Physician Associate Primary Care

Job responsibilities

Clinical

The post holder will under appropriate supervision:

• Be responsible for the development of policies within practice and across the PCN.

• Develop services within practice that can be shared across the PCN footprint.

• Provide first point of contact for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, utilising history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills to establish a working diagnosis and management plan working in partnership with patients.

• Undertake as agreed surgery based consultations for emergency or routine problems including management of long term conditions. In addition, undertake telephone consultations / home visits and participate in duty rotas

• Instigate necessary invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret complex findings/reports within the scope of a PA’s practice. Discuss the result and implications of laboratory investigations with patients

• Utilise clinical guidelines and promote evidence-based practice

• Offer a holistic service to patients and their families, developing where appropriate an on-going plan of care/support with an emphasis on prevention and self-care

• Refer patients directly to other services or agencies using appropriate referral pathways

• Ensure safe handover of care within and outside the practice as appropriate

• Work directly with members of the practice primary health care team and support integrated patient centred care through appropriate working with wider primary care / social care networks

• Identify community health needs and participate in the development of patient/family-centred strategies to address them

• Contribute to the practice quality targets to consistently achieve high standards of safe, evidence-based, cost-effective patient care and service delivery

Training and development

• Participate in continuing professional development opportunities to keep up-to-date with evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role to meet clinical governance guidelines for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and a Personal Development Plan (PDP) utilising a reflective approach to practice. This requires 50 hours of CPD every year: a minimum of 25 hours must be in accredited direct learning programmes

• Undertake a variety of research and analysis tasks associated with the improvement of clinical care, medical diagnosis and treatment where appropriate using the following means.

• Audit of clinical practice

• Significant event review / root cause analysis

• Review of relevant literature

• Research unusual symptoms and treatment options through consultation with general practitioners, physicians and other specialists

• Promote and support a learning culture within the practice and assist in clinical instruction, mentoring and supervision of medical, nursing or physician associate students and other learners that may periodically be attached to the practice

• Contribute to regular multi-disciplinary and or practice educational meetings

• Participate in multi-disciplinary protocol and patient group directions (PGDs) development as appropriate

• Work closely with other clinical staff and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality Indicator targets

Administration

• Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all required paperwork for legal and administrative purposes in accordance with relevant standards

• Work in accordance with internal administrative systems relating to but not limited to the management of clinical data,

• Send and receive written information on behalf of the practice relating to the physical and social welfare of patients

• Work closely with other clinical staff and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality Indicator targets and work to deliver the NHS contract pertinent to the practice including the terms of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and locally enhanced services

• Ensure that all practice policies are fully implemented

• Support, contribute to and participate in external inspections

4. Professional

• Take the UK PA National Re-Certification Exam every six years - required for Physician Associates AND maintain your professional registration working within the latest Code of Professional Conduct (CIPD)

• Undertake statutory and mandatory training as required by the practice

• Demonstrate clinical leadership

• Pro-actively promote the role of the PA within the practice and externally to key stakeholders and agencies

• Respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

5. Health and Safety

• Comply at all times with the practice health and safety policies by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting System (IRS)

• Comply with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

6. Equality and Diversity

• Co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to support equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

7. Communication and working relationships

• Establish and maintain effective communication pathways with all practice staff and visiting clinical team members such as district nurses, modern matrons, health visitors etc.

Additional Circumstances

Essential

• A criminal record check satisfactory to the organisation.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• The ability to put people at ease and inspire their trust and confidence
• Committed and enthusiastic to service and personal development
• Maintain confidentiality at all times
• Flexibility of working hours / able to work at the desired times
• Ability to work in conjunction with and be complementary to the existing healthcare team.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in integrated Master of Physician Associate Studies (MPAS) and postgraduate diploma (PGDip)/Masters Level in life or healthcare sciences
• Relevant UK PA National Re-Certification Exam
• The latest Code of Professional Conduct (CIPD)

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification or working towards

Experience

Essential

• Paid or unpaid experience gained from working with people who have mental issues
• Experience of working under pressure and managing varying workloads and changing demands

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team in a Primary Care setting.
• Understanding of patient management in Primary Care setting

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Excellent communication and listening skills
• Excellent time management skills and the capacity to work under pressure
• Ability to liaise effectively with members from other Health Care Providers within Primary and Secondary Care and external agencies as required and an aptitude for fostering good working relationships
• Ability to work on own initiative and prioritise own work and work within a team
• An interest in using clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
• IT skills

Desirable

• Advanced IT Skills (Microsoft, Windows, Powerpoint)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).