What is a Physician Associate (PA)?
Physician Associates (PAs) are medically trained professionals who work alongside doctors and nurses, and other AHPs – to diagnose and treat patients.
They are trained to diagnose, investigate, and treat medical conditions – in many different areas of medicine, and specialities.
They are experienced health professionals that work at the level of a middle grade doctor. It is a relatively new role in healthcare. They are similar to advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs).
All PA’s have a designated supervisor that provides them with support, whilst working semi-independently.
The role was first established in the United States where PAs are known as physician assistants.
How to Become a PA
To become a PA, you must usually complete a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) and then complete a 2 year Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip) or Masters (MSc) in Physician Associate Studies.
After studying to work as a PA in the UK, one must sit and pass professional examinations to gain recognition. These are prerequisites to joining the Physician Associate Managed Voluntary Register (PAMVR) at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), which is becoming a national requirement in the UK to practice as a PA.
Once qualified and registered to work as a PA, you must ensure that your training is kept up-to-date. This can be done by taking extra courses and exams to expand their practical and clinical knowledge.
Every 6 years, a PA must recertify to ensure that they are up-to-date enough to continue to practice medicine.
But .. what is a Physician Associate (PA) .. ie what to they do? ..
What does a Physician Associate do?
A PA is trained to do the following:
- Take histories and conduct physical examinations on patients that are stable or acutely unwell
- See patients with chronic long-term conditions, complex conditions and those that have not been diagnosed with any condition
- Ensure that a treatment plan is in place and help the patient follow a treatment plan; i.e. one that has already been put in place by another professional (follow ups)
- Perform procedures such as suturing (stiches) and many more (subject to the speciality they work in)
- Encourage and advise patients about health, lifestyles, and disease prevention
- Teach and supervise medical/nursing/PA students.
There are a few things that a PA cannot do currently. These include prescribing medication and requesting scans from Radiology.
A PA will start their career as a junior clinician and develop with support from their supervisors. As time passes, with more experience, senior PAs become embedded within their team – and a key part it.
As a senior PA, their duty is to ensure they are both delivering good care to patients, and supporting junior PAs within their team. PAs can run their own clinic which is overseen by a designated hospital consultant (or GP), and they can help senior doctors with their ward rounds.
Where do Physician Associates work?
You can find PAs in many different areas of medicine, including General Practice and Hospitals. Some PA’s work in specialised areas of medicine such as Psychiatry and Paediatrics.
A PA’s hours vary depending on where they work. Some are be full-time, and others part-time. Many PAs in the hospital setting will do early shifts and late shifts, which can vary from 8-12 hours. Depending on their role, some PA’s work weekends and Bank Holidays. So depending on the chosen area of interest, out-of-hours working is expected and encouraged.
Summary
We have described what is a Physician Associate (PA). We hope you understand the role better now.
Written by: Harmeet Harrar
Edited and Reviewed by: Hardeep Chahal
