What is an advanced clinical practitioner (ACP)?
Advanced clinical practitioners 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 physician associates (PAs).
Advanced clinical practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing (adult, child and mental health), pharmacy, paramedics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
What do they do?
- Independently (from doctors) assess, diagnose, and implement treatment for patients presenting with an initially unknown diagnosis
- Diagnose and manage both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) conditions
- Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness.
Training
They are healthcare professionals who have done an extra Master’s degree. These vary in length but are usually 2-3 years. This enables them to develop the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on expanded roles in the NHS.
Where do they work?
ACPs are deployed across the NHS, e.g.
- Community – including general practice
- Mental health – including childrens’ care (CAMHS)
- Hospital specialist areas – including A&E, acute medicine, and ICU (adult, paediatric and neonatal).
Summary
We have described what is an advanced clinical practitioner (ACP). We hope it has been helpful.
