The Royal College of Physicians and the UK Association for Physician Associates welcome the announcement today from the Department of Health that there are to be more physician associates in future, but believe that statutory regulation would allow physician associates to make a more effective contribution to the health service and the health economy as well as offering better protection to the public.
The RCP and the UK Association of Physician Associates are currently setting up a new Faculty of Physician Associates, which would support and develop the role, including revalidation of PA courses, expanding the current programme of continuing professional development and managing recertification.
Background information on physician associates
There are currently just over 200 PAs working in the UK in a range of healthcare settings and feedback from their use has been positive.
Physician associates (PAs) currently undergo an intensive two year programme based on the medical model used to train doctors. There is a set national curriculum for PAs which all universities who train PAs adhere to. This curriculum has been developed to ensure that PAs are trained to recognise, diagnose and manage common conditions under the supervision of a doctor.
PAs are dependant practitioners and work within their sphere of competence. Based on this national curriculum all PAs must pass an examination of knowledge, skill and competence set by their university and a national examination. This ensures all PAs are of a set standard at graduation. Once PAs qualify they retake their exam every six years to ensure they remain competent and undertake 40 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) each year.
Currently, the number of PAs in the UK has been limited due to lack of regulation for the profession, which we have been actively pushing for since they were established in 2005. At present there is a Managed Voluntary Register for PAs until statutory regulation can be achieved. The Register is there to protect the public and employers.
PAs offer the NHS a flexible workforce and are people who want to make a difference in the NHS to improve patient care. As a profession we offer continuity of care and are not replacements for doctors, in fact we are supporting doctors not only in the care of patients and the hospital, but also in their own development and learning. There is an expanding patient population and the NHS needs to be creative about how it is going to continue to deliver high quality care. The majority of PAs are not previous nurses, they are new to the NHS and help deliver high quality care to a growing population with increasing health care needs.
UKAPA and the RCP have been working closely to establish a Faculty of PAs within the RCP. The Faculty will strengthen the work already taken forward around PA development within the UK. Both organisations are fully in support of the development.