An interview is done to gauge the ability and knowledge of the other person. The interview has to be detailed and well-articulated. The person who is interviewed needs to be well prepared. Only then can he expect to be hired for the job. The questions need to cover all aspects to see how capable the candidate is. In this article, we will discuss some important questions relating to the field of unit secretary. A unit secretary is the backbone of a hospital setting. He is the one who schedules appointments for the patients.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
I am very keen to do this role. Your hospital setup is a big one, and it can help people like me groom their skills. I have administrative experience and have been doing similar work in other setups for a long time now. With a magnificent setup like yours, I will be able to gain great experience. This experience can help me a lot in building confidence.
2. What Are The Roles Of A Unit Secretary?
A unit secretary is assigned the followed roles.
- He is responsible for the position of administration which is commonly there within hospitals or some other specialist medical departments. They help in supporting patients and the other medical staff by giving answers to incoming calls, getting the charts organized, and admitting new patients.
- A unit secretary utilizes their medical terms and billing knowledge to manage the office quite efficiently. A unit secretary has a background in medical processes and some procedures and advances well into the position after some time spent as an assistant to the medical office. A unit secretary is quite an integral part of the system. Without him, the functioning of the whole system is badly affected. If the medical records and appointment scheduling are not maintained well, problems arise.
3. What Are The Qualities That A Unit Secretary Need To Be Successful?
The good qualities of a unit secretary make him successful. He must:
- be very organized, with a great eye for detail
- be nicely organized, with quite an orderly mind
- bring great objectivity to the proceedings
- properly deal with correspondence;
- to be able to take correct notes of meetings;
- ensure that the members receive all the necessary material
- send text messages to patients to remind them of their appointments.
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Unit Secretary Role? How Did You Manage Them?
The last hospital I worked in was not very organized. It was difficult for me to work there, and the records were haphazard. I, however, tried my level best to get things aligned. It was important for the patients to have their history in the system. Without proper history, a doctor can’t diagnose and treat well. Secondly, the scheduling of the appointments was not proper. Therefore many patients had to wait unnecessarily.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As A Unit Secretary?
I wake up early and then get ready to go to my workplace. I dress up according to the dress code, a black pant shirt. I reach the workplace and open my computer. After opening it, I look at the appointments for the day. I set up the record of the patients. I then communicate with my fellows regarding the meetings and appointments. I attend the meeting, if any, scheduled for the day. This routine repeats every day.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience?
My experience as a unit secretary has been an awesome one. I have learned new things every day. My mentors and managers have been a great help too. Managing records doesn’t seem like a taxing task anymore. I have aced it, I guess. I have become organized and punctual. My colleagues also appreciate this.
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Are Required For The Unit Secretary Role?
The following strategies are very crucial to this role:
- Written and verbal communication needs to be perfect
- He needs to be well aware of the computer and Technological Skills
- The organizational skills need to be perfect
- He should manage time well
- Problem-solving and thinking need to be great
- The ability to be flexible and reasonable can take you to greater heights
- Professionalism should be the number one priority.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In The Unit Secretary Job?
The biggest challenge would be to keep myself very well organized and not lose track even for once. I want perfection in my work, and it becomes a great challenge. The patient record is confidential, and it needs a strict check.
It is not a patient-facing position does not mean that the unit secretary does not interact with patients. Interacting with patients usually means dealing with scared, confused, and angry people. Your great communication skills and ability to explain complex procedures thoroughly make you an ideal candidate for a unit secretary position.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
Since I am so obsessed with the job I do, I keep myself motivated. Prayers, meditation, and a positive attitude keep me grounded. I love to work and be the best version of myself.
10. Describe A Time You Failed In The Unit Secretary Role And The Lesson You Learned?
As I mentioned before, It wasn’t my fault, but the management was faulty. Anyways, I couldn’t keep a record of the patient’s history. And the patient lashed badly. After that, we changed the software and updated it regularly.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For The Unit Secretary Role?
Since I am very well-versed in medical procedures and records and have worked in various hospital settings, I consider myself a good candidate for this job. I have a reputation for managing the records well. Additionally, I can answer phones, greet patients, and schedule appointments or procedures for patients as required. I am also capable of updating and organizing patient records to ensure all information is current for Physician review.
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
My greatest achievement is that my manager in the previous company congratulated me and termed me the best employer because I had been consistent with keeping records and helping fellow members too. IN my previous job, I did the following and achieved success.
- Enhanced the efficiency of work processes by introducing core office systems.
- Developed a novel filing system that automatically assigned library numbers to files and folders.
- Implemented a module that sounded an alarm whenever an item’s inventory fell below a certain value.
- Reduced office supply budgets by switching from a high-priced supplier to a cheaper one offering the same quality for less.
- Organize incoming mail using a core system that eliminates all distribution hurdles.
13. How Do You Take Care Of Demanding Patients?
When somebody comes to our hospital, it is quite evident that he or she is worried and in pain. There is no need to make them more worried and distressed by being impolite. So I always employ a thoughtful approach and keep my temper in careful check. I don’t want to hurt anybody, and I try to be highly empathetic.
14. How Do You Plan To Manage The Administrative Angle Of This Position?
I am highly comfortable with proper scheduling of appointments and managing doctors’ calendars. I also have the ability and the necessary experience to deal with correspondence and can manage medical research when it is needed.
15. Describe How You Have Implemented Processes As A Unit Secretary. What Was The Possible Impact?
So the previous system of my job place was not proper, and thus I had to hire a software expert to make amendments to the system to fulfill the requirements. I have been working hard to provide prompt information to the clients. Quick turnover is important and the key to success. Therefore the working system needs to deliver properly.
16. What Is Your Way Of Keeping Confidential Information Private?
I encrypt sensitive files. Encryption is a method that makes data unreadable to people except those who have the right password or key. When you encrypt sensitive files (by using file passwords), you can easily protect them as no one can read or use them, those who are not entitled to do either.
17. What Roles, Apart From The Usual Clerical Or Administrative, Have You Been Able To Perform As A Medical Secretary?
At my former place of work, I was responsible for sending samples of the patients for testing and following up on their results. Additionally, I also did the duty of monitoring the office budget to ensure that all the procurement activities were done properly.
18. Why Are The Unit Secretaries Considered Essential In Hospital Environments?
Unit secretaries are very important as they are given the task of handling the majority part of the administrative system of a particular hospital. Without the intervention of a unit secretary in a hospital’s function, it might become difficult to manage day-to-day operations.
Unit secretaries need to know several things before a meeting, many of which can easily be found by asking the person who will chair the meeting.
The most significant are:
- The person is responsible for making the appointment, including checking and verifying that the relevant person is available.
- The unit secretary’s responsibility is to make sure that the agenda is not overloaded, which may include discussing with the head and others what can be delayed to a later meeting and what can be covered in writing.
- Is a written record required? The minutes must include who said what and the agreed actions, or can they be brief notes?
19. What Is The Medical Software That You Have Experience With, And How Efficiently Are You Able To Deal With Technology?
In my hospital, we use both appointment scheduling systems and billing systems, and I am well aware of how to use both of them. From my experience, I have learned the following computer skills.
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Keeping – EMR systems taught me to enter information accurately into patient records and access it later. In addition to learning some basic medical terms, I also developed fine attention to detail while keeping patient information private. In addition to my entry-level healthcare work, I kept up-to-date on EMR systems.
- Medical Billing and Coding – As part of my medical billing and coding work, I had to know many alphanumeric symbols to aid insurance companies in covering patients’ medical expenses. Approximately 65,000 alphanumeric symbols were there.
- Using Healthcare Scheduling Apps – The healthcare setting’s calendar was also maintained by software, like medical records, billing, and coding. I could schedule patient appointments and add reminders to confirm appointments and follow up with patients with this software.
20. How Would You Plan To Keep Proper Track Of The Appointment Schedule Without Overbooking?
I try to endure that the schedule is completely accurate all the time by recording my communications with patients in the form of a spreadsheet or scheduling software. When I collect information from email, phone messages, and mail, I can easily schedule the appointments based on the order of most recent. I believe that it’s very important to send reminder emails or a few calls that state the exact time, date, and day of the week for a patient’s appointment. While I’m very confident in my organizational skills, I give patients the full opportunity to confirm an appointment that can help catch any miscommunications before becoming an issue.
21. Where Do You Find Yourself In Five Years From Now?
I want my career to see significant growth in these five years. I want to contribute to the betterment of the industry. For me, my work is very important. I want to build a great reputation and work honestly and earnestly to earn praises. Handling the records is never an easy job. I require a high level of organization and discipline to do it well, so I want to see myself as an improved version of what I am right now.
22. What Are Your Three Main Strengths As Well As Weaknesses?
I believe that my key strength lies in my particular ability to change myself according to the changing situations. I am fully aware that the job of a secretary is a kind where variety is required, and I take pride in myself for being quite flexible, a very fast learner, and I can prioritize my workload.
Regarding my weaknesses, I trust people very easily, and I think I should try to figure out who is nice and who is not. Secondly, I wasn’t punctual at all, but with time, I came over it.
23. How Do You Take Care Of A Particularly Stressful Day At Your Work?
I try my best not to think about stressful situations. They come and go. If I keep myself busy enough with my work, I can ignore the pressure and do whatever is more important – work with some patients to help with their dilemmas.
24. Describe A Particular Situation In Which You Tried To Go Above And Beyond Your Job To Help A Patient?
There was a client who had a billing issue. The client was right in his claims, but the administration was not listening. So, I helped him sort the matter and talked to the manager to make things easy for him.
25. Describe The Way You Would Adopt To Greet A Patient?
I will be very warm and cordial towards a patient who enters our setting. I will greet them warmly and nicely. I will be attending to all the queries and booking appointments for them. I know empathy and kindness are the keys to any job’s success. People reciprocate the same kindness which is imparted.
Conclusion
A unit secretary is the one who has the tough responsibility of scheduling the appointments as he acts as a bridge between the doctor and the patient. He should be very competent in his job. A hospital’s efficiency depends a lot on a unit secretary, i.e., how well a hospital caters to the needs of its patients is determined by the medical secretary.
