To ask if you are a gp receptionist or used to be one

[BrownEyedGirl80]

What was the worst thing you had to deal with?
I don't think many people appreciate that it's not just answering the phone and can be a very mentally exhausting job at times.
I was one for 7 years,the worst thing was a man approaching the desk with a handful of empty medication capsules.He had overdosed.I had to.press the emergency button to alert the Gps and he was was blue lighted to a&e.I also took a phonecall from a woman who had overdosed and was in hotel room.

You've just reminded me I need to call the doctor. Thank you.

Your experiences sound horrible. I'm not sure it's a job I could do. They must get abused.

Methadone patient screaming and threatening because they couldn’t have their methadone again 🙃

I once had a man tell me down the phone that he hopes one of my family would suffer a painful death so I learn some empathy. I was literally relaying a message from the on call GP that this man needed to call his father an ambulance as he was having what sounded like a heart attack, and he wanted a home visit from one of the GPs.

I’d regularly answer the phone to someone threatening suicide, one man unfortunately did. I probably got verbally abused at least once a day and my colleague actually got spat on once🤷🏼‍♀️

Those sound horrendous.I had a man repeatedly slamming his hand down on the desk as i couldn't do what he wanted me to do

I'm not a receptionist nor have I ever been one but some years ago a man set himself on fire in a local doctors' reception as they couldn't give him more methadone. I've always thought the receptionists on duty that day must have been so traumatised by that.

I have just been offered a job as a GP surgery receptionist!

Unsure whether to accept but location and hours really suit (pay, less so).

OP... did you enjoy your time? This is part time. Were you highly stressed? Were you ever bored or was your day full and time went quickly?

One patient said that the receptionists all needed to be raped, a couple brought an unconscious 3 week old baby in on a Saturday morning when we were just opening up and there were no health care professionals in the building, that was scary. Someone had a fit from alcohol withdrawal in reception, a couple of patients came to the desk and said they'd overdosed. A patient from a mental health hostel said he was going to 'smash all the fucking windows' if I didn't get him a prescription for a nicotine inhalator as he'd ran out of fags. Male patients threatening female receptionists with violence.

@Grapesoda7

One patient said that the receptionists all needed to be raped, a couple brought an unconscious 3 week old baby in on a Saturday morning when we were just opening up and there were no health care professionals in the building, that was scary. Someone had a fit from alcohol withdrawal in reception, a couple of patients came to the desk and said they'd overdosed. A patient from a mental health hostel said he was going to 'smash all the fucking windows' if I didn't get him a prescription for a nicotine inhalator as he'd ran out of fags. Male patients threatening female receptionists with violence.

But what did you think of your job? Did you enjoy? Did you find too stressful? Were you twiddling your thumbs like a poster on another thread??

I really enjoyed it, was never bored, I met some really lovely patients. Some days were stressful, but I liked that two days were never the same.

It was a very busy surgery though in a major city with lots of GPs. If it was a quiet practice in a different area, it would have felt like a different job altogether. We had a lot of various types of hostels nearby so quite a unique spread of patients which I liked.

I just started as a GP receptionist last week, Egghead.
It's a small, semi rural surgery so I'd be surprised if we had those sort of issues.
However police were called last week as a patient with dementia was very agitated, and a colleague took a phone call from a patient who was rude and raising his voice the other day.
It's busy. The phone keeps going with patients requesting appointments, and we are up and down answering the door to patients, people picking up prescriptions etc.
But it seems like an interesting and varied job. I think it helps if you're calm under pressure.

@Papergirl1968

I just started as a GP receptionist last week, Egghead. It's a small, semi rural surgery so I'd be surprised if we had those sort of issues. However police were called last week as a patient with dementia was very agitated, and a colleague took a phone call from a patient who was rude and raising his voice the other day. It's busy. The phone keeps going with patients requesting appointments, and we are up and down answering the door to patients, people picking up prescriptions etc. But it seems like an interesting and varied job. I think it helps if you're calm under pressure.

Are you enjoying? Full time or part time? Good training? Bored or time fo quickly?

Thanks so all much

By far the worse job I have ever done.

If you try to help the patients the doctors hate you, if you try to follow doctors instructions the patients hate you.

Threats of violence, actual violence.

I went into that job a bright happy "people person", now I basically dislike and distrust everyone.

Still, made me pretty damned unflappable which has been very helpful in the long term.

That's very true about pleasing either the Dr's or the patients but not both. You have to get used to being moaned at a lot!

What kind of Practice will you be working in? Is it a couple of GPs or larger?

@Grapesoda7

That's very true about pleasing either the Dr's or the patients but not both. You have to get used to being moaned at a lot!

What kind of Practice will you be working in? Is it a couple of GPs or larger?

7 GPs - more sure what size that makes it

Men who would rush in and dump sample specimen tubes on the desk with only their name written on the outside - and then leg it - embarrassment probably. Did not write what the sample actually was.

We had to guess - assumed a “saliva sample”

In one case the path lab amusingly wrote back to say “there was no saliva found in this semen sample”

It should be busy with 7 GPs so your day will go quickly hopefully.

@Grapesoda7

I really enjoyed it, was never bored, I met some really lovely patients. Some days were stressful, but I liked that two days were never the same.

Sums up my experience.

Thanks so much for feedback

I think I’m going to accept!

Hope it goes well Egghead81

Thank you

Did you work full time?

I worked full time, then part time after having my children

I worked as a senior receptionist team leader for a relatively small practice for 5 months. It literally gave me a breakdown. As a pp has already said, you can't keep the Drs and patients happy, you're subjected to daily abuse and threats and I can safely say I'd never want to work for a surgery again. The pay was good but that was about all it had going for it.

Part time - the only downside being the morning shift starts at 7.45am, and the afternoon shifts don't finish till 6.30. Great training so far.
And shifts do go quickly. I think once I've learned the ropes, I'll really enjoy it, and the staff seem very fond of the majority of the patients.
The team are really lovely which is a big positive.

We had a methadone clinic after surgery hours. I was on duty one evening when a very distraught male who was refused the prescription by the G.P picked up the biggest plant pot we had in reception & threw it at at window I was sitting behind. Screaming & shouting that he will kill us all. Dr came running out & manager too then. Thankfully I dodged it but resigned that night. No part time job at age of 18 was worth risking my life. Great experience & training till then though.