nhs medical secretary personal statement

Medical Secretary CV example

Build your CV on this template 

The doctors and nurses might be out there on the frontline, but you’re the unsung hero of the hospital.

If you’ve got the ability to update records, produce reports, keep on top of filing and other clerical tasks, and do it all confidentially, your skills are in high demand.

But first, you need to prove this to the recruiter and we can help you take care of that. Check out our step-by-step guide below, packed with top tips and a medical secretary CV example.

Article contents

Medical Secretary CV example

CV templates 

Unsure of what your Medical Secretary CV should look like?

Have a look at the CV example above to get familiar with the structure, layout and format of a professional CV.

As you can see, it provides plenty of relevant information about the applicant but is still very easy to read, and brief – which will please busy recruiters and hiring managers.

Build your CV now 

Medical Secretary CV format and structure

If you focus purely on the written content of your CV but ignore the style and layout, your efforts could end up wasted.

No matter how suitable you are for the role, no recruiter wants to spend time squinting and trying to navigate a badly designed and disorganised CV.

Instead, make sure to organise your content into a simple structure and spend some time formatting it for ease of reading – it will ensure every recruiter and hiring manager can read your CV with ease.

Tips for formatting your Medical Secretary CV

• Length: Two sides of A4 makes for the perfect CV length , though one page is okay for less experienced applicants. This forces you to make sure that every single sentence adds value to your CV and ensures you avoid unnecessary  info.
• Readability : Columns, lists, bullet points, bold text and subtle colour can all help to aid the readability of your CV. Your overarching goal should be to make the content as easy to read and navigate as possible, whilst also aiming to make your key skills and achievements stand out.
• Design & format: While it’s okay to add your own spin to your CV, avoid overdoing the design. If you go for something elaborate, you might end up frustrating recruiters who, above anything, value simplicity and clarity.
• Photos: Headshot photos aren’t required in a CV by most employers, but some creative and artistic industries like to see them. If you decide to include one, make sure you look smart and professional in the picture.

Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.

CV structure

As you write your CV , work to the simple but effective structure below:

• Name and contact details – Pop them at the top of your CV, so it’s easy for recruiters to contact you.
• CV profile – Write a snappy overview of what makes you a good fit for the role; discussing your key experience, skills and accomplishments.
• Core skills section – Add a short but snappy list of your relevant skills and knowledge.
• Work experience – A list of your relevant work experience, starting with your current role.
• Education – A summary of your relevant qualifications and professional/vocational training.
• Hobbies and interests – An optional sections, which you could use to write a short description of any relevant hobbies or interests.

Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.

Contact Details

Make it easy for recruiters to get in touch, by heading your CV with your contact details.

There’s no need for excessive details – just list the basics:

• Mobile number
• Email address – Use a professional address with no nicknames.
• Location – Just write your general location, such as ‘London’ or ‘Cardiff’ – there’s no need to put your full address.
• LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL

Medical Secretary CV Profile

Recruiters and hiring managers are busy, so it’s essential to catch their attention from the get-go.

A strong introductory profile (or personal statement , for junior candidates) at the top of the CV is the first thing they’ll read, so it’s a great chance to make an impression.

It should be a short but punchy summary of your key skills, relevant experience and accomplishments.

Ultimately, it should explain why you’re a great fit for the role you’re applying for and inspire recruiters to read the rest of your CV.

How to write a good CV profile:

• Make it short and sharp: The best CV profiles are short, sharp and highly relevant to the target role. For this reason, it’s best to write 3-4 lines of high-level information, as anything over might be missed.
• Tailor it: No matter how much time you put into your CV profile, it won’t impress if it’s irrelevant to the role you’re applying for. Before you start writing, make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience your target employer is looking for. Then, make sure to mention them in your CV profile and throughout the rest of your application.
• Don’t add an objective: Avoid discussing your career goals in your CV profile – if you think they’re necessary, briefly mention them in your cover letter instead.
• Avoid generic phrases: If there’s one thing that’ll annoy a recruiter, it’s a clichè-packed CV. Focus on showcasing your hard skills, experience and the results you’ve gained in previous roles, which will impress recruiters far more.

Example CV profile for Medical Secretary

What to include in your medical secretary cv profile.

• Experience overview: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
• Targeted skills: Employers need to know what skills you can bring to their organisation, and ideally they want to see skills that match their job vacancy. So, research your target roles thoroughly and add the most important Medical Secretary skills to your profile.
• Important qualifications: If the job postings require specific qualifications, it is essential to incorporate them in your profile to ensure visibility to hiring managers.

Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder . All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.

Core skills section

In addition to your CV profile, your core skills section provides an easily digestible snapshot of your skills – perfect for grabbing the attention of busy hiring managers.

As Medical Secretary jobs might receive a huge pile of applications, this is a great way to stand out and show off your suitability for the role.

It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points and be made up of skills that are highly relevant to the jobs you are targeting.

Important skills for your Medical Secretary CV

Medical Terminology – Maintaining knowledge of medical terminology and abbreviations, allowing accurate understanding and transcription of medical documents.

Medical Records Management – Organising, maintaining, and securely handling patient medical records, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with data protection laws.

Appointment Scheduling – Efficiently managing appointments, coordinating patient schedules, and maintaining an up-to-date calendar for healthcare providers.

Billing and Coding – Utilising knowledge of medical billing and coding procedures, including ICD-10 and CPT coding, to accurately process invoices and insurance claims.

Healthcare Software – Using healthcare management software, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), and practice management systems for record-keeping and administrative tasks.

Patient Communication – Interacting with patients, healthcare professionals, and administrative staff in a clear and professional manner.

Medical Transcription – Utilising accurate transcription skills for converting dictated medical notes into written reports or documents.

Data Entry – Utilising fast and accurate data entry skills to input patient information, medical history, and billing details into electronic systems.

File Management – Creating, updating, and managing digital and physical patient files, ensuring easy retrieval and compliance with retention policies.

Medical Insurance Knowledge – Utilising knowledge of the UK healthcare insurance systems, including NHS and private health insurance, to assist patients with insurance-related inquiries and claims.

Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.

Work experience

By now, you’ll have hooked the reader’s attention and need to show them how you apply your skills and knowledge in the workplace, to benefit your employers.

So, starting with your most recent role and working backwards to your older roles, create a thorough summary of your career history to date.

If you’ve held several roles and are struggling for space, cut down the descriptions for your oldest jobs.

Structuring each job

Your work experience section will be long, so it’s important to structure it in a way which helps recruiters to quickly and easily find the information they need.

Use the 3-step structure, shown in the below example, below to achieve this.

Firstly, give the reader some context by creating a punchy summary of the job as a whole.

You should mention what the purpose or goal of your role was, what team you were part of and who you reported to.

Key responsibilities

Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using bullet points.

Wherever you can, point out how you put your hard skills and knowledge to use – especially skills which are applicable to your target role.

Key achievements

Round up each role by listing 1-3 key achievements , accomplishments or results.

Wherever possible, quantify them using hard facts and figures, as this really helps to prove your value.

Sample job description for Medical Secretary CV

Provide administrative support to the 20-person cardiology team at a large NHS hospital, ensuring the smooth operation of the medical office and upholding patient privacy.

Key Responsibilities

• Schedule patient appointments, consultations, and follow-ups
• Maintain electronic medical records including patient data, histories, and treatment plans
• Transcribe and document medical notes, prescriptions, and correspondence
• Act as the primary point of contact for patients, addressing inquiries, handling phone calls, and relaying important messages to medical staff

Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.

Education section

After your work experience, your education section should provide a detailed view of your academic background.

Begin with those most relevant to Medical Secretary jobs, such as vocational training or degrees. If you have space, you can also mention your academic qualifications, such as A-Levels and GCSEs.

Focus on the qualifications that are most relevant to the jobs you are applying for.

Hobbies and interests

Although this is an optional section, it can be useful if your hobbies and interests will add further depth to your CV.

Interests which are related to the sector you are applying to, or which show transferable skills like leadership or teamwork, can worth listing.

On the other hand, generic hobbies like “going out with friends” won’t add any value to your application, so are best left off your CV.

Creating a strong Medical Secretary CV requires a blend of punchy content, considered structure and format, and heavy tailoring.

By creating a punchy profile and core skills list, you’ll be able to hook recruiter’s attention and ensure your CV gets read.

Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV, so research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with relevant skills.

Best of luck with your next application!

MockQuestions

NHS Band 4 Medical Secretary Mock Interview

To help you prepare for your NHS Band 4 Medical Secretary interview, here are 30 interview questions and answer examples.

NHS Band 4 Medical Secretary was written by Jaymie Payne on January 11th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 30

How would your peers describe you?

How to Answer

Answer example.

The interviewer is trying to learn more about how you fit into your current company's culture and your sense of self-awareness. Take a moment to reflect on your relationships with your coworkers and what areas you have received praise or recognition from your peers in the past, even if informally. Consider traits and characteristics that the NHS might find appealing, for example, a team player, attention to detail, ability to multi-task, work in a fast-paced environment, etc. If your current or previous company used the 360 Feedback tool or another form of peer review, give examples from that survey.

"I think my peers would describe me as hard-working and reliable with strong organisation and communication skills. I have great attendance, am never tardy, and rarely miss work unless I'm very ill. I'm usually the go-to person in the office if a difficult patient is on the phone or at the window or if a situation needs to be de-escalated. I have well-developed personal skills and have worked in customer service for several years, so I've demonstrated to my peers that I can work well with the public. My peers would probably comment on my organisational skills because they often joke with me about how tidy my desk is and how I've got all my tasks and projects colour-coded. It's always in good fun, but those are just ways that I stay organised and on task in the workplace."

Next Question

30 NHS Band 4 Medical Secretary Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our NHS Band 4 Medical Secretary interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view 10 answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

Table of Contents

• 1.   Behavioral Questions
• 2.   Competency Questions
• 3.   Discovery Questions
• 4.   Experience Questions
• 5.   Situational Questions

1. How would your peers describe you?

Written by Jaymie Payne on January 11th, 2023

2. As part of our NHS Constitution, we're committed to "working together for patients." How do you promote teamwork and collaboration in the workplace?

The NHS leadership team promotes collaboration and teamwork as core values. As a medical secretary on the team, you will work alongside clerks, nurses, nursing assistants, physicians, and other clinical care providers. When healthcare team members work together for the good of their patients, the quality of care and outcomes improve significantly. Think about ways you support other staff. Describe how you promote teamwork and collaboration in the workplace and support these core values.

"Effective communication is critical when working in healthcare teams. To avoid frustration or delays, it's important to communicate updates and changes promptly. For example, if there are patient cancellations or the computer systems are down, you must ensure everyone has that information so you can work together to overcome the obstacle and avoid more hardships. It's also important to collaborate to ensure patients have a good experience and receive the care they need. When a patient calls in, and I take a message, I must follow through with the appropriate team members to ensure we get back to that patient with the information they need or perhaps a refill that needs to be called into the pharmacy. We all rely on one another to ensure our office functions smoothly, and that requires everyone to work together and be willing to help one another achieve common goals."

3. How do you respond to feedback from others in the workplace?

The interviewer is trying to gauge how you respond to positive, critical, and constructive feedback. Remember that feedback in the workplace doesn't always come from supervisors; sometimes, it comes from peers or even patients. Demonstrate your professional maturity by giving examples of times you received feedback and how you accepted it, positively responded to it, and made changes based on that feedback. The ideal candidate will view feedback as an opportunity to improve and grow; someone who reacts negatively to feedback or cannot accept constructive criticism will raise a red flag to the interviewer.

"I always try to keep an open mind when receiving feedback from peers, managers, or patients. Healthcare is a stressful environment, so if someone is overly critical or gives me feedback in a rude manner, I try to set my feelings aside and not take the comment so personally so I can better understand the feedback itself. This allows me to look at the root cause of the feedback, especially if it's negative, so that I can make adjustments or correct an issue. For example, if a patient comes to me yelling about the wait time in the office, it's not directed at me, and their complaint and frustration of sitting and waiting for an hour is valid. Instead of getting upset, I look for ways to problem-solve, improve the situation, or resolve the complaint. If the feedback comes from peers or managers, I'm always receptive to learning, finding new ways of doing things better, and accepting their coaching. I appreciate regular feedback because I want to know how I'm doing in real-time and understand what I'm doing well and what I need to improve on."

4. What three skills do you possess that would allow you to be successful as a medical secretary with the NHS?

When interviewing medical secretaries, the characteristics, traits, and skills interviewers seek include attention to detail, knowledge of medical terminology, communication skills, active listening skills, strong organisational skills, and a collaborative mindset. Review the job description thoroughly to understand what soft skills and core areas of strength are required to be successful in the role. Think about your strengths and how those will prove valuable to the hiring manager at the NHS. Pick one or two strengths and be specific about how these strengths relate and will add value to their team.

"I have been a medical secretary for about five years, and I've sharpened many skills that allow me to be successful in this role. The first is attention to detail, as it's critical to possess this skill to effectively manage the schedule for providers and patients and keep accurate records within the office. I also possess strong communication skills verbally, face-to-face, on the phone, and in written communication through emails and memos in the office. Lastly, I would say my passion for teamwork and collaboration. The office only functions optimally when everyone is working together, communicating, interacting, and willing to jump in and help each other."

5. Working with the public can be difficult. What interpersonal skills do you possess that will allow you to succeed here?

Employers like the NHS value interpersonal skills like communication, conflict management, empathy, compassion, and patience. Working with the public can be challenging if a patient or family member is upset about a situation. As a medical secretary, you may be the first person to answer their call or interact with them at the desk. To succeed in this role, you must possess strong interpersonal skills, effectively build relationships, and ensure each person you interact with has a positive experience while at the NHS.

"Over the years, I have found ways to overcome the challenges that can come with working with the public. When a patient is angry or frustrated, I try to remember not to take it personally; that helps me react without involving my emotions. Seeking to understand the root cause of their frustration and being genuine in my interest in assisting them often makes a difference in their attitude and approach. I'm a good listener, and sometimes, that is all a person needs to be de-escalated. I'm always focused on the patient experience and go out of my way to have a positive attitude and approach situations with an open mind and patience. I can effectively communicate, whether that's by email, on the phone, or in person. I communicate messages clearly and answer questions professionally and calmly."

6. How would you rate your knowledge of medical terminology?

A thorough understanding of medical terminology will make you a more desirable candidate when applying for the medical secretary role with the NHS. Speak about your knowledge and experience in this area and any courses or classes you may have taken. If you lack skills in this area, demonstrate to the interviewer your willingness to learn and your ability to self-help and learn new information quickly.

"On a scale of 1-5, I would rate my knowledge of medical terminology a 4.5. I have worked in healthcare for ten years in a hospital and GP's office, so I've built an extensive vocabulary and a thorough understanding of medical terms, acronyms, and jargon. On the rare occasion I do not recognize a word or acronym, I'm quick to look it up on the internet or in the medical dictionary I keep in my desk drawer."

7. How often do you update patients' contact information?

The NHS must have the most up-to-date information on their patients, including addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contacts. The interviewer wants to hear that you verify this information with patients regularly and update their files accurately and promptly. In your response, discuss how often you update the patient's information and explain that you understand the importance of this practice.

"It's critical to have up-to-date contact information for patients, so I always verify this information each time they visit the office. If we don't have an accurate phone number or address, we may not be able to relay important medical information or confirm or change upcoming appointments. Now that patients can keep their information up to date online, outdated information has decreased, but I still review their information each time they come into the office. If they don't come in often for appointments but call in for refills throughout the year, I will check the computer to see when it was last updated, then review their information with them to make updates where needed."

8. What strategy do you use when you have to relay a lot of information to someone?

As a medical secretary at the NHS, you will likely be responsible for relaying information to other staff members, patients, or their families, so effective communication is critical. This question provides insight into your communication skills and ability to present information to help the other person understand and retain the necessary information. Think about how you give instructions to prepare someone for an upcoming medical test or procedure or give a new patient directions to the office. Highlight your soft skills and abilities to transfer information to another person effectively.

"If I have to call a patient and relay a lot of information, I first prepare them by letting them know I have several things to discuss, and I encourage them to grab something to write with and give them time to do so. I speak slowly and clearly and use plain terms as often as possible, limiting the use of acronyms or medical jargon to help them better understand the information. I take pauses to answer questions or repeat information, and if they have a question or concern for a nurse or other team member, I'll take their request and give that to the appropriate person for follow-up. Lastly, if they would like me to send an email with the information, mail them a copy of the literature or have a copy at the front desk for them, I will prepare that to reinforce the information I'm sharing."

9. Typing is a critical skill in this role. What is your average WPM?

In all medical secretary job descriptions, typing speed is required for the job at the NHS. The interviewer is looking for insight into your typing abilities by inquiring about your average word-per-minute to ensure you can keep up with the demands of the job. Since you'll likely be doing a lot of data entry on the computer, composing emails, and taking notes, this skill is a must. Take a quick typing assessment online before your interview (there are many free tests online) so that you're prepared to answer this question if it arises.

"Most of the tasks and duties I perform in my current role require me to type in some way, so this is a core skill I possess. My average WPM is 78, and my accuracy is 98%. I'm proficient at composing and typing emails, reports, medical documents, and formal letters to patients and other offices. I also use an ergonomic keyboard that allows me to type faster and more efficiently."

10. What office equipment are you proficient with?

As a medical secretary, you may be expected to operate various office equipment and systems. For example, you may be required to answer a multi-phone line and triage or transfer calls, send faxes to other offices, scan medical records into the computer, or operate the copy machine to put together patient forms. Give the interviewer a brief description of your experience with this type of equipment, and if your experience is limited, demonstrate your ability and willingness to learn.

"I have worked in an office setting for several years, so I have learned and mastered the use of many pieces of office equipment. I can use multi-line phone systems, paging systems, copy and fax machines, scanners, shredders, and mailing equipment. I'm proficient in using a computer and can operate email inboxes, navigate the internet, and use programs like Windows, Microsoft Office, and Quickbooks. I'm a quick learner, so if there is a piece of equipment I would be required to use that I wasn't familiar with, I am confident I could pick it up with minimal training."

11. At the NHS, we believe in improving the lives of others. How do you ensure your patients have a positive interaction with you?

The overall patient experience entails the entire range of interactions patients have with their healthcare team, from the front desk to patient rooms. No matter the setting, medical secretaries at the NHS focus on the quality of care they provide to patients, and the patient experience is a cornerstone of that focus. If hired, the organisation will expect you to positively influence the experience of the patients you will be working with daily. While many aspects of the patient experience are out of your control, some things to consider as you answer this question are your demeanour and attitude, responsiveness to patients, follow-through, and communication.

"While being a medical secretary can often be chaotic and fast-paced, it's important to remember that you're often the first person a patient sees or speaks to. First impressions are important and can often be a factor in a patient's decision to return, leave positive reviews, or refer friends. Even when things are hectic, I keep a positive attitude and smile as I greet and interact with patients, making sure they never feel they are a burden or that I'm frustrated with them. I'm pleasant and personable and go out of my way to assist them. For example, when they are leaving the office, I make sure I touch base with them to see if they want to schedule their follow up-appointment and to make sure they have all their documents and doctor's orders if they need them so they don't make multiple trips or have delays in their treatment. Lastly, if a patient asks me for help with a task that's out of my scope of work, I make sure that I find the right person to assist them."

12. When given multiple tasks, projects, or assignments, how do you prioritize them?

Working in a fast-paced environment often means juggling multiple projects and tasks, and priorities can shift and change suddenly. Think about how you decide what needs to be done urgently and what can wait or be delegated to someone else. When answering this question, demonstrate to the interviewer that you have a system that allows you to prioritize and carry out tasks efficiently. Perhaps it's a task manager program, or you end your day by making a list and prioritizing for the next. The better you prioritize, the more productive you will be, making you an asset at the NHS. Give specific examples of techniques and tools you use to manage your time effectively.

"My day typically consists of many tasks and responsibilities, so I must be organised to execute those tasks. Each morning, I make a list of the things I need to get done and highlight my top priority. I also use my computer calendar to see when I may have some downtime to work on less important admin tasks or where I need to block off time to work on tasks distraction-free. While I use techniques like this to stay organised, I also realise in healthcare that priorities can quickly shift, and I need to adapt and pivot to meet the need at that moment. I communicate with my manager and colleagues frequently to make sure I understand what is expected of me or needed of me urgently, and then I plan out the rest of my day around those critical tasks."

13. In your current role as a medical secretary, what does your typical day include?

The interviewer would like to discover more about your day-to-day roles, responsibilities, structure, and pace. If you are coming from another healthcare organisation, it's likely similar to what would be required in the position with the NSH; however, it's important to describe in detail what your activities look like. Consider whether you spend time on the phone, maintaining medical records, scheduling appointments, or ensuring referrals are passed on to consultants. Read the job description thoroughly, and discuss the areas of responsibility you have experience in and perform daily. Keep a positive tone as you describe what your current role entails each day, and refrain from complaining about certain duties or feeling overwhelmed by the day-to-day tasks.

"I'm the only medical secretary for our consultant, so I'm the main point of contact for patients in the office. The majority of my day is spent interacting with patients who come in for appointments and on the phone with patients answering questions or scheduling/confirming appointments for the week. I also manage the cancellation list. We have a full-time person who does billing, but some days I will assist her with filing duties if she is behind. The remainder of my day is usually spent compiling and updating patient records, typing letters and clinical reports, some medical audio typing, and correspondence through our electronic patient portal and email inbox."

14. What are two ways you demonstrate etiquette when answering a phone in the workplace?

Medical secretaries are required to be on the phone frequently, so you must be knowledgeable in phone etiquette. Whether you are speaking with a patient, consultant, GP, ward clerk, other coordinators, or member of the public, you must be professional and polite, providing excellent customer service at all times. Demonstrate this ability by giving two specific examples of how you display phone etiquette in the workplace and weave in details that highlight your personality.

"I spend a lot of time on the phone in my current role, and phone etiquette is important for a positive patient experience. One example of professional etiquette I use is always smiling when I answer the phone because it makes me sound more pleasant when projecting my voice and demonstrates positive body language if others in the waiting room may be observing me. Another is to avoid using acronyms or jargon that we may frequently use around the office, as the caller may not be familiar and could cause confusion or delays in the conversation. Years ago, a mentor of mine taught me the "P's of phone etiquette," which included prepared, present, polite, patient, personable, professional, and proactive, and that phrase has stuck with me to this day."

15. In this role, you'll be the main point of contact for patients. How do you provide excellent customer service as a medical secretary?

Employees of the NHS regularly interact with members of the public, so strong relationship-building skills are required to be successful as a medical secretary. In this role, you will be the face of the office and have more interactions with patients on a day-to-day basis than many others on the team. The interviewer wants to know that you understand the impression you make on patients and can build and maintain a relationship and provide excellent customer service. Describe your approach and give examples of how you go above and beyond.

"I always acknowledge the person approaching me for assistance. Even if I'm in the middle of a task, if someone approaches my desk, I acknowledge them, smile, and either stop what I'm doing to assist them or let them know I will be with them in just one moment. It's important not to ignore people and to reassure them you will be happy to assist them as quickly as possible. I also assist people promptly. For example, if I take a call and need to research or track down information, I do not leave that person on hold unnecessarily. Instead, if I know I need time to find the answer and get back to them, I offer to take their name and number to return their call as soon as I have what they need. I always follow through, doing what I say I'm going to do."

16. Why are you leaving your current company?

The interviewer wants to understand why you are leaving your current company and exploring new opportunities. Provide a brief reason for leaving, then explain what makes the role with the NHS appealing to you. Avoid giving red-flag answers such as "I hate my boss," or "we're always short-staffed, and I'm tired of working so much overtime," or giving a lengthy explanation. Give a brief answer, maintain a positive and professional tone, and avoid complaining about your current or previous employer, manager, or team. Instead, give a more general reason like "I'm looking for more growth opportunities," "I'm looking for a better cultural fit," "I'm seeking a better work-life balance," "I'm ready to explore new healthcare settings and expand my skillset and experience," "I'm looking for a shorter commute," etc.

"I enjoy working for my current company and with my colleagues, but I'm looking for a change in environment. I have been with my current company for several years, and I feel I've learned all I can here. I want to find a new opportunity such as this to gain exposure to new areas of healthcare, so I can grow and expand my skill set, and possibly even take on more responsibility or mentor more junior medical secretaries."

17. What do you enjoy most about working in healthcare?

This lighthearted question gives the interviewer some insight into what you enjoy about your job and working in healthcare. Perhaps it's interacting and helping patients every day. Maybe you enjoy being the face of the office and the first person people see when they walk in, or perhaps you are interested in advancing your career and enjoy the opportunities to grow and network in the medical field. Whatever it is, respond with a genuine answer about your favourite part of the job and what keeps you coming back every day.

"I love working in healthcare because it's such a fast-paced environment. I love to be busy and feel challenged, and this is a great role for that as I continue to grow and advance in my career. I'm very outgoing and enjoy meeting and working with new people. I'm also very passionate about serving others and working as part of a team. Being a medical secretary in healthcare allows me to support the clinical team and patients, and I find that very rewarding."

18. What interested you in a career in healthcare?

The interviewer wants to learn more about why you chose the healthcare industry and, more specifically, a career as a medical secretary. This question is very personal, so briefly give the interviewer some insight into what motivated you to pursue this path. Perhaps you interacted with a healthcare professional in the past who had an impact on you, or maybe you have family or friends who have been in the role whoinspired you, or maybe you just like being a part of a team that cares for others. If you have a unique story that led to your decision, feel free to share that and give a meaningful answer that demonstrates your passion for the field.

"I've always been interested in science and the medical field, and I have many administrative skills, so I pursued a path in healthcare administration. I enjoy helping others and being a part of a team, and I found that healthcare connects both of those passions. I'm very outgoing and enjoy working with the public and meeting new people, so this environment is ideal for me. I plan to remain in healthcare for many years as I expand my skill set and perhaps eventually pursue additional certifications."

19. Tell me about your education.

While most medical secretary positions with the NHS do not have a formal entry requirement, the interviewer will likely still be interested in knowing if you have any formal education or training. An apprenticeship is another excellent alternative to start your career, so if you've completed a Modern Apprenticeship in Healthcare Support (non-clinical) or Business Administration, now is a great time to mention that. If you do not have any education or training, be honest and give a high-level overview of your relevant work experience that will transfer into this role with the NHS.

"I have a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and AMSPAR Medical Secretarial Diploma. I'm interested in taking RSA typing courses next year to take my typing and processing skills to the next level. I'm also considering NVQ courses or training to advance my skills as a medical secretary."

20. What healthcare settings have you worked in?

This question allows the interviewer to explore your healthcare background and what environments you have worked in to understand if your background aligns or if you've worked in an environment where your skills would transfer well. Give an overview of the settings you've worked in (care home, hospital, consultant's office, general practice, etc.) and include the range of patient populations you've worked with. You can also include details about the pace of the environment or give insight into the size of the organisation or even the volume of staff and patients you supported in your roles.

"I worked for five years as a ward clerk and then moved into the medical secretary role, which I've been in for the last three years. As a ward clerk, I worked on the surgical ward with a team of about 20 other staff members. I did everything from data entry to answering phones and making appointments. It was very fast-paced, and I enjoyed that setting. As a medical secretary, I have been working for a private clinic that sees mostly pediatric patients. It's a little slower pace, but I've gained a lot of exposure and experience here. I enjoy and am comfortable working in both settings and environments."

21. What experience do you have scheduling appointments?

First, give an overview of your experience with scheduling appointments and include the types of settings (office, call centre, hospital, etc.) you've worked in. Describe the diversity of the patients or groups you've provided scheduling services for to showcase your ability to work with people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic statuses. You can also discuss the volume of appointments you schedule in a day or week to give the interviewer an idea of the size of the office you support as well as the pace of the environment.

"In my last role at the hospital, scheduling appointments was one of my core responsibilities. I answered the phone, checked our office email to look for appointment requests, took walk-ins, and scheduled follow-up appointments in person for those being seen and needing to come back. I would schedule appointments with the general practitioners, manage the cancellation list, and call patients to confirm appointments for the next day. Part of my job was to use my best judgment if we had a walk-in or a patient called urgently requesting to be seen. I could determine whether to fit them on the schedule, put them on for another day, or refer them to someone else. As far as appointment scheduling software goes, I have experience with iinsight and Trafft."

22. Tell me about your experience managing medical records.

The interviewer would like to learn more about your skills and abilities to manage medical records, whether that's test results, creating new patient files, or obtaining records from another GP. Discuss your experience with managing paper medical records and electronic medical records and speak to ways you ensure accuracy and privacy when managing files. If you have experience using EMR software, now is a great time to give an overview of the systems you have used in the workplace.

"I have been in healthcare for several years and have worked in clinics and GP offices, so I have experience managing paper file medical records and files on EMR systems. I have experience creating files, properly maintaining and storing them, following policies and procedures for sharing medical records and destroying them, and organizing them for day-to-day use when seeing patients. Proper medical records management is vital to ensuring patients receive the appropriate care. I'm very familiar with the Data Protection Act and adhere to all policies and procedures like the "need to know basis" to protect patient privacy."

23. Respect and dignity are two of our core values here at the NHS. What experience do you have working with confidential information? How do you protect patient information?

All employees at the NHS must be knowledgeable about when and how to protect sensitive or private information. Demonstrate your understanding of the importance of protecting patient information in the workplace and consider ways you ensure patient information is not left in public places or stored inappropriately. Perhaps you speak in a lower voice when relaying confidential information so other patients don't overhear, or maybe you lock your computer when you leave your workstation. When responding, give an overview of your experience in healthcare protecting this type of data and examples of ways you ensure patient information is safe.

"As a medical secretary in a hospital, there are several ways that I protect confidential information. If I have a patient at my workstation, I will use my kiosk screen to confirm personal data instead of repeating it all out loud in front of other patients or visitors in the area. Anytime I leave my desk, I lock my computer and put files with patient data in my locked drawer to protect it from unauthorized view. This includes patient files, prescriptions, lab orders, and even post-it notes that I may have jotted something down that contained a date of birth or name and test result. I also change my computer password regularly to reduce the risk of someone accessing my computer and files. Lastly, when I deal with a patient's family and friends inquiring about patient statuses, I always check their file to see who they have given consent to be given that information."

24. I see you have never worked as a medical secretary before. How will your skills transfer to this role?

There are many ways you can be a fit for a position at the NHS, even if you have not worked in the exact role in the past. Review the job description and determine what skills are required, then think about the transferable skills you possess and how those can benefit the organisation, despite the industry background you may have. These skills could include technical abilities, communication skills, customer service experience, scheduling or billing-related positions, etc.

"While I have not worked as a medical secretary before, I have worked in the billing department of the local hospital. In this role, I learned a lot of medical terminology and acronyms that would be useful in the secretary role. I also worked closely with GPs, consultants, and patients, so I understand how medical facilities function and collaborate and work well with others. I have strong communication skills from working with the public so often and interacting in person and on the telephone. I'm very customer-centric, ensuring they have a positive experience when they interact with our office. My typing skills are excellent, and I use many office software programs and equipment."

Situational

25. How do you handle an angry patient causing a scene in the office?

As a medical secretary at the NHS, you will frequently interact with the public. They may be frustrated about wait times or not being seen when they walk into the office. Whatever the reason for their agitation or frustration, it's crucial to demonstrate that you can handle these stressful situations with compassion and professionalism. The interviewer wants to understand how you would handle a challenging situation and how you react under pressure. In your answer, include aspects like customer service skills, critical thinking, patience, communication skills, empathy, and the ability to resolve conflicts. Give an example of a time you dealt with a problematic family member of a patient and describe the situation and how you resolved the conflict.

"When I worked at the local GP's office, we had a patient walk in and demand to be seen. This person was not our patient, and our clinic was already overbooked that day. I let him know that we could not take walk-in patients and that he would have to call our main office to register as a new patient, and then they would schedule him for an appointment. He was very upset and yelling at me in front of a room full of patients. I calmly asked him to lower his voice and asked him what he would like to be seen for. He had a headache and cough and wanted an antibiotic on the spot. I reiterated that we could not see him and explained that we had an obligation to treat our current patient load and respect the time of them and the physicians so they could provide adequate care to those already waiting. I provided him with a list of walk-in clinics in the area and an emergent care office address. In this situation, it was important to remove him from the main office where he was causing a scene while also trying to provide him with alternate solutions so he could get the care he needed. I usually try to de-escalate the situation as quickly as possible by remaining calm and professional as I assess ways to provide solutions to the patient."

26. Tell me about a time you made a mistake in the workplace.

The interviewer understands it's human nature to make mistakes, so this question is less about the actual mistake and more about how you handled the situation. They are looking for self-awareness, your ability to identify the mistake, take responsibility and ownership of it, and learn from the situation so the mistake isn't repeated. When giving your answer, provide an example of a minor mistake and not one that caused serious injury or harm to anyone or would be a major red flag to the interviewer. Consider an example of a mistake that resulted from a misunderstanding or miscommunication, a missed deadline, or an error on a document.

"When I started as a medical secretary, one of my first projects was printing new patient labels and updating paper charts. I grabbed a stack of charts, pulled all the labels out of the tabs then started putting my new labels in them. After about twenty files, I realized that I had assumed the charts had been correctly put in alphabetical order, and I had not double-checked based on the patient files inside. I quickly found that many charts had the wrong patient label, and I also realized that there were some patient charts on the shelf that were inactive and that I had not printed labels for those. I learned a few lessons from that mistake. I learned never to assume anything and to double-check everything I do concerning patient data. I also realized the importance of getting organized and having a process before taking on a large task to be more efficient and reduce the risk of errors. For the next set, I left the labels in while I organized the files to make sure they were in the order that my labels were, and each time I replaced a label in the tab, I opened the file to check the name on the first page matched."

27. How would you respond if a patient or colleague asked you a question you didn’t know the answer to?

As a medical secretary at the NHS, you will likely run into a situation where you're unsure how to answer a patient or colleague at some point. The interviewer wants to discover more about how you would react under pressure and when you lack the knowledge necessary to answer a question. Demonstrate that you can acknowledge when you don't know something instead of making it up on the fly and commit to finding that answer and following up with the patient or colleague timely. Give an example of how you self-help and track down information or how you've found the appropriate person to ask. Telling the person, "I don't know," or "that's not my department," is never appropriate, and the interviewer wants to learn more about your customer service skills and problem-solving approach.

"As a newer employee, I would have a lot to learn, so I'm sure I will run into a situation where I cannot immediately answer a team member or patient's question. I would be honest with the person and let them know I would research the answer and get back to them as quickly as possible. I would never make up an answer and would try to self-help with my available resources, and if I could not locate the answer timely, I would reach out to a colleague or manager to assist. Follow-up is important to build trust, so I would always make sure I got back to the person with the information or answer they were seeking."

28. Tell me about an ethical dilemma you faced in the workplace and how you handled it.

This question allows the interviewer to discover more about your character. It's not uncommon for ethical dilemmas in the workplace to occur from time to time, so speak openly about an ethical dilemma you faced at work. Think carefully about your answer, as it will leave a lasting impression. Demonstrate your commitment to honesty, integrity, and loyalty to your organization. Show examples of how you've "done the right thing" and how you bring these values to the team.

"When I worked in the office at my last job, we had a strict policy against taking office supplies. Another medical secretary in the office took home several items like paper, printer ink, staples, etc. I reminded her that the company had a strict policy regarding taking home office supplies, which could result in disciplinary action or termination. She put the items back, but I witnessed her doing the same thing a week later, taking even more valuable items. I notified my supervisor of the situation, including the first time that I reminded her that it was against company policy. It's never an ideal situation to turn in a coworker, but it's important to speak up and do the right thing, even when it's difficult or uncomfortable."

29. Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult colleague or patient.

Working in healthcare and within an organisation as large as the NHS, you will likely interact with a high volume of people daily, including colleagues, senior leaders, patients, their families, and public vendors. Possessing the skills to handle difficult situations and people in the workplace is essential. Think about a time you had a challenging coworker or patient and what made it difficult. Describe the situation and how you handled it, and include aspects of communication, interpersonal, and conflict-resolution skills. Avoid speaking negatively about a former colleague or patient when answering.

"In my last job, I had a patient that would often come in over an hour late for her appointment, or worse, miss her appointment entirely and then come in on another day and demand to be seen. She would get upset and tell me that I gave her the wrong date or time and would cause a scene, and our consultant would work her in. To avoid this, I would write her appointment dates and times down for her on a card, and if she had regular follow-ups, I would write them all down to help her plan ahead. I would also make sure I called her the day before and even the day of sometimes to confirm her appointment. I would also try to get to the root cause to see if I could help her line up transportation, for example. Despite these efforts, she would still be late or a no-show. Eventually, I helped create a patient policy that explained the importance of being on time and keeping appointments and notified patients that they could not walk in or be seen the same day if they were late or missed their appointment earlier in the day. This did reduce the number of times she would be late or no-show and helped things run more smoothly at the office."

30. Tell me about a time miscommunication in the workplace caused a problem.

Mistakes will happen, and communication will be broken, but when this happens in healthcare, it can have a significant consequence. Demonstrate to the interviewer that you can take ownership when this type of situation arises, find the root cause, overcome it, learn from the miscommunication and take action to correct it. Give examples if possible, or answer hypothetically if you cannot think of a relevant experience to share.

"When I started in my current role, my supervisor sent me an email with instructions on a data entry project. Though there were areas I felt uncertain of the directions, I didn't want to bother her with a bunch of questions or seem incompetent. I assumed I knew what my supervisor was asking, completed the project, and emailed it to her. It turns out I had misunderstood a large piece of the assignment, and all of my information was entered incorrectly, which meant I had wasted about four hours of my time on this. I realized that I shouldn't have been embarrassed to ask questions and that I should have gone to her to make sure I understood the expectations before starting the project. That lesson has stuck with me, and I know it's better to ask questions and seek to thoroughly understand than make a mistake and have to do the work over again."

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Home > Blog > Crafting The Perfect Supporting Information Statement for NHS Job Applications

Career Advice , Interviews , NHS

Crafting the perfect supporting information statement for nhs job applications.

Are you aiming for a fulfilling career while making a significant difference in people’s lives? The National Health Service (NHS) provides a wide variety of employment options to suit different skill sets and interests. It’s critical to recognise the value of supporting information in your job application as you set out on your quest to land a position with the NHS. We’ll walk you through the essential steps of writing a strong supporting information statement in this guide so you can stand out in the crowded field of NHS job applications.

Regardless of the job role, you will need to submit comprehensive supporting information in your NHS application form for all of the following bands:

• NHS Band 8a, 8b, 8c, & 8d

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NHS Application Process: A Brief Overview

Let’s briefly discuss the application process for NHS jobs before getting into the specifics of the supporting documentation. Typically, this entails:

• Job Search: Look through the official NHS job board to find openings that fit your qualifications and professional objectives.
• Online Application: Complete the application by entering accurate details about your education, professional background, and contact information.
• Supporting Details: This is your chance to shine. By demonstrating your suitability for the position and your alignment with NHS values, your supporting statement should support your application and is key to your success.
• References: List people who can attest to your skills and work ethic.
• Submission Check: Check your application carefully and submit it on time.

Crafting Compelling Supporting Information for NHS Jobs

You have the chance to explain why you are the ideal candidate for the position in your supporting information statement. Here are some things to add:

• Relevance: Emphasize your qualifications and experience that are pertinent to the position. Be sure to emphasize your love of medicine and commitment to bettering patient outcomes.
• NHS Values: Discuss how your values, such as compassion, teamwork, and dedication, align with those of the NHS’s values.
• Specific Examples: Give specific instances where you’ve overcome obstacles or proven your aptitude for the position.
• Motivation: Describe your interest in the position and how it aligns with your long-term professional goals.
• Soft Skills: Demonstrate your leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills, which the NHS values highly.

Tips for Crafting an Outstanding Supporting Statement

• Research: Learn about the particular position, division, and NHS Trust you are applying for. Create a supporting statement that mentions these areas.
• Clear Structure: Use a paragraph structure, similar to an essay. Your skills, experiences, motivation, and conclusion should come after a captivating introduction.
• Be Concise: Maintain a clear, focused statement. Avoid using overly technical or unnecessary jargon.
• Quantify Your Successes: Include figures to demonstrate your success, such as the quantity of patients you have treated or the number of projects you have managed.
• Proofread: Double-check for grammatical and spelling mistakes. A statement that is presented well demonstrates your attention to detail and shows that you care about your application.

Example of a Supporting Statement

Below is a short snippet of an example NHS Supporting Information statement for a Band 8a role: 

As a committed healthcare professional with a track record of providing excellent patient care and managing productive interdisciplinary teams, I am excited to apply for this NHS Band 8a position. I am confident that I can succeed in this tough position due to my enthusiasm for healthcare, leadership skills, and dedication to continuous improvement.

I have consistently looked for opportunities to increase my knowledge and abilities throughout my career. I am registered with [insert professional body, e.g., HCPC/NMC] and have a [insert educational degree or qualification] . I have also successfully completed a variety of professional development courses, such as [insert training or certifications] , which have given me the skills necessary to influence improvements in patient outcomes and service delivery.

My position as [insert current role] , where I have the honour of managing a diverse team of…

Making a strong supporting statement for your NHS job application is essential if you want to land the position you desire at this esteemed national organisation. To help you accelerate your NHS application form, you can get “ready-made” templates to boost your chances of success right now at the bottom of this page…

Joshua Brown

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Medical secretary

A day as a medical secretary

You arrive at the GP practice where you work at 8.45am.

Your first task of the day is to organise the GP's patient list and retrieve all patients' files ready for their appointments. Once this is done you open and sort the post, dealing with many of the queries and sorting those that need to be responded to by the doctor.

After filing patient records you update the practice database and take phone messages. You spend much of the afternoon typing up letters from the GP to be sent to patients and the local hospital to arrange appointments.

Throughout the day you answer phone calls from patients and other medical professions, assisting as best you can with their queries and taking messages for GPs. You like using your organisational skills to ensure the practice runs smoothly, and enjoy the regular hours and being part of the medical community.

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• 27 June 2018

How To Write A Personal Statement For Your Next Job In Healthcare

• Matt Farrah Nurses.co.uk Co-founder / Co-owner
• Save for later

An excellent personal statement is the key to success in every healthcare job application you make and in this article we look at the steps to follow in order to create the ideal one.

If you’ve written a personal statement before for a previous job application or university course application, you can use ideas and themes from that but you can’t simply use the same one again.

A personal statement must be tailored for each situation, and when you’re applying for healthcare jobs you need to tailor it according to the person specification and job description of the vacancy you’re interested in.

Start with a brainstorm of ideas

If you try to sit down and write your personal statement from scratch by starting with the first sentence, you could find your finished personal statement has no coherence and does not follow a logical order.

By brainstorming your ideas first you can prioritise the points you want to make and assemble all the evidence you want to mention that will back up the claims you’re going to make.

In order to avoid repetition in your personal statement, pick out a couple of points you want to make in your opening statement that really establish you as a serious contender for the job; for example, your qualification or current employment.

Then move on to the centre section where you should elaborate on the all the reasons why you are perfect for the job! Use the person specification and job description from the vacancy advert as a reference and try to check off the points you’re making with the requirements of the employer.

Your closing section should summarise the main points you want the employer to remember you for, especially your professional expertise if you applying for a doctor job , dentist job or any other senior healthcare professional job.

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Put words around your ideas

As you begin to put your ideas into sentences, be mindful of the length of your personal statement. It’s easy to write too much, but you are more likely to be successful if you are succinct and coherent.

It’s essential as you’re writing that you use a variety of examples from your experience to illustrate each point you’re making because you want to demonstrate the range of your experience.

It will also help to make your personal statement as memorable as possible because the employer will have a really good insight into your history and how your experience can make you ideal for their job vacancy.

Proof-read and edit your personal statement several times

When you think you have your personal statement completed go back and proof read it to spot any spelling errors, and to check that the information you have given is accurate.

Your personal statement forms part of your job application so you can be sure that when you apply you are required to confirm all information is correct to the best of your knowledge.

Whether you’re an experienced healthcare professional in a particular field, or you’re applying for your first healthcare assistant job , the personal statement is an essential part of the job application.

It’s your only opportunity to talk directly to the employer before they decide whether or not you are suitable for the job and therefore should be offered an interview.

Try to imagine the questions they will be asking themselves when reading your personal statement and provide clear, concise answers to as many of those questions as you can anticipate.

Once your personal statement has secured you an interview, you'll be wanting advice on how to smash your interview, right? Take a look at how to successfully prepare for interviews in healthcare to find out how to do just that.

Looking for a job in medicine or health care? Next Steps... Create an account. We will help you build a CV as part of that process. This will get you ready to start searching for jobs.

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About this contributor

I believe people working in healthcare should be able to choose to enjoy work. That is, choose an employer who reflects their values and provides them with a sustainable career. This leads to better patient care, higher retention rates and happier working lives in this most important employment sector.

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Medical secretary cv example.

In the role of a medical secretary, you would provide administrative support to doctors either in a hospital or practice. You will be responsible for dealing with patients, queries etc, you will need good communication skills as you will be expected to liaise with other healthcare professionals and will need an understanding of medical terminology.

An example CV is below for you to use as a guide:

CV Example: Medical Secretary

Name Surname Address Mobile No/Email

PERSONAL PROFILE

I am a very organized person who likes to provide administrative support to one or more Doctors, consultants etc and I am looking to continue this career path. I enjoy the medical world and the terminology that Doctors and medical staff use and I find it a challenge to continue my learning in this area.

I am very self-motivated and ensure that I achieve 100% accuracy for myself and the person who I work for. I am an enthusiastic and flexible worker who works exceptionally hard and is dedicated to my work.

I have a patient nature and am able to communicate effectively with all kinds of people and on a daily basis have been used to dealing with patients, medical workers and the general public. I remain calm and professional at all times.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Date to Date or To Date – Medical Secretary – Where?

As a medical secretary, I provide support to the doctors I work for in terms of administration. My responsibilities include:

Ensuring that you deal with enquiries from patients and keep records up to date Use of the telephone to make, take appointments, queries etc Diary management for the doctors Keeping on top of any training or conferences that need to be attended by the doctors and booking inappropriately Researching and organising any travel arrangements as necessary Keeping on top of any waiting lists and ensuring patients are booked in Sending samples for medical testing with the correct paperwork Ensuring that test results are filed with the right patient notes accurately Typing patient letters and clinical reports Ensuring records and files are kept orderly and organised.

QUALIFICATIONS

University, College, School – For all include titles/subjects and qualifications

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Computer skills – MS Office, Excel???

Any typing tests/skills, training, word processing, shorthand etc Any medical terminology training?

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

What do you like to do outside of work?

Available on request.

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Medicine Personal Statement Examples

Get some inspiration to start writing your Medicine Personal Statement with these successful examples from current Medical School students. We've got Medicine Personal Statements which were successful for universities including Imperial, UCL, King's, Bristol, Edinburgh and more.

Personal Statement Examples

• Read successful Personal Statements for Medicine
• Pay attention to the structure and the content
• Get inspiration to plan your Personal Statement

Personal Statement Example 1

Check out this Medicine Personal Statement which was successful for Imperial, UCL, QMUL and King's.

Personal Statement Example 2

This Personal Statement comes from a student who received Medicine offers from Bristol and Plymouth - and also got an interview at Cambridge.

Personal Statement Example 3

Have a look at this Medicine Personal Statement which was successful for Imperial, Edinburgh, Dundee and Newcastle.

Personal Statement Example 4

Take a look at this Medicine Personal Statement which was successful for King's, Newcastle, Bristol and Sheffield.

Personal Statement Example 5

Pick up tips from this Medicine Personal Statement which was successful for Imperial, Birmingham and Manchester.

Personal Statement Example 6

This Personal Statement comes from a student who got into Graduate Entry Medicine at King's - and also had interviews for Undergraduate Medicine at King's, QMUL and Exeter.

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Medical Secretary

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

The role of Medical Secretary provides support to providing an efficient and comprehensive secretarial support service to the consultants, specialist nurses and other medical staff.

You will be required to;

maintain a high standard of secretarial service to meet the needs of the clinical team

ensure that accurate and up to date typing of clinic letters and correspondence is achieved through audio/digital dictation.

Respond to queries from patients, GPs and other medical teams regarding patient care.

Observe and work within the Trust's Confidentiality Policy at all times.

Main duties of the job

• Ensure the smooth running of the office/team including the assessment of priorities and the initiation of preparatory action.
• Ensure that the results of tests and investigations for patients are received; shown to medical staff and all relevant ongoing arrangements are carried out.
• Assist the Senior Medical Secretary with arranging and servicing meetings as required.
• Using the in-house patient data tracking system ensure that all patient case notes passing through the office are booked in and out appropriately.
• Following guidance work within defined national and local targets e.g. 18 weeks and monitor on a regular basis, identifying potential breaches to the Senior Medical Secretary.
• Provide cover for the Senior Medical Secretary during periods of annual leave and absence within contracted hours.
• Assist in the co-ordination of outpatient clinics and/or theatre lists, booked/planned admissions applicable to speciality,

At Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust we provide outstanding care to both our patients and our staff. We support staff through benefits, health and wellbeing initiatives and opportunities for personal and professional development.

An inclusive and supportive culture our Trust encourages staff to bring their whole selves to work and active Staff Networks identify areas for improvement.

Staff Recognition - as well as regular appraisals, we recognise staff with our Making a Difference, Team of the Month Awards & Colleague Recognition Awards

Employee Support and wellbeing - we have a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, counselling service and fast track physiotherapy service for employees.

Staff Benefits - We have a range of staff benefits and schemes to support staff health, engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.

Date posted

25 September 2023

Agenda for change

£22,816 to £24,336 a year per annum pro rata

Working pattern

Reference number.

421-LTUC-0647M

Job locations

Harrogate Hospital

Lancaster Park Road

Job description

Job responsibilities.

For further information, please see attached job description or reach out to Rebecca Smith [email protected]

Person Specification

• 5 GSCEs or equivalent
• Admin Experience with keyboard and microsoft office skills
• Good verbal and written communication
• Medical Terminology
• Audio typing experience
• Experience of NHS admin role and in house systems

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .

Employer details

Employer name, employer's website.

https://www.hdft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

Senior Medical Secretary

Rebecca Smith

[email protected]

01423553394

Supporting documents

Privacy notice.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)

Guides & Info

Medicine Personal Statement Examples

Last updated: 29/6/2023

• Is Medicine Right for Me?
• What do Doctors do?
• The Daily Life of a Doctor
• How to apply to medical school
• Different Routes into Medicine
• Factors to Consider
• Medicine at Oxford and Cambridge
• Your Fifth UCAS Choice
• Getting Your Grades
• Extra-curricular Activities
• What is the UCAT?
• Preparing for Your UCAT Test Day
• After Your UCAT
• BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)
• Work Experience and Dental Schools
• NHS Work Experience
• Personal Statement
• Medicine PS Examples
• Dentistry PS Examples
• UCAS References
• Medical and Dental School Interviews
• Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs)
• Medical School Interview Questions
• Dental School Interview Questions
• Graduate Entry Courses
• Foundation and Access Courses
• International students
• Taking a Gap Year
• Medicine in Australia and NZ
• Medicine in Ireland Medicine in Eastern Europe
• Other Roles in Healthcare
• What Our "Plan B" Looked Like

The personal statement is changing to a series of free text questions for 2026 entry onwards, however it remains unchanged for 2025 entry. Keep an eye on our live updates page for guidance on these changes.

Your UCAS personal statement is a chance to showcase the skills, attributes, and experiences which make you suited to studying medicine. This can be quite a daunting prospect, especially when you have to boil all that down to just 4,000 characters, or 47 lines. 

In this article, we will:

• Examine examples of strong and weak medicine personal statements (interested in dentistry? Check out dentistry personal statement examples )
• Help you learn what you should and shouldn't include in your medicine personal statement

Want to explore more examples? Our Personal Statement Course has over 100 personal statement examples to help you find your voice.

What you'll find in this article:

Personal statement example 1 – introduction

Personal statement example 2 – introduction, personal statement example 1 – main body, personal statement example 2 – main body, personal statement example 1 – conclusion, personal statement example 2 – conclusion, strong personal statement example, weak personal statement example, what should your personal statement include.

To get into medical school , your personal statement should:

• Demonstrate meaningful insight into the profession, in the form of work experience or independent research. This could be partly based on medical books or podcasts when medical work experience is not possible
• Reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, and experiences
• Mention your extracurricular activities
• Discuss your academic interests and achievements

'At the moment I am working towards A-Level Chemistry, Biology and Maths. I achieved my AS-Level in Spanish but decided to drop it to focus on my more medically relevant subjects. I’ve been dreaming of studying medicine since I was a young child, and this was only reinforced when I contracted measles during my primary school exams. This affected my performance, but I found that this motivated me rather than discouraged me. A particularly inspiring doctor was heavily involved in helping me deal with the pressure. I was inspired by her to become a doctor myself and help others in a similar way. I am particularly interested in science and as such the practical side of medicine interested me. I’ve always enjoyed chemistry and biology the most, and have best learned when trying to link the pure science I learn in school back to it's practical and useful real-world applications. This is what is particularly interesting about medicine to me - you can apply pure, evidence-based science in a clinical and practical setting to have an obvious positive effect. Inspired by this interest, I invested in a subscription to the New Scientist magazine. I’ve read about a huge number of fascinating discoveries and how they’ve been applied in medical settings.'

This introductory section has some promising features, but there are areas the author could improve:

• The introductory sentence doesn’t catch the reader’s attention or hold much relevance for a medical personal statement. This sentence would be better suited to a subsequent section on the author’s academic achievements, and it would need to be supplemented with a suitable explanation as to why the chosen subjects are relevant for medicine. 
• The author uses an anecdote to illustrate why they first developed an interest in medicine. This is a good idea, but the anecdote they've chosen is not the most suitable. It references ‘primary school exams’, which uses the cliché of wanting to do medicine from a young age. This is not only overused, but is also underdeveloped. 
• The applicant mentions feeling under pressure for these primary school exams. This won’t fill the reader with confidence that the author will be able to cope with the demands of medical school and a career as a doctor. 
• The introduction should open with the anecdote rather than academic achievements. A strong and memorable opening line will catch the admission tutor’s attention, and gives the student an opportunity to summarise why they want to study medicine.
• It is far too long. A good introduction should be around 4-6 lines.

There are some parts of the introduction that are more effective:

• The part discussing why they enjoy chemistry and biology is useful – it links their love for pure science back to the passion they mentioned earlier for helping people. This demonstrates the blend of empathy and interest in science that medical schools will be looking for. 
• The same part also introduces the candidate’s reading of medical literature, which they could choose to discuss in more depth later in the statement, or which might be something that interviewers could choose to examine in more detail.

'From a young age, my real fascination in life has been science - in particular, the incredible intricacy of the human body. My passion to discover more about its inner workings fuelled my motivation to study medicine, and the challenging yet rewarding nature of the job leaves me certain that I want to pursue it as a career. I think that my chosen A-Levels have only made me more determined to become a doctor, while simultaneously allowing me to develop and improve my skills. I have become a better problem-solver by studying physics and maths, while also learning the importance of accuracy and attention to detail. I’ve particularly enjoyed chemistry, which has again helped me improve my problem solving skills and my ability to think rationally and logically. Throughout my chemistry and biology A-Levels, I’ve been required to engage in practical work which has taught me how to design and construct an experiment. I’ve also become better at communicating with other members of my team, something I witnessed the importance of during my work experience in A&E. During recent months, I’ve started reading more medical publications such as the Lancet and the British Medical Journal. I’ve been particularly interested in how this evidence-based science can be applied to clinical practice to really make an impact on patients.'

This introduction contains some useful reflection and demonstrates some insight, but is quite jumbled. The main areas of weakness are as follows:

• The content is good but much of it would be better suited to a later section and should be explored in more detail while being linked back to medicine (for example, the whole second half could be included in a longer segment on academia). 
• The applicant mentions that they improved their problem-solving skills. How did they do this? Why is this important in medicine? 
• They say that medicine is demanding but that this attracts them to the job. What experiences have they had to show the demanding nature of it? Why does this attract them to it? 
• The author also briefly mentions a stint of work experience in A&E, but the rushed nature of the introduction means that they can’t go into detail about the experience or reflect on what exactly they learned from it. 
• Similar to example 1, this introduction includes some clichés which detract from the author’s overall message. For example, that they have wanted to do medicine from a young age or that they love science (with no further explanation as to why). 
• It is far too long. Again, an introduction should be a succinct summary of why you're interested in medicine, and not a brief account of all of your experiences.

The stronger parts of this introduction include the following:

• The author does demonstrate that they can reflect on the skills they’ve improved through experience. For example, the analytical and problem-solving skills they gained from chemistry.
• The candidate shows an understanding of the link between evidence-based science and clinical application when discussing how they did further research around their physics course. This shows a good level of curiosity and insight.

'I first became interested in studying medicine when I carried out a work experience placement with my father an elderly care specialist. I really enjoyed the experience and it gave me a deeper insight into the challenges doctors face. I now believe that I better understand the resilience - both mental and physical - that doctors need to cope with the heavy workload and emotional challenges. A few months ago I was given the opportunity to attend work experience in St Mary’s hospital in Manchester where I visited and observed many different specialties and areas of the hospital like A&E and the labs and witnessed how doctors carried out their jobs. For the past year I’ve been doing some other volunteering work too, such as, taking meals around to patients on the ward, asking them about their experience in the hospital and just chatting with them about how they’re feeling. They’re often delighted to have someone to talk to especially during Covid when they weren’t allowed to receive visitors. I saw how my communication and empathy made a real impact on the mood of the lonelier patients. I spent a few days working in the same hospital, shadowing doctors and Allied Health professionals in the stroke ward. I became much more familiar with the process doctors used for treating stroke patients, and developed an understanding of the role that physiotherapists and occupational therapists have in their rehabilitation. On top of that I organised a placement with the emergency medicine doctors and spent time in the haemapheresis unit at St Mary’s.'

This example does contain some of the features we look for in a complete main body section but could definitely be improved: 

• The main issue with this is the list-like presentation, which goes hand-in-hand with a general lack of reflection or insight. Although it is good to discuss your work experience in your personal statement, it would be far better if the candidate focused on just one or two of the experiences mentioned, but went into far more detail about what they learned and the insight they gained. For example, after mentioning the role of Allied Health Professionals in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, they could go on to discuss how they came to appreciate the importance of these healthcare workers, and how the contribution of all these individuals within the multidisciplinary team is so important to achieving good outcomes.
• Statements like ‘I [...] witnessed how doctors carry out their jobs’ make it seem as if the candidate really wasn’t paying attention. They need to explain what they mean by this. Were they impressed by the doctors’ effective teamwork and communication skills, or perhaps by their positive attitude and morale? Did they seem well-trained and effective? What did they learn from this that might help them in the future?  ‍
• Similarly, the student simply states that they saw the effect of empathy on patients: ‘I saw how my communication and empathy made a real impact on the mood of the lonelier patients.’ This adopts a ‘telling’ approach, when the student needs to adopt a ‘showing’ approach. Simply telling us that they saw something does not adequately demonstrate an understanding of why those qualities are important, or what they actually mean. What does it mean to have empathy? What does that look like in real terms? How did they use it? What was the effect? Showing the tutor that you are empathetic is important, but simply saying it is disingenuous and shows a lack of understanding.
• The candidate spends a number of characters name-dropping the exact hospital they visited and its location, which isn’t the best use of valuable space, as it has no real impact on the message they’re trying to convey.
• Generally, it isn’t a good idea to talk about work experience with family members. Of course, this might be the reality, but try to have some other placements that you’ve organised yourself so that it doesn’t appear as if your family are doing all the hard work for you. At the very least, you could simply leave this information out.
• There are a few grammatical errors here, especially regarding the use of commas. It’s important to use a spell checker or to ask an English teacher to check your work for you before submitting your statement.

The better features of this example are:

• The candidate does show some insight into the role of a doctor when they talk about the resilience required by doctors to cope with the hard hours and challenging conditions. They just need to reflect in this way in other parts of the section, too.
• The author has clearly done a lot of work experience and is right to discuss this in their personal statement. Just remember that you don’t need to squeeze in every single little placement.

'I was pleased to be appointed as head boy in my last year of school, and as part of this role I headed up the school safety office. I carried out inspections of the dormitories, roll calls and helped in the running of school festivals and activity days. The office I was in charge of needed to ensure the safety of every student in the school and I helped plan and lead drills to prepare the students for storms, floods and fires. This role has made me a far better leader, and I also believe that I am now far more calm and logical when working under pressure or in uncertain situations. I’ve been an editor on the online school blog for over 2 years now and the experience has taught me how to work effectively in a team when under time pressure. In order to meet my deadlines I needed to remain motivated even when working independently, and I think that the diligence and work ethic I’ve developed as a result will be incredibly useful to me as a medical student. I took on the role of financial director for both the table tennis club and Model United Nations at my school. At first I struggled with the weight of responsibility as I was in charge of all of the clubs’ money and expenditures. However, I am now a far more organised individual as I came to appreciate the value of concise paperwork and of keeping a record of my actions. I not only manage the funds of the table tennis club but am also a regular member of it. I often play independently, and the lack of a specific coach means that I have to identify my own strengths and weaknesses. I am now far better at being honest about my weaknesses and then devising strategies for working on them. The sport has also allowed me to demonstrate my ability to work well in a team, but also to get my head down and work independently when necessary.'

This example is generally well written and showcases some of the features of a good main body section. However, there are some areas that can be improved:

• This section would benefit from the ‘show, don’t tell’ approach. Instead of explaining specific situations or events through which the candidate demonstrated certain attributes, they simply state them and then link them vaguely to a more general role or activity.
• The bigger problem, however, is that the author mentions a wide range of skills but falls short in linking these back to medicine.  ‍ For example, after reflecting on their role in the school safety office and the leadership skills they developed as a result, the author could talk about the senior role that doctors have within the multidisciplinary team and the importance of good leadership in a medical setting.  Similarly, the author mentions their ability to work independently but should really round this off by describing how this would benefit them in medical school, as the ability to progress your learning independently is crucial to success there. The student mentions an understanding of and proficiency with paperwork and recording their actions. Doctors must constantly do this when writing notes for each patient, so the candidate should really try to mention this in their statement to explain why their skills would be useful. The mention of teamwork could be followed by an explanation of why it is important in a medical setting and how the applicant witnessed this during their medical work experience. Finally, when the student talks about being able to identify and work on their weaknesses, they could use this as an opportunity to demonstrate further insight into the medical profession by discussing the importance of revalidation and audit in the modern NHS, or talking about how important it is for doctors to be able to work on their areas of weakness. 

Better aspects of this example:

• The applicant doesn’t simply list the activities they have been a part of, but also explains what they learned from these and the skills and attributes they developed as a result. This reflective ability is exactly what assessors will be looking for.
• The tone of the section is appropriate. The applicant doesn’t appear arrogant or over-confident, but at the same time, they manage to paint themselves in a good light, highlighting their range of skills relevant to medicine.
• This example uses the character count effectively. Unlike the earlier examples, almost all of the sentences serve a purpose and are succinct.
• They demonstrate a wide range of skills, most of which are very relevant to medicine.

' I am a resilient and empathetic individual and I think that I have the qualities to thrive despite the social and academic challenges of university. Through my work experience I’ve gained an insight into the difficulties doctors face but this has not dampened my enthusiasm. My placements and voluntary work have only strengthened my commitment and dedication to studying medicine.'

The effectiveness of a conclusion depends on the rest of the statement before it, so it is hard to judge how good a conclusion is without seeing what the candidate has mentioned in the rest of their statement. Assuming this follows on logically from the statement, however, we can say that this conclusion is generally good for the following reasons:

• It is brief, to the point, and highlights that the student holds some of the skills doctors need (this would of course need to be backed up with examples in the rest of the statement). 
• The author doesn’t introduce any new ideas here, as that would be inappropriate, but rather reiterates their determination, which is exactly what admissions tutors want to see. 
• The author demonstrates a balanced understanding of the demands of a medical career, illustrating this is a decision they have made rationally while considering the implications of their choice. 

As is always the case, this conclusion could still be improved:

• The mention of the social challenges of university is a bit too honest, even though these exist for everyone. Mentioning them could give the impression that the student struggles socially (which is not something they would want to highlight), or that they intend to dive into the social side of university at the expense of their studies. 
• If the candidate really insists on mentioning the social side, they should at least do this after discussing academics, and they should do it in the body of the statement, where they have space to explain what exactly they mean.
• The student describes themselves as empathetic. This should be avoided, as it should be evident from the statement itself.

'Over the years I have built up a large and extensive set of medical work experiences and volunteering opportunities. These have allowed me to demonstrate my ability to communicate effectively and work in a team, and they will allow me to become a more diligent student and effective doctor. I think that this, alongside my ability and strength of character mean that I should be considered for this course. I am excited to get started and begin to put my skills to good use.'

This is a reasonably strong conclusion. It provides a to-the-point summary of why the author believes they should be selected to study medicine and shows their excitement for starting this journey. However, there are some parts of this example that could be improved: 

• The author mentions 'ability' and 'strength of character.' These are nebulous terms and not specific to medicine or a medical degree in any way.
• The mention of a 'large and extensive range of medical work experiences' indicates overconfidence. Medical applicants are not expected to have any medical ability or any 'large and extensive range' of medical experience, nor is it probable that this candidate actually does (otherwise they wouldn’t need to go to medical school in the first place). Rather, medical students need a suitable set of skills and attributes in order to make the most of their medical education and become an effective doctor.
• On a similar note, the applicant says that their range of medical work experience will make them a better student and doctor, but this is only true if they can reflect on their experience and learn from it. Impassively watching an operation or clinic without properly engaging with it won’t make you a better doctor in the future.

We’ll now go on to look at an example of a strong personal statement. No personal statement is perfect, but this example demonstrates a good level of reflection, engagement and suitability to study medicine (we know this because the writer of this statement went on to receive four offers). 

It goes without saying that plagiarism of any of these examples is a bad idea. They are known to medical schools and will be flagged up when run through plagiarism detection software. 

Use these as examples of ways you could structure your own statement, how to reflect on experiences, and how to link them back to medicine and demonstrate suitable insight and motivation. 

'It is the coupling of patient-centred care with evidence-based science that draws me to medicine. The depth of medical science enthrals me, but seeing complex pathology affecting a real person is what drives home my captivation. As a doctor, you are not only there for people during their most vulnerable moments but are empowered by science to offer them help, and this capacity for doing good alongside the prospect of lifelong learning intrigues me. In recent years I have stayed busy academically - despite my medical focus I have kept a range of interests, studying Spanish and German to grow my social and cultural awareness and playing the violin and drums in groups to improve my confidence when working in teams and performing. This is similar to the team-working environment that dominates in medical settings, and I have found that my awareness of other cultures is a great help when interacting with the hugely diverse range of patients I meet during my volunteering work. The independent projects I am undertaking for my A-levels teach me how to rigorously construct and perform experiments, process data and present findings, developing my written communication. My work experience showed me the importance of these skills when making patients’ notes, and of course, medical academia must be concisely written and well constructed and communicated. Maths teaches me to problem-solve and recognise patterns, vital skills in diagnosis. Over the past two years, I have actively sought out and planned work experience and volunteering opportunities. My time last year in Critical Care showed me the importance of communication in healthcare to ensure patients understand their diagnosis and feel comfortable making decisions. I saw the value of empathy and patience when a doctor talked to a patient refusing to take her insulin and suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis. They tried to understand her position and remain compassionate despite her refusal. My experience deepened my insight into the realities of a medical career, as we were at the hospital for more than ten hours a day with breaks and lunches cut short by bleeps or calls from the ward. This helped me understand the physical resilience required by staff as I also came to appreciate the immense emotional burden they often had to bear. Despite this, the brilliant staff remained motivated and compassionate which I found inspirational. The Brighton and Sussex Medical School work experience and Observe GP courses I completed put emphasis on the value of holistic, patient-centred care, introducing me to specialities I had not previously considered such as geriatrics and oncology. Inspired by my experience I explored a variety of specialisms, reading memoirs (Do no harm) and textbooks (Oxford handbook of clinical medicine) alike. I investigated medical politics with my English persuasive piece, discussing the ethics behind the junior doctor strikes of 2016. I have been volunteering in a hospital ward since January, which helps improve my confidence and communication skills when talking to patients and relatives. I showed my ability to deal with unexpected situations when I found a patient smoking whilst on oxygen, and acted quickly to tell nurses. Over lockdown I felt privileged offering lonely patients some tea and a chat and seeing their mood change - it taught me that medicine is about treating patients as individuals, not a diagnosis. My work on the hospital door taught me to stay calm and interact assuredly with visitors, vital skills in public-service jobs like medicine. I coach tennis at a local club, planning and running sessions for younger children. I am responsible for players' safety and must manage risk while showing leadership qualities by making the sessions fun and inclusive. As a player, I am part of the self-run performance team, which forces me to better my ability without coaching. This means developing self-reflection and insight into my weaknesses, which I know to be integral skills for medics. One of the doctors I shadowed during my work experience was just starting her revalidation process and I saw the importance of self-awareness and honest reflection in meeting her targets and becoming a better doctor. I achieved my Gold Duke of Edinburgh certificate of achievement (and the Bronze and Silver awards), exhibiting my commitment and ability to self-reflect and improve. On our Silver expedition, we experienced severe rain, showing resilience by continuing when our kit was wet from day one. My diligence and academic ability will allow me to thrive in medical school, and I have the prerequisite qualities to become a compassionate and effective doctor. Despite the obstacles, I am determined to earn the privilege of being able to improve peoples' health. This is something that excites me and a career I would happily dedicate my life to.'

Strong personal statement example analysis

Introduction.

This statement is a good example of how a personal statement should be constructed and presented. The introduction is short and to the point, only dealing with the candidate’s motivations to study medicine while also demonstrating an insight into what the career involves. 

They demonstrate their insight briefly by mentioning that medicine involves lifelong learning. This is often seen as one of the challenges associated with the career but here they present it as an advantage which makes them seem more suited to the career. It also show they're a curious and interested individual who enjoys learning. 

The introduction's final sentence offers an opportunity for interviewers to probe the candidate further, to explore their curiosity, and ask them to explain what exactly attracts them to lifelong learning. An astute candidate would recognise this and try to think of a suitable answer in advance.

Paragraph 2 

The second paragraph opens the body of the statement by exploring the author’s academic interests. As with some of the previous example body paragraphs, the writer shows their reflective ability by explaining what each of their subjects taught them, and the skills they developed and demonstrated as a result. They improve upon this further by linking these skills back to medicine and explaining why they are important for doctors. 

This paragraph demonstrates the author’s work-life balance by showing their varied interests in languages and music, all without wasting characters by saying this directly. They also mention the diverse range of patients they encountered during their volunteering, which again implies an empathetic and conscientious nature while showing an insight into a medical career (particularly regarding the vast diversity of the patient cohort treated by the NHS). 

Their explanation of the relevance of maths could be more detailed, but again this could be something the applicant is hoping to be questioned on at interview. The candidate comes across as thoughtful and multi-talented, with the ability to reflect on their decisions and experiences, and with a suitable insight into how their strengths would play well into a medical career. 

In this particular paragraph, there isn’t much explanation as to how they drew their inferences about what a medical career entails from their volunteering and work experience (and what exactly these entailed), but these are explored in more detail later in the statement.

P aragraphs 3 and 4 

The next two paragraphs discuss the candidate’s work experience, beginning with a single work experience placement in detail. This is a better approach than the large lists of placements seen in the previous example body paragraphs. The author talks about a specific scenario and shows that they paid attention during their shadowing while also illustrating their ability to reflect on these experiences and the precise skills involved. 

The skills they mention here – communication, empathy, resilience – are skills that they specifically talk about developing and demonstrating through their activities in other parts of the statement. This shows that they have taken their learning and used it to inform the focus of their personal development. They also not only state that these skills are important for medics, but also explain why this is. For example, they explain that communication is important in helping patients relax and engage with their healthcare, and that resilience is required to deal with the antisocial hours.

In this section, the applicant briefly mentions a specific medical condition. This shows that they were engaging with the science during their placement and also provides interviewers with an opportunity to test the applicant’s scientific knowledge. Knowing this, the candidate would likely research diabetic ketoacidosis in order to be able to impress the panel. 

The author mentions some other virtual work experience opportunities they’ve been involved with and sets themselves up to discuss what these placements taught them. They then go on to explain the actions they took as a result of this, showing that they really engaged with the virtual placements and could identify what they learned and their areas of weakness. This is linked well to further reading and research they carried out, which illustrates their curiosity and engagement with medical science and literature. 

The reference to the junior doctor strikes at the end shows that they have engaged with medical news as well as the ethical side of medicine, which is something that many medical schools place a lot of emphasis on at interviews. Ideally, this section would explain how exactly they explored these different specialties and illustrate what they learned and how they developed their learning from the books mentioned.

Paragraphs 5 and 6 

These paragraphs discuss the applicant’s hospital volunteering and other extracurricular activities. The applicant doesn’t just state that they’ve volunteered in a hospital but goes into depth about the precise skills they developed as a result. They include an anecdote to illustrate their ability to react quickly and calmly in emergency situations, which is a great way to show that they’ve been paying attention (though this should really be backed up with an explanation as to why this is important in medicine). 

The candidate also shows their patient-centred approach when discussing how they cared for demoralised patients (again illustrating empathy and compassion). This style of healthcare is something that the modern NHS is really trying to promote, so showing an awareness of this and an aptitude for applying it practically will really impress your assessors. 

The author demonstrates another core attribute for medical students when talking about how their work on the front door of the hospital improved their confidence in communication, and they once more link this back to medicine. This last section could benefit from further explanation regarding the nature of their work on the hospital door and exactly how they developed these skills. 

In the second of these sections, the candidate simultaneously reflects on the skills they learnt from their tennis and explains how these apply to medicine, showing insight into the profession by mentioning and showing awareness of the process of revalidation. This will show assessors that the candidate paid attention during their work experience, reflected on what they learned, and then identified a way they could work on these skills in their own life.

The author name-checks the Duke of Edinburgh Award but then goes on to explain how exactly this helped them grow as a person. They link back to resilience, a skill they mentioned in an earlier section as being important for medics.

The conclusion is succinct and direct. Although clichéd in parts, it does a good job of summarising the points the candidate has made throughout the statement. They demonstrate confidence and dedication, not by introducing any confusing new information, but rather by remaking and reinforcing some of the author’s original claims from the introduction.

The following example illustrates how not to approach your personal statement. Now that you’ve read through the analysis of previous example passages and a complete example statement, try going through this statement yourself to identify the main recurring weaknesses and points for improvement. We’ve pointed out a few of the main ones at the end. You can even redraft it as a practice exercise.

' ‍ The combination of science with empathy and compassion is what attracts me most to a career in medicine. However, I wanted to ensure that the career was right for me so I attended a Medic Insight course in my local hospital. I enjoyed the course and it gave me new insight - the lectures and accounts from medical students and doctors helped me realise that medicine was the career for me. I was also introduced to the concept of the diagnostic puzzle which now particularly interests me. This is the challenge doctors face when trying to make a diagnosis, as they have to avoid differential diagnoses and use their skills and past experiences to come to a decision and produce the right prognosis. In order to gain further insight into both the positives and downsides of being a doctor, I organised some work experience in my local GP’s surgery. I managed to see consultations for chest pain, headaches, contraception and some chronic conditions which was very interesting. I also sat in on and observed the asthma clinic, which proved to be a very educational experience. During my experience, I tried to chat to as many doctors as possible about their jobs and what they enjoyed. I recently took up some work volunteering in a local elderly care home. Many of the residents had quite complex needs making it arduous work, but I learned a lot about caring for different people and some appropriate techniques for making them feel comfortable and at home. I became a better communicator as a result of my experience Nevertheless I really enjoyed my time there and I found it fulfilling when the patients managed to have fun or see their family. I appreciated how doctors often have high job satisfaction, as when I managed to facilitate a resident to do something not otherwise available to them I felt like I was making a real difference. My academic interests have also been very useful in developing skills that will be crucial as a doctor. I chose to study Physics and business at a-level and these have helped me develop more of an interest in scientific research and understanding; I’ve also become a more logical thinker as a result of the challenging questions we receive in physics exams. I know how important communication is as a doctor so I chose to study Mandarin, a language I know to be spoken widely around the globe. I was the lead violin in my school orchestra and also took part in the wind band, showing that I was willing to throw myself into school life. I really enjoyed our school’s concert, in which I had to perform a solo and demonstrate that I could stay calm under pressure and cope with great responsibility and i think that I’m now a better leader. This skill has also been improved in roles within my school on the pupil council and as form captain, which have improved my self-confidence. I needed to work hard in order to achieve my bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards, and have dedicated much of my time outside school to this endeavour over the past few years. I endured weekly sessions of Taekwondo, worked voluntarily in the charity shop Barnardo’s and took part in violin lessons.  As I’ve demonstrated throughout this statement I have an affinity for music, and so at university I plan to get involved with orchestras and bands. I also want to widen my horizons and discover new interests and hobbies, while trying to make new friends and cultivate a good work-life balance. I’m also keen to hike in the university’s surrounding territories. If I were allowed to study medicine, it would not only allow me to achieve one of my life goals, but to prove to you that I can become an effective, and successful doctor. I am absolutely dedicated to the study of medicine and know that I have the prerequisite skils and qualities to thrive in medical school and become a credit to your institution.”

Weak personal statement example analysis

• This personal statement does have some promising features, but overall it isn’t well structured and lacks appropriate reflection and insight. You can see this by comparing it to the strong example above. The author in this weak example very rarely describes what exactly they learned or gained from an experience and rarely links this back to medicine. 
• It reads quite like a list, with the candidate reeling off the experiences they’ve had or activities they’ve taken part in, without going into any real depth. They also use some vocabulary that implies that they really weren’t enjoying these experiences, such as when they speak of ‘enduring’ their time doing taekwondo, or of caring for residents being ‘arduous’ work. You don’t have to enjoy every activity you take part in, but implying that caring for people (a huge part of the job you are applying for and claiming to enjoy) is something you consider a chore isn’t a great start. This statement also has some questionable grammar and punctuation errors, which raises a red flag. Don’t forget to proofread your statement carefully before you submit it.
• The candidate often starts off their sections in a promising way. For example, by stating that they started volunteering in a local GP practice to gain more insight into the profession, but they rarely actually follow through on this. You never find out what insight the candidate actually gained or how they used this to inform their decision to apply for medicine. 
• Such lack of explanation and specificity is a theme throughout the statement. In the introduction, they say that personal accounts and lectures confirmed their wish to become a doctor, but they don’t actually explain how or why. They mention that their school subjects have helped them think more logically or improved their communication skills (which is good), but then they never go on to explain why this is relevant to medicine. They talk about leadership and self-confidence but again don’t link this back to the importance of self-confidence and the prominence of leadership in a medical setting.

To create an effective medicine personal statement, you need to provide plenty of detail. This includes concrete experiences demonstrating qualities that make a good doctor. If you can do this authentically, humbly and without selling yourself short, your personal statement will be in very good shape.

‍ ‍ If you're looking for more inspiration to craft a compelling medicine personal statement, check out our Personal Statement Online Course . It has over 100 personal statement examples, in-depth tutorials, and guidance from admissions experts, to help you create a ready-to-submit personal statement in just three days.

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Joint Statement Following the Soviet-United States Summit Meeting in Moscow

June 1, 1988

In accordance with the understanding reached during the U.S.-Soviet summit meeting in Geneva in November 1985, and confirmed at the Washington summit in December 1987, Ronald W. Reagan, President of the United States of America, and Mikhail S. Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, met in Moscow May 29 - June 2, 1988.

Attending on the U.S. side were Secretary of State George P. Shultz; Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci; Presidential Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker, Jr.; Assistant to the President for National Security Colin L. Powell; Ambassador at Large and Special Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State on Arms Control Matters, Paul H. Nitze ; Special Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State on Arms Control Matters, Ambassador Edward L. Rowny ; Ambassador of the U.S. to the USSR Jack F. Matlock; and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs Rozanne L. Ridgway .

Attending on the Soviet side were Members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Andrei A. Gromyko ; Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Eduard A. Shevardnadze; Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Alexander N. Yakovlev ; Alternate Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Minister of Defense of the USSR, Dimitri T. Yazov ; Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Anatoly F. Dobrynin ; Assistant of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Anatoly S. Chernyaev ; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Alexander A. Bessmertnykh ; and Ambassador of the USSR to the United States of America Yuri V. Dubinin .

The President and the General Secretary view the Moscow summit as an important step in the process of putting U.S.-Soviet relations on a more productive and sustainable basis. Their comprehensive and detailed discussions covered the full agenda of issues to which the two leaders agreed during their initial meeting in Geneva in November, 1985 -- an agenda encompassing arms control, human rights and humanitarian matters, settlement of regional conflicts, and bilateral relations. Serious differences remain on important issues; the frank dialogue which has developed between the two countries remains critical to surmounting these differences.

The talks took place in a constructive atmosphere which provided ample opportunity for candid exchange. As a result, the sides achieved a better understanding of each other's positions. The two leaders welcomed the progress achieved in various areas of U.S.-Soviet relations since their last meeting in Washington, notwithstanding the difficulty and complexity of the issues. They noted with satisfaction numerous concrete agreements which have been achieved, and expressed their determination to redouble efforts in the months ahead in areas where work remains to be done. They praised the creative and intensive efforts made by representatives of both sides in recent months to resolve outstanding differences.

Assessing the state of U.S.-Soviet relations, the President and the General Secretary underscored the historic importance of their meetings in Geneva, Reykjavik , Washington , and Moscow in laying the foundation for a realistic approach to the problems of strengthening stability and reducing the risk of conflict. They reaffirmed their solemn conviction that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, their determination to prevent any war between the United States and Soviet Union , whether nuclear or conventional, and their disavowal of any intention to achieve military superiority.

The two leaders are convinced that the expanding political dialogue they have established represents an increasingly effective means of resolving issues of mutual interest and concern. They do not minimize the real differences of history, tradition and ideology which will continue to characterize the US-Soviet relationship. But they believe that the dialogue will endure, because it is based on realism and focused on the achievement of concrete results. It can serve as a constructive basis for addressing not only the problems of the present, but of tomorrow and the next century. It is a process which the President and the General Secretary believe serves the best interests of the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union, and can contribute to a more stable, more peaceful and safer world.

I. Arms Control

The President and the General Secretary, having expressed the commitment of their two countries to build on progress to date in arms control, determined objectives and next steps on a wide range of issues in this area. These will guide the efforts of the two governments in the months ahead as they work with each other and with other states toward equitable, verifiable agreements that strengthen international stability and security.

The President and the General Secretary signed the protocol on the exchange of instruments of ratification of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. The two leaders welcomed the entry into force of this historic agreement, which for the first time will eliminate an entire class of U.S. and Soviet nuclear arms, and which sets new standards for arms control. The leaders are determined to achieve the full implementation of all the provisions and understandings of the Treaty, viewing joint and successful work in this respect as an important precedent for future arms control efforts.

Nuclear and Space Talks

The two leaders noted that a Joint Draft Text of a Treaty on Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms has been elaborated. Through this process, the sides have been able to record in the Joint Draft Text extensive and significant areas of agreement and also to detail positions on remaining areas of disagreement. While important additional work is required before this Treaty is ready for signature, many key provisions are recorded in the Joint Draft Text and are considered to be agreed, subject to the completion and ratification of the Treaty.

Taking into account a Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms, the sides have continued negotiations to achieve a separate agreement concerning the ABM Treaty building on the language of the Washington Summit Joint Statement dated December 10, 1987. Progress was noted in preparing the Joint Draft Text of an associated Protocol. In connection with their obligations under the Protocol, the sides have agreed in particular to use the Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers for transmission of relevant information. The leaders directed their negotiators to prepare the Joint Draft Text of a separate agreement and to continue work on its associated Protocol.

The Joint Draft Treaty on Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms reflects the earlier understanding on establishing ceilings of no more than 1600 strategic offensive delivery systems and 6000 warheads as well as agreement on subceilings of 4900 on the aggregate of ICBM and SLBM warheads and 1540 warheads on 154 heavy missiles.

The draft Treaty also records the sides' agreement that as a result of the reductions the aggregate throw-weight of the Soviet Union's ICBMs and SLBMs will be reduced to a level approximately 50 percent below the existing level and this level will not be exceeded.

During the negotiations the two sides have also achieved understanding that in future work on the Treaty they will act on the understanding that on deployed ICBMs and SLBMs of existing types the counting rule will include the number of warheads referred to in the Joint Statement of December 10, 1987, and the number of warheads which will be attributed to each new type of ballistic missile will be subject to negotiation.

In addition, the sides agreed on a counting rule for heavy bomber armaments according to which heavy bombers equipped only for nuclear gravity bombs and SRAMs will count as one delivery vehicle against the 1600 limit and one warhead against the 6000 limit.

The delegations have also prepared Joint Draft Texts of an Inspection Protocol, a Conversion or Elimination Protocol, and a Memorandum of Understanding on data, which are integral parts of the Treaty. These documents build on the verification provisions of the INF Treaty, extending and elaborating them as necessary to meet the more demanding requirements of START. The START verification measures will, at a minimum, include:

A. Data exchanges, to include declarations and appropriate notifications on the number and location of weapons systems limited by START, including locations and facilities for production, final assembly, storage, testing, repair, training, deployment, conversion, and elimination of such systems. Such declarations will be exchanged between the sides before the Treaty is signed and updated periodically.

B. Baseline inspections to verify the accuracy of these declarations.

C. On-site observation of elimination of strategic systems necessary to meet the agreed limits.

D. Continuous on-site monitoring of the perimeter and portals of critical production facilities to confirm the output of weapons to be limited.

E. Short-notice on-site inspection of:

( i ) declared locations during the process of reducing to agreed limits;

(ii) locations where systems covered by this Treaty remain after achieving the agreed limits; and

(iii) locations where such systems have been located (formerly declared facilities).

F. Short-notice inspection, in accordance with agreed upon procedures, of locations where either side considers covert deployment, production, storage or repair of strategic offensive arms could be occurring.

G. Prohibition of the use of concealment or other activities which impede verification by National Technical Means. Such provisions would include a ban on telemetry encryption and would allow for full access to all telemetric information broadcast during missile flight.

H. Procedures that enable verification of the number of warheads on deployed ballistic missiles of each specific type, including on-site inspection.

I. Enhanced observation of activities related to reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms by National Technical Means. These would include open displays of treaty-limited items at missile bases, bomber bases, and submarine ports at locations and times chosen by the inspecting party.

The two sides have also begun to exchange data on their strategic forces.

During the course of this meeting in Moscow, the exchanges on START resulted in the achievement of substantial additional common ground, particularly in the areas of ALCMs and the attempts to develop and agree, if possible, on a solution to the problem of verification of mobile ICBMs. The details of this additional common ground have been recorded in documents exchanged between the sides. The Delegations in Geneva will record these gains in the Joint Draft Text of the START Treaty.

The sides also discussed the question of limiting long-range, nuclear-armed SLCMs .

Ronald Reagan and M.S. Gorbachev expressed their joint confidence that the extensive work done provides the basis for concluding the Treaty on Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms which will promote strategic stability and strengthen security not only of the peoples of the USSR and the USA, but of all mankind.

Guided by this fundamental agreement, the U.S. President and the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU agreed to continue their efforts in this area energetically and purposefully. The Delegations of the two countries have been instructed to return to Geneva on July 12, 1988 . It has been agreed as a matter of principle that, once the remaining problems are solved and the Treaty and its associated documents are agreed, they will be signed without delay.

Ballistic Missile Launch Notifications

The agreement between the U.S. and the USSR on notifications of launches of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles, signed during the Moscow summit, is a practical new step, reflecting the desire of the sides to reduce the risk of outbreak of nuclear war, in particular as a result of misinterpretation, miscalculation or accident.

Nuclear Testing

The leaders reaffirmed the commitment of the two sides to conduct in a single forum full-scale, stage-by-stage negotiations on the issues relating to nuclear testing. In these negotiations the sides as the first step will agree upon effective verification measures which will make it possible to ratify the U.S.-USSR Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974 and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty of 1976, and proceed to negotiating further intermediate limitations on nuclear testing leading to the ultimate objective of the complete cessation of nuclear testing as part of an effective disarmament process. This process, among other things, would pursue, as the first priority, the goal of the reduction of nuclear weapons and, ultimately, their elimination. In implementing the first objective of these negotiations, agreement upon effective verification measures for the U.S.-USSR Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974, the sides agreed to design and conduct a Joint Verification Experiment at each other's test sites.

The leaders therefore noted with satisfaction the signing of the Joint Verification Experiment Agreement, the considerable preparation underway for the Experiment, and the positive cooperation being exhibited in particular by the substantial numbers of personnel now engaged in work at each other's test sites. They also noted the substantial progress on a new Protocol to the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty and urged continuing constructive negotiations on effective verification measures for the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.

Expressing their conviction that the progress achieved so far forms a solid basis for continuing progress on issues relating to nuclear testing, the leaders instructed their negotiators to complete expeditiously the preparation of a Protocol to the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty and to complete the preparation of a Protocol to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty as soon as possible after the Joint Verification Experiment has been conducted and analyzed. They confirmed their understanding that verification measures for the TTBT will, to the extent appropriate, be used in further nuclear test limitation agreements which may subsequently be reached. They also declared their mutual intention to seek ratification of both the 1974 and 1976 Treaties when the corresponding protocols to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty are completed, and to continue negotiations as agreed in the Washington joint summit statement.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation

The two leaders noted that this year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, one of the most important international arms control agreements with over 130 adherents. They reaffirmed their conviction that universal adherence to the NPT is important to international peace and security. They expressed the hope that each state not a party to the Treaty will join it, or make an equally binding commitment under international law to forego acquisition of nuclear weapons and prevent nuclear weapons proliferation. This will enhance the possibility of progress toward reducing nuclear armaments and reduce the threat of nuclear war.

The two leaders also confirmed their support of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and agreed that they would continue efforts to further strengthen it. They reaffirmed the value of their regular consultations on non-proliferation and agreed that they should continue.

Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers

The leaders expressed satisfaction over the activation of the new communications link between the Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers in Moscow and Washington , established in accordance with the U.S.-Soviet agreement of September 15, 1987 . It was agreed that the Centers can play an important role in the context of a future Treaty on reducing U.S. and Soviet strategic nuclear arms.

Chemical Weapons

The leaders reviewed the status of on-going multilateral negotiations and bilateral U.S.-Soviet consultations toward a comprehensive, effectively verifiable, and truly global ban on chemical weapons, encompassing all chemical weapons-capable states. They also expressed concern over the growing problem of chemical weapons proliferation and use.

The leaders reaffirmed the importance of efforts to address, as a matter of continuing urgency, the unique challenges of a chemical weapons ban and to achieve an effective convention. While noting the progress already achieved in the talks and the difficult problems with regard to effective monitoring of the global prohibition of chemical weapons and the non-use of dual-capable chemicals for chemical weapons purposes, the leaders underlined the need for concrete solutions to the problems of ensuring effective verification and undiminished security for all convention participants. They gave instructions to their respective delegations to this effect.

Both sides agreed on the vital importance of greater openness by all states as a way to build confidence and strengthen the foundation for an effective convention. The leaders also emphasized the necessity of close coordination on a multilateral basis in order to ensure the participation of all CW-possessing and CW-capable states in the convention.

Both sides strongly condemned the dangerous spread and illegal use of chemical weapons in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. They stressed the importance of both technical and political solutions to this problem and confirmed their support for international investigations of suspected violations. Noting the initial efforts being made to control the export of chemicals used in manufacturing chemical weapons, the leaders called on all nations with the capability of producing such chemicals to institute stringent export controls to inhibit the proliferation of chemical weapons.

Conventional Arms Control

The leaders emphasized the importance of strengthening stability and security in the whole of Europe. They welcomed progress to date on development of a mandate for new negotiations on armed forces and conventional armaments. They expressed their hope for an early and balanced conclusion to the Vienna CSCE Follow-Up Meeting. The President and the General Secretary also noted that full implementation of the provisions of the document of the Stockholm Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe can significantly increase openness and mutual confidence.

They also discussed the situation in the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction (MBFR) negotiations in Vienna.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

They expressed their commitment to further development of the CSCE process. The U.S. and USSR will continue to work with the other 33 participants to bring the Vienna CSCE follow-up meeting to a successful conclusion, through significant results in all the principal areas of the Helsinki Final Act and Madrid Concluding Document.

Ballistic Missile Technology Proliferation

The leaders agreed to bilateral discussions at the level of experts on the problem of proliferation of ballistic missile technology.

Third Special Session of the UN General Assembly

The President and the General Secretary noted the importance of the ongoing Third Special Session on Disarmament.

II. Human Rights and Humanitarian Concerns The President and the General Secretary engaged in a detailed discussion of human rights and humanitarian concerns. The leaders reviewed the increasingly broad and detailed U.S.-Soviet dialogue in this area and agreed that it should be conducted at all levels in order to achieve sustained, concrete progress. They noted that this dialogue should seek to maximize assurance of the rights, freedoms and human dignity of individuals; promotion of people-to-people communications and contacts; active sharing of spiritual, cultural, historical and other values; and greater mutual understanding and respect between the two countries. Toward this end, they discussed the possible establishment of a forum which, meeting regularly, would bring together participants from across the range of their two societies. They noted steps already taken to establish the exchange of information and contacts between legislative bodies of both countries, as well as discussions between legal experts, physicians and representatives of other professions directly involved in matters pertaining to human rights, and between representatives of non-governmental organizations.

III. Regional Issues

The President and the General Secretary thoroughly discussed a wide range of regional questions, including the Middle East, the Iran-Iraq war, southern Africa , the Horn of Africa, Central America , Cambodia , the Korean Peninsula , and other issues. They expressed satisfaction with the April, 1988, conclusion in Geneva of accords on an Afghanistan settlement. Although the discussions revealed serious differences both in the assessment of the causes of regional tensions and in the means to overcome them, the leaders agreed that these differences need not be an obstacle to constructive interaction between the U.S. and USSR .

They reaffirmed their intention to continue U.S.-Soviet discussions at all levels aimed at helping parties to regional conflicts find peaceful solutions which advance their independence, freedom and security. They emphasized the importance of enhancing the capacity of the United Nations and other international institutions to contribute to the resolution of regional conflicts.

IV. Bilateral Affairs

The President and the General Secretary reviewed progress in further expanding bilateral contacts, exchanges and cooperation since their meeting in Washington, D.C. in December 1987. They noted the increasingly important role that mutually beneficial interchange between the two countries can play in improving mutual understanding and providing stability in the U.S.-Soviet relationship. They stated their intention to intensify such ties.

They noted with particular satisfaction that concrete agreements had been reached in most of the areas identified at their meetings in Geneva, Reykjavik and Washington .

Bilateral Agreements and Cooperative Activities

The President and the General Secretary welcomed the conclusion of a number of bilateral agreements which open new opportunities for fruitful cooperation in the following fields: cooperation in transportation science and technology; maritime search and rescue; operational coordination between U.S. and Soviet radionavigation systems in the Northern Pacific and Bering Sea ; and mutual fisheries relations.

The two leaders welcomed the recent signing of a new Memorandum on Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety under the bilateral agreement on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. There was an exchange of notes to extend that Agreement.

They expressed satisfaction with the recent signing of a new protocol under the bilateral Housing Agreement for cooperation in construction research relating to extreme geological and unusual climatic conditions.

They reviewed the status of negotiations between the two countries concerning maritime shipping, the U.S.-USSR maritime boundary, basic scientific research, and emergency pollution clean-up in the Bering and Chukchi Seas . They instructed their negotiators to accelerate efforts to achieve mutually acceptable agreements in these areas at the earliest opportunity.

The two leaders welcomed the start of bilateral discussions on combatting narcotics trafficking. They noted with satisfaction ongoing consultations between the two sides concerning law of the sea, air and sea transportation safety, and areas of mutual interest in the field of law.

Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges

Noting the expansion of exchanges in the areas of education, science, culture and sports under the General Exchanges Agreement, the two leaders welcomed the signing of a new implementing program for 1989 - 91 under the Agreement and expressed their intention to continue expansion of such exchanges. During the time in which this program is in force, the two sides, taking into consideration their mutual interest as well as financial and technical conditions, will conduct negotiations on the opening of culture/information centers in the U.S. and the USSR with the aim of signing an appropriate agreement on behalf of the governments of both countries.

They expressed satisfaction that, over the course of their dialogue, people-to-people contacts and exchanges between non-governmental organizations have significantly increased and become one of the most dynamic elements in the bilateral relationship. They reaffirmed their commitment to further growth of such exchanges, which contribute to mutual understanding, and welcomed plans for increased exchanges of young people in the future. In this context, they expressed their readiness to consider in practical terms the idea of further developing exchanges of high school students. They cited recent joint U.S.-Soviet initiatives on culture, theater and the cinema as examples of new opportunities to engage those involved in the creative arts.

Noting the rapidly growing sports ties between the two countries, including their national Olympic committees, the two leaders expressed their support for the International Olympic movement, which promotes international cooperation and understanding through athletic competition.

Other Cooperative Activities

The President and the General Secretary noted the successful expansion of scientific cooperation within the framework of bilateral agreements in Environmental Protection, Medical Science and Public Health, Artificial Heart Research and Development, Agriculture, and Studies of the World Ocean, and expressed their intention to continue to expand activities under these Agreements in areas of mutual benefit to the two sides.

The President and the General Secretary noted with pleasure the commencement of work on a conceptual design of an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, between scientists and experts from the United States, Soviet Union , European Atomic Energy Community, and Japan . The two leaders noted the significance of this next step toward the development of fusion power as a cheap, environmentally sound, and essentially inexhaustible energy source for the benefit of all mankind.

The President and the General Secretary welcomed agreement by representatives of the United States, Soviet Union , Canada and France , to institutionalize in the near future the COSPAS/SARSAT space-based, life-saving global search and rescue system.

Both leaders reaffirmed their support for the WHO/UNICEF goal of reducing the scale of preventable childhood death through the most effective methods of saving children. They urged other countries and the international community to intensify efforts to achieve this goal.

Global Climate and Environmental Change Initiative

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with activities since the Washington summit in expanding cooperation with respect to global climate and environmental change, including in areas of mutual concern relating to environmental protection, such as protection and conservation of stratospheric ozone and a possible global warming trend. They emphasized their desire to make more active use of the unique opportunities afforded by the space programs of the two countries to conduct global monitoring of the environment and the ecology of the Earth's land, oceans and atmosphere. They underscored the need to continue to promote both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in this important area in the future.

Initiative for Expanded Civil Space Cooperation

Recognizing the long-standing commitment of both countries to space science and exploration, and noting the progress made under the 1987 U.S.-USSR Cooperative Agreement in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, the two leaders agreed to a new initiative to expand civil space cooperation by exchanging flight opportunities for scientific instruments to fly on each other's spacecraft, and by exchanging results of independent national studies of future unmanned solar system exploration missions as a means of assessing prospects for further U.S.-Soviet cooperation on such missions. They also agreed to expand exchanges of space science data and of scientists, to enhance the scientific benefit that can be derived from the two countries' space research missions. They noted scientific missions to the Moon and Mars as areas of possible bilateral and international cooperation.

Arctic Contacts and Cooperation

Taking into account the unique environmental, demographic and other characteristics of the Arctic, the two leaders reaffirmed their support for expanded bilateral and regional contacts and cooperation in this area. They noted plans and opportunities for increased scientific and environmental cooperation under a number of bilateral agreements as well as within an International Arctic Science Committee of states with interests in the region. They expressed their support for increased people-to-people contacts between the native peoples of Alaska and the Soviet North.

The President and the General Secretary noted the positive role played by the multilateral Antarctic Treaty and emphasized the importance of U.S.-Soviet scientific and environmental cooperation in that region.

Trade and Economic Affairs

The two sides reconfirmed their strong support for the expansion of mutually beneficial trade and economic relations and noted recent activity in this area. They reiterated their belief that commercially viable joint ventures complying with the laws and regulations of both countries could play a role in the further development of commercial relations. They welcomed the results of the meeting of the Joint U.S.-USSR Commercial Commission in April and noted with satisfaction that working groups had been created under the Commission to further the establishment of better conditions under which mutually advantageous trade can develop. Taking note of the 1974 Joint Statement and Protocol amending the Long-Term Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to Facilitate Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation issued at the conclusion of the Joint Commercial Commission, they agreed that the Commission should continue to meet to build upon the forward momentum which has been generated.

The two leaders cited expanding relations between Aeroflot and Pan American Airlines under the government-to-government Civil Air Transportation Agreement as a positive example of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Consulates Exchange/Diplomatic and Consular Missions

The President and the General Secretary reaffirmed their agreement to open Consulates General in Kiev and New York as soon as practicable.

The two leaders discussed questions relating to ensuring adequate and secure conditions for U.S. and Soviet diplomatic and consular establishments and their personnel in each other's territory. They agreed on the need to approach problems relating to such matters constructively and on the basis of reciprocity.

V. Future Meetings

The President and the General Secretary, recognizing the importance of their personal involvement in the development of relations in the months ahead, instructed Secretary of State Shultz and Foreign Minister Shevardnadze to meet as necessary and to report to them on ways to ensure continued practical progress across the full range of issues. Expert-level contacts will also continue on an intensified basis.

Note: The joint statement was not issued as a White House press release.

New Times, New Thinking.

• Spotlight on Policy

The NHS’s digital problem: how old infrastructure is slowing down healthcare services

From paper patient records to erratic hospital computers, the barriers NHS staff face are stopping them from reaping the rewards of new technology.

By Sarah Dawood

Three months ago, a doctor at my GP surgery referred me for a blood test, but the form is still gathering dust on my bedside table. Since June, my local hospital has not been able to conduct any routine blood tests following a major Russian cyberattack on their pathology service provider Synnovis, bringing many diagnostic services to a standstill. 

This huge ransomware attack will have a significant impact on the patient backlog, given seven London hospitals rely on Synnovis. Hospitals have been forced to prioritise urgent blood tests only, and even revert to archaic pen and paper for delivering results to patients. What’s more, confidential patient data was also allegedly published maliciously on the dark web.

A month after this attack, another IT event took down NHS hospitals again – this time, a global Microsoft outage following a faulty cybersecurity update from the third-party provider CrowdStrike, which stopped GP surgeries from being able to access patient records or refer them on to hospitals for tests or appointments. 

These kinds of incidents severely disrupt access to essential healthcare. It’s no secret that the NHS’s creaking digital infrastructure is highly susceptible to both planned attacks and major IT malfunctions, causing distress, frustration and poor outcomes for staff and patients. Not all hospitals have comprehensive digital systems in place. According to a survey conducted by the British Medical Journal , roughly three quarters of NHS trusts in England are still reliant on paper patient notes and drug charts, and 4 per cent said they still use paper notes alone.

Many NHS trusts are also still using archaic technology such as pagers and fax machines – there is only one company in the world that still makes pagers, and alarmingly the NHS buys 10 per cent of its global supply. Others have out-of-date CT and MRI scanners, meaning cancer patients, and others needing urgent care, don’t have access to the latest diagnostic technology: roughly half of NHS trusts still have an MRI or CT scanner in operation past the recommended lifespan of ten years.

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Successive governments vowed to transform the NHS’s achingly out-of-date digital infrastructure with little success, and ambitious targets to make the NHS “paperless” have been missed. A previous abandoned attempt to create a centralised patient record system cost the taxpayer nearly £10bn, and was dubbed the “biggest IT failure ever seen”.

In the last Budget, the previous government promised a huge digital transformation yet again – the former chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged £3.4bn towards boosting the health service’s productivity, particularly through “harnessing new technology” such as artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce admin and speed up diagnoses.

While the new government has yet to commit to a figure of this size, Keir Starmer has made his own declarations around digitisation, mostly through a £171m-per-year Fit for the Future fund, which aims to replace outdated CT and MRI scanners, and introduce new scanners with “state-of-the-art” technology such as AI, which can detect diseases like cancer quicker. 

Karin Smyth, a minister for health, spoke to Spotlight prior to the general election when she was still part of the shadow cabinet. She said that Labour’s approach to NHS digital transformation will be focused on “what it means for patients, what it means for staff and what it means for the system”. The Fit for the Future fund is “ring-fenced” for increasing access to scanners to improve diagnosis rates and help bring NHS waiting lists down, she said, but “where places are [already] doing that”, then the money will instead be “targeted and focused on other pools of capital to make the system work better”. This could include digitising patient records, for example, or introducing other new equipment into hospitals.

But healthcare professionals worry that focusing on new technology such as AI is the wrong approach, given the litany of issues facing staff when it comes to even simple IT.

“All the hype about innovations like AI tools for detecting lung cancer won’t matter if we don’t get the basics right,” says Dr Katharine Halliday, the president of the Royal College of Radiologists. “A sophisticated AI tool is useless if patients miss appointments because their invitations arrive too late; image analysis AI tools are pointless if computers take 20 minutes to start each morning.”

Indeed, doctors and nurses routinely complain about inadequate technology making their jobs harder rather than easier. A broad variation in digital proficiency across the country means that interoperability – the ability to send information between different NHS trusts, GP surgeries, hospitals or systems – is lacking. 

The doctors’ union, the British Medical Association (BMA), estimates that 13.5 million working hours are lost by doctors in England every year due to inadequate IT systems and equipment. Dr Latifa Patel, the union’s representative body chair, agrees that beyond hardware malfunctions such as computers that constantly freeze or run out of battery, a regular source of frustration is “systems that don’t talk to each other”.

“When you email a friend who has a Microsoft email address from your Gmail account, it never occurs to you that they won’t be able to receive your message because you’re using different providers,” she tells Spotlight . “[In the NHS] files are often saved as PDF attachments or even printed out and physically moved from one place to another, slowing everything down and increasing the likelihood of human error. For doctors, it results in added stress, frustration and wasted time that could be spent actually treating patients.”

Speaking anonymously to Spotlight , hospital staff have said how faulty and out-of-date IT is more of a burden than a help, and slows down their day significantly. One A&E doctor tells me that the IT setup has been different in every hospital they have worked in, with some operating on a single staff login system, and others requiring multiple logins for different purposes, such as recording patient notes, ordering prescriptions or referring for scans and tests. In their current hospital, staff time is wasted trying to find a working computer, calling the IT department multiple times a day because the patient database software has crashed, or struggling to generate blood sample labels because of faulty printers.

A London-based doctor working in general internal medicine tells Spotlight that they also struggle with data collection at their hospital due to so much of it being paper-based. Their NHS trust – Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals – is one of the last in the capital to move away from paper records, and is currently in the process of integrating an electronic patient record (EPR) system. They have to write all notes by hand, before filing them in a folder for each patient. A photo of such a file reveals a behemoth stack of papers, disorganised and chaotic. “On a ward round, I have to lug this huge folder around, whilst writing on pieces of paper, and making sure half the things in there don’t fall out,” they say.

Finding previous important information, such as tests, investigations or medical incidents, is extremely difficult, as you can’t “search” paper records like electronic ones. “It’s impossible to keep track of all this information, because if patients have been there for weeks or months, they accumulate hundreds of pages of notes, which are not easy to look through because of legibility issues amongst other things,” they say.

An enormous amount of time is taken up doing repetitive work, such as handwriting blood-test bottle labels, or filling out forms to request diagnostic scans. “It feels like you’re doing a lot of work, but it shouldn’t be work – it’s created by an inefficient system,” they say. “It’s not ‘doctoring’ or ‘decision-making’.”

A huge postcode lottery exists in terms of digitised patient records, with some NHS trusts miles ahead of others. As part of the £3.4bn allocated by the previous government towards NHS digital transformation, £2bn of this was due to be spent on centralising patient records. The new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to deliver her first Budget on 30 October, and will hopefully provide more details on NHS capital funding, which includes upgrading IT systems.

Smyth highlighted the importance of focusing on “the basics” to start with. “That functionality at the front end is absolutely key for staff,” she said. “[There is] frustration at not being able to have basic kit working. That might be printers, computers operating on out-of-date software, let alone when we get to use equipment to its full use, and use things like AI for diagnosis.”

This also includes ensuring all patients have access to existing tools such as the NHS app, which the new government has promised to “ transform ”.

The most digitally advanced NHS trusts are known as “global digital exemplars”, and one of these is Oxford University Hospitals. Matt Harris, the interim chief digital and partnerships officer there, tells Spotlight that the health sector is far behind other industries in terms of digital maturity.

“We talk about digitally advanced hospitals – it is, but it’s not digitally advanced,” he says. “There’s a bit of a difference [compared with] what you see outside of the NHS.”

Oxford University Hospitals introduced a comprehensive electronic patient record system more than a decade ago, which joins up all patient correspondence, records and test results into the NHS app, and is the “fundamental building block” for everything else the hospital does digitally, says Harris. This digital transformation has saved the hospital “hundreds of thousands of pounds” a year, and has improved the hospital’s efficiency and sustainability credentials, due to far less paper-printing.

The hospital also uses simple forms of AI to assist doctors – for example, an automated tool is used for hospital bed management, so that doctors and nurses can check for spare beds across different buildings and wards, eradicating the need for phone calls and emails. The hospital is also looking to integrate image recognition technology into specialisms like radiology, which can be used to detect lung nodules that could indicate cancer, for example.

Jane Dacre is a rheumatologist, former president of the Royal College of Physicians, and chair of the previous Health and Social Care Committee’s expert panel on healthcare policy. In 2020, her panel undertook a review, commissioned by the committee, into NHS digital transformation . 

Published last year, the panel’s report found digital transformation to be inadequate, and flagged several issues: a lack of interoperability between NHS organisations; geographical disparities, such as access to the NHS app or use of an electronic record system; and a lack of digital literacy and training among patients and staff.

Due to workforce shortages, new equipment is not being used “to its full potential”, Dacre tells Spotlight, as clinical staff struggle to find time to learn how to use it. “It’s easier to buy shiny new kit than it is to train people to use it effectively,” she says. “The resource to buy new kit is different from the resource [needed] to make it work.”

The NHS also loses out to the private sector due to comparatively poor pay. While the new government recently reached an agreement with the BMA over a pay deal for junior doctors after years of strike action, doctors’ wages are not the only stumbling block to recruitment and retention. Hiring specialist digital staff in the NHS is challenging, and leaves it reliant on more expensive third-party suppliers to deliver transformative projects.

And while hospitals that excel in digital transformation might be an example for the latest healthcare innovation, their existence has unfortunately also widened geographic inequalities. The organisations that are best at IT tend to be given more funding than those that need it most, the panel found. Indeed, in 2016, NHS England created a £100m funding pot specifically for the 26 most digitally advanced trusts, so that they could “drive forward better use of technology in health”. A fairer funding approach based on need rather than merit therefore needs to be prioritised.

Given the large discrepancies in digital proficiency between NHS organisations, from hospitals and GP surgeries to acute care, it’s obvious there needs to be a centralised overhaul of patient data. But Harris believes that trying to create a one-size-fits-all approach is unachievable. “I think trying to suggest that we would have one system, one simple patient record, is actually probably a lovely utopian view of what you would want to do,” he says. “But to get GPs to use the same system as acute [care], a community hospital or a mental health hospital – unfortunately, they’re all quite different.”

Instead, he believes there needs to be a “centralised commitment” from third-party tech companies that are procured by the NHS to work together. Due to the competitive nature of procurement, they currently tend to duplicate efforts by doing similar work to one another, which is inefficient for both these companies and the NHS. An example of better interoperability between trusts and providers is OneLondon – an organisation that aims to join up and share healthcare data across the capital. 

There is also an argument that the implementation of new technology should be done on a localised level, in consultation with staff and patients. “Making decisions centrally without understanding the actual nuances and the working processes at an acute hospital is dangerous,” says Harris. “Sometimes, [hospitals] buy or create a system then ask for feedback [afterwards], rather than having human-led design early doors.”

Taking a localised approach can help to tailor technology to the needs of specific populations, and ensure physical and digital NHS services within the same region are joined up, said Labour’s Smyth. Doing so can also move more services “out of hospital” and ensure people can receive care at home, she added, for example through “virtual wards”. As a relatively new phenomenon, virtual wards aim to give patients hospital-level care at home, with access to tests, treatments, remote monitoring systems and a clinical team, while freeing up hospital beds. The new government has promised to focus on localising care by moving to a “ neighbourhood health service ”, where more services are delivered outside of hospitals and by other community practitioners, such as family doctors, district nurses, care workers and mental health specialists.

Alongside installing more robust patient record systems, there is also a need to build trust between the public and NHS staff in digital healthcare services. Major cyberattacks do nothing to reassure individuals that their data is secure and safe. Steve Brine, the former MP and chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, spoke to Spotlight prior to the general election. A concerted effort needs to be made to communicate the “benefits to patients of improved data sharing”, he said, such as for medical research purposes, as well as in promoting the use of existing tools like the NHS app.

The Health Secretary Wes Streeting has made it clear that he believes the private sector has a crucial role to play in delivering essential services to the NHS, and helping to clear the backlog. Labour plans to introduce an “NHS innovation and adoption strategy” in England, which will reform procurement processes, and create better incentives for companies to invest their new products in the NHS.

But for patients to truly benefit, healthcare staff should be more involved in the process, says the BMA’s Patel. There should be more transparency around procurement, and doctors should be empowered to have input into how money for digital transformation is spent. “Ultimately, we are the ones that will use these systems, so we must have confidence not only in performance, but also in safety and security. New tech needs to deliver for patients and for staff, and not just boost profits for commercial companies.”

Industry professionals argue that to avoid wasting public money on fruitless projects, the projected impact of new products and services should be better scrutinised. Companies should have to “test and measure their technologies against reliable data” that shows tangible improvements in patient outcomes and long-term cost savings, says Nick Lansman, CEO at the Health Tech Alliance, a consortium of NHS-procured tech companies. 

There is a lot of exciting technology on the horizon for the healthcare sector, from virtual wards and wearable devices that can monitor patients in real time, to the use of robot assistants in surgery and AI in diagnostics. If delivered effectively, they have the capacity to improve patient care, increase staff productivity and working conditions, and save the NHS money. But without robust digital systems in place, their benefits cannot be fully realised.

Only 5 per cent of the Department of Health and Social Care’s budget currently goes towards capital spending, and of this, only around 10 per cent goes towards IT and software. In her pre-Budget statement on 29 July, the Chancellor already made clear the dire state of the country’s public finances, and the need to rethink major infrastructure projects, including the New Hospitals Programme, a Boris Johnson-era plan to build 40 new hospitals. The new government’s first Budget on 30 October will determine what value it will place on NHS digital transformation specifically, and where it will direct its efforts: on the allure of new technology or on the mundane but critical task of upgrading the NHS’s laggard IT infrastructure.

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