Thinking about taking Unit Secretary course..

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Oct 14, 2014

That's a difficult course. I couldn't pull it off while studying for a bachelor's .

You need to research and see if there are facilities hiring new ward clerks.

The position is not so much medical as it is secretarial. Ward clerks have the responsibility to handle requests from the entire staff of the unit, families, patients.. and any doctors that waltz through and want something. Which by the way will usually be STAT.

Try to shadow a clerk before you jump into that course.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Oct 14, 2014

While I agree the course would probably be intense, I'm not sure you'd need to course to work as a ward clerk. Many places hire people with good secretarial skills and give them the rest of their needed training on-the-job. Every facility has its own practices that a ward clerk would need to learn too.

Before you sign up for a class, do some more checking into what it can do for you, realistically, in your area.

RNperdiem, RN · Oct 14, 2014

Check the HR websites for the local places you might want to work. Are they hiring ward clerks? What is the job market like?

My hospital is doing away with most of our ward clerks.

The rationale is that with computer charting, there is less need for secretarial skills, so now we have a crosstrained CNA who picks up secretarial duties. Of course, the CNA part of the job keeps them away from the phone, so it is catch-as-catch can when the phones keep ringing.