and always with a smile :)

and on a final note we NEVER diagnose patients.....when a patient goes on the telephone list we ask for a brief description of symptoms this is because the Doctors ask us to do this so they can prioritise their calls ensuring the most urgent cases are dealt with first ..............thanks for reading :)

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and on a final note we NEVER diagnose patients.....when a patient goes on the telephone list we ask for a brief description of symptoms this is because the Doctors ask us to do this so they can prioritise their calls ensuring the most urgent cases are dealt with first ..............thanks for reading :)

 

All you need to ask them...

 

is it urgent...cant it wait a few days

 

That's it! nothing else...same for appointments :)

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Sounds great! Customer feedback is listed...where is it?

do you mean the surgery ? cant say due to confidentiality :)

 

glad to hear it :)

 

---------- Post added 09-09-2013 at 22:18 ----------

 

and on a final note we NEVER diagnose patients.....when a patient goes on the telephone list we ask for a brief description of symptoms this is because the Doctors ask us to do this so they can prioritise their calls ensuring the most urgent cases are dealt with first ..............thanks for reading :)

 

All you need to ask them...

 

is it urgent...cant it wait a few days

 

That's it! nothing else...same for appointments :)

 

well this is what the GPs ask us to do we are only following their instructions....however of course patients aren't obliged to tell us and just say its personal thanks....and that is what we put :)

however some patients are the opposite and want to tell you their life story :roll:

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Hopefully GP surgeries will soon be extending their surgery hours and opening 7 days a week to take the strain off A&E departments and provide a service fit for purpose.

P.s the receptionists at my GP surgery are lovely...... mostly.

Regards

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I should imagine it's like any job that involves interaction with customers/clients. People are different from each other and not everyone will be your cup of tea. A lot of it is about treating people how you'd like to be treat yourself. Sometimes you might not get the response you like but the working environment is not the place for giving as good as you get.

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