Any gp's receptionists about?

[ThatVikRinA22]

ive been offered a job. its local. its decent money. its not great hours but hey - you cant have it all - but the manager seemed to be trying her hardest to put me off saying its stressful etc etc. so i need to know - how bad is it? id only be part time. do you just get constantly shouted at by ill people?
TIA!

[themoon66]

Not a receptionist, but I am a medical secretary. I work in psychiatry. I am rarely shouted at and neither are our receptionists. People are nice if you are nice and reasonable with them, I find.

It's the other staff that wind me up most

[Lovemyshoes]

To be honest, it isn't a job I would want to do. I must admit to have lost my temper sometimes with the receptionists at our surgery purely because they were asking too many personal questions in an open area (patients can hear too) AND they always insist on repeating your name and address, so neighbours, friends could hear etc.

I also don't like the fact that they try to dictate whether you see a doctor, practice nurse, nurse practitioner etc.

I don't think that the receptionist take it upon themselves to ask these questions etc, they are given them by management and then have to take to stick.

Hopefully yours will be a nice little surgery where the practice manager is not a dragon.

Good luck and congratulations on your new job.

[choosyfloosy]

I would take it - reception is not an easy job at all, but I think it has some definite positives. You do have to have a certain mental toughness IMO, because you will be asked for things you cannot provide, and like all frontline jobs there will be people who are determined to give you a hard time. However, in a GP practice you can build relationships with people over time, get to know them and their families, see them through tough times, celebrate the good ones. It's also quite hard to be bored on reception IMO, though not impossible.

I would say you need to be efficient, physically energetic and hardworking, VERY discreet (if your practice has this thing of receptionists asking loud intimate questions before booking an appointment, it needs to stop- a good practice doesn't do this IMO), but also very empathetic and to understand that not all people react the same way to the same approach - the older guy who loves a good dirty joke once a week when he comes for his blood test may be different from the wound-up-as-tight-as-a-string mum of three living with her disabled mother. You also need to be the sort of person who, when you have just locked up the building at the end of a hard day and remember that there is a window open at the far end of the building, you open up the building again and go back to close it, rather than saying 'it'll be fine'. Of course, better still, be the sort of person who doesn't leave the window open in the first place!

I must say, it's a tough job, but those who love it stay a long time IMO. You really are part of the team in a good practice.

[ThatVikRinA22]

thankyou for that. i am going to give it a go. lots of reasons to do it and not many not to - i am also a special constable so am used to people being arsey with me! lol
thanks all.