Receptionist CV Example (UK)

A GP surgery receptionist is the first person patients speak to, and practice managers hire for it carefully: someone who can take a full phone queue at eight in the morning, send each patient to the right person in the practice, keep confidential records straight and stay kind when a patient is frightened or angry. A receptionist CV for general practice should name the clinical system you use, the care navigation you do and the volume you handle.

The Sample CV below is for a Receptionist and care navigator with five years in two NHS GP practices in Greater Manchester. It shows the morning phone and online consultation triage, signposting to the practice pharmacist, physiotherapist and community services, prescription and test result admin, and the patient participation work that a practice brings up at its CQC inspection.

Tailor it to the setting. A hospital outpatient department wants booking systems and clinic preparation; a dental practice wants treatment plans and payment; a hotel or corporate front desk wants guest service and security passes. The US counterpart of this page is the receptionist resume example, written for American offices and clinics; the Harbor template keeps a one-page CV tidy.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in the UK; the page for applicants in the US is the receptionist resume example.

Receptionist sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper a UK CV is printed on.

Josephine Haworth-Lees

GP Receptionist and Care Navigator, EMIS Web, Online Consultation Triage

Bolton, BL1josephine.haworthlees@example.com07700 900531

Summary

Receptionist and care navigator with five years in NHS general practice, currently at a practice of about 14,000 patients. Handle the morning phone peak and online consultation requests, navigate patients to the right clinician or service, process repeat prescriptions and pathology results on EMIS Web, and keep the front desk calm. Trained in care navigation, information governance and conflict resolution.

Experience

Senior Receptionist and Care Navigator, Marlhaven Medical Practice

– Present

Bolton, BL1

  • Answer and navigate patient calls during the morning peak, booking same-day appointments with GPs, the advanced nurse practitioner, the practice pharmacist and the first contact physiotherapist according to the practice's navigation protocol.
  • Review incoming online consultation forms with the duty doctor's guidance, sending each one to the right clinician, a pharmacy referral or a self-care response within the same morning.
  • Process repeat prescription requests and file pathology results to the right clinician on EMIS Web, flagging urgent results to the duty GP straight away.
  • Trained three new receptionists on the navigation protocol, the phone system and EMIS, and wrote a one-page quick guide that the team still uses.
  • Help run the patient participation group, booking the room, taking notes and turning patients' suggestions into changes such as a clearer phone menu.
Receptionist, Kestrel Fold Family Practice

–

Bolton, BL2

  • Greeted patients at the front desk, checked them in, registered new patients and updated contact details on SystmOne.
  • Scanned and coded incoming hospital letters and arranged follow-up appointments requested by consultants.
  • Dealt with complaints at the desk calmly, passing formal complaints to the practice manager with a written note the same day.
Front of House Assistant, Fennick House Hotel

–

Manchester, M20

  • Checked guests in and out on the property system, handled card payments and resolved booking problems.
  • Covered the switchboard and passed messages to conference organisers during events.

Education

AMSPAR Level 3 Certificate in Medical Administration

Bramhall Forge College, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6

Completed by evening study while working; units in medical terminology and confidentiality.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business

Hazelmere Sixth Form College, Cheadle, SK8

Skills

  • Care navigation and signposting
  • EMIS Web and SystmOne
  • Online consultation triage
  • Repeat prescriptions
  • Pathology results workflow
  • New patient registration
  • Telephone system and call queues
  • Information governance and confidentiality
  • Handling complaints and conflict
  • Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel

Certifications

  • Care navigation training, Fennick Bend Primary Care Network,
  • Data security awareness, Level 1, NHS e-learning,
  • Conflict resolution and personal safety, Marlhaven Medical Practice,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How a UK CV differs

A UK GP receptionist CV differs from an American medical receptionist resume in what it names. There is no insurance verification or billing: NHS general practice is free at the point of use, so the work is access, navigation and records. The employer is usually a GP partnership inside a Primary Care Network, regulated by the Care Quality Commission, and the practice manager hires for patient experience and safety.

For a receptionist in the UK

  1. Name the clinical system

    Write EMIS Web, SystmOne or Vision, and say which tasks you do in it, such as registrations, prescriptions, results and document workflow. Practice managers scan for the system they use.

  2. Show care navigation

    Say you navigate patients to the clinical team and community services using a protocol, and name the roles you book into. It shows you understand how a modern practice works.

  3. Give the size of the practice

    An approximate list size and the number of clinicians tell the manager how busy your desk was. Give it once, in the summary or the current role.

  4. Training the NHS recognises

    List data security awareness, safeguarding and any AMSPAR or care navigation qualification with the year. These are the courses a practice would otherwise send you on.

  5. Patient experience, carefully

    Mention complaint handling and patient participation groups, but never describe a patient. Confidentiality is part of what you are being hired for.

Every CV in the UK

A4 paper
Set the page to A4, 210 by 297 millimetres. A Letter-sized PDF prints with odd margins on A4 and reads as imported from the US.
Two pages is normal
Most UK CVs run to two pages. One page suits a first job; three is rare and only for senior roles with a lot to show.
No photo, no date of birth
UK employers do not expect a photo, a date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV, and most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, and month and year for each role: "Mar 2022 – Present". Never the US month-first order.
British English
Organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise. A CV in American spelling reads as written for somewhere else.
Town and postcode area, not a street address
A line such as "Manchester, M4" is enough. A full postal address, and the US-style "City, ST 12345" line, are not expected.

More on applying in the UK, with every CV example for it, on the UK page.

Templates for the receptionist CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same receptionist CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Friendly and organised school leaver with a part-time supermarket customer service role and a Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service. Ready to learn the clinical system and the practice's protocols.

  • Handled customer queries and refunds at a supermarket customer service desk on weekends.
  • Kept calm with upset customers and passed problems to a supervisor when needed.
  • Volunteered on reception at a community centre two afternoons a week.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Dental Receptionist with four years in a mixed NHS and private practice, managing the diary for six clinicians and taking patient payments.

  • Manage the appointment diary for six dentists and hygienists on the practice management software.
  • Explain NHS charge bands and private treatment plans to patients and take payments.
  • Chase failed appointments and recalls to keep the diary full.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Reception Manager with ten years in general practice, leading a team of nine receptionists and the practice's access improvement work.

  • Lead and rota a team of nine receptionists and care navigators across two surgery sites.
  • Redesigned the morning access model with the partners, adding online consultations and a callback queue.
  • Handle complaints at the first stage and report trends to the practice manager each month.

Skills to put on the receptionist CV

Hard skills

Clinical system (EMIS Web or SystmOne)
Every GP practice runs on one of them, and a receptionist who already knows it needs far less training.
Care navigation
Practices now route patients to pharmacists, physiotherapists and community services as well as GPs, and the receptionist makes that first decision.
Online consultation triage
Most practices take requests online, and someone has to sort them quickly and safely each morning.
Prescriptions and results admin
Repeat prescriptions and test results are a large part of the daily workload, and errors cause real harm.
Confidentiality and information governance
Reception handles sensitive data all day, and a practice will check your data security training.
Phone and queue handling
The morning phone peak is the hardest hour in the practice, and managers ask how you handle volume.

Soft skills

Calm with distressed patients
Patients often call when they are worried or in pain, and a calm voice keeps the conversation safe.
Clear communication
Explaining why someone is seeing a pharmacist instead of a GP takes tact and plain words.
Teamwork
Reception sits between patients, clinicians and managers, and the practice runs better when the desk works together.

Mistakes that cost receptionist interviews

  1. Answered phones and greeted patients, nothing more

    Every receptionist does that. Add the navigation, the online triage, the prescriptions and the system, so the practice manager sees someone who can take on the whole desk.

  2. American medical office terms

    Insurance verification, copays and billing codes do not apply in NHS general practice. Leave them out unless you are applying to a private clinic that uses them.

  3. No clinical system named

    A practice manager wants to know if you can log in and start. Write EMIS Web or SystmOne in the skills and in the current role.

  4. Describing a patient incident in detail

    Even with no name, a detailed story about a patient on a CV worries a practice. Describe the skill, not the person.

  5. Forgetting the transferable experience

    Hotel, retail and call centre work all build the phone and front-desk skills practices need. Keep them on the CV briefly, with the skills spelled out.

Write bullets with the XYZ formula: what changed, the number that shows it, and how you did it, in one line.

Questions about the receptionist CV

What should a GP receptionist put on a CV?

The practice size, the clinical system you use, care navigation, prescriptions and results work, your training with dates, and two or three examples of handling a busy or difficult situation well.

Can I become a medical receptionist with no experience?

Yes. Practices hire from retail, hospitality and call centres for the customer service skills. Show volume, calm with upset customers and accuracy, and say you are keen to learn the clinical system.

What is a care navigator?

A receptionist trained to direct patients to the most suitable person or service, such as the practice pharmacist, a physiotherapist or a community service, rather than booking every request with a GP.

Do I need an AMSPAR qualification?

It is not required, but it helps, especially for a senior or medical secretary role. Many receptionists take a Level 2 or Level 3 certificate while working.

How long should a receptionist CV be?

One page of A4 is enough for most receptionists, two for a senior or reception manager. Keep the current role and the clinical system near the top.

How do I tailor a receptionist CV to a new practice?

Match the system, the list size and the services in the advert, and move the most relevant experience up. Paste the advert into Resume Master and it rewrites the CV against it in about two minutes.

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