Physician associate role vital

Hero Carousel

UEL-Hospital-and-Primary-Care-Training-simulation-hero-Osman-Marfo-Gyasi----081

Training PAs should be a long-term strategy

Professor Jane Perry, Dean of the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience, talks about the vital role of the physician associate (PA) amidst GP shortages and the NHS workforce crisis.

See all of our News articles

Published

30 June 2022

Share

Share On Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn

Professor Perry has many years of clinical experience as a nurse and now leads on delivering technology-driven, modern courses to train healthcare professionals, including physician associates (PAs), in East/ Northeast London, where there are critical shortages of nurses and other healthcare workers. Students use the latest learning methods, including an immersive simulation centre with AI/VR/AR technology, so they are best equipped for careers in the modern workforce.

PAs have undertaken two years of intensive postgraduate study following a science degree and support doctors in frontline roles. They sit well alongside other nurses and allied health professionals undertaking advanced roles, for example, the advanced clinical practitioner (ACP), which can significantly support and ease the burden for doctors

PAs are able to:

  • Take medical histories from patients
  • Perform physical examinations
  • Diagnose illnesses
  • See patients with long-term chronic conditions
  • See patients with minor illness and injury
  • Perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
  • Analyse test results
  • Develop management plans
  • Provide health promotion and disease prevention advice for patients.

 

Many physician associates currently work in general practice, acute (internal) medicine and emergency medicine.

Professor Perry says the focus on training and recruiting PAs should be a long-term strategy of the NHS. She argues:

1. PAs are a strong workforce as long as they are supported and supervised 

Students are trained in the medical model, come from strong science backgrounds and the Physician Associate course is a very intensive two-year training period. Many nurses have gone on to do the course at UEL. The use of the latest technology including AR and VR allows for intensive training with real-life scenarios created for PA students.

The PA should not be treated as a cheap replacement for a GP or nurse. That is not a fair refection of their work.

There is also considerable demand for this course, with people who are not qualified to do medicine but are still highly skilled for PA roles.

2.  They can see a considerable amount of conditions which patients go to a GP for

PAs plug the gap with the extreme national GP shortages, and GPs leaving the profession burnt out altogether. PAs complement an existing workforce and allow GPs to focus on their more complex work. This partnership provides patients with improved access to care and continuity. 

3.  PAs are trained to notice the red flags and refer up to GPs where needed

As long as they work closely with their supervisor, they can take a huge amount of pressure of GPs, but still ensure patient safety and care quality standards.

4.  The major barriers of PAs not having prescribing rights and not being regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) are stopping the role from flourishing

These barriers slow up what could really make a difference. (The GMC is tasked with regulating the role, but this looks unlikely to happen before Summer 2023).

5. Nationally, GPs talk very positively about wanting PAs to support them

We hear really positive feedback from our NHS Trust partners who work with PAs during their placements, and indeed once qualified, and are looking forward to working with our first cohort of PAs.

Find out more about UEL's PA course.

Share

Share On Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn