Physician Associate MSc
This intensive and exciting new programme provides all the essential skills and knowledge necessary to become a Physician Associate in the UK. In addition, it provides the challenges of enhanced knowledge synthesis and research to produce academic clinicians equipped to lead and develop the profession.
The Department of Health's Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant (now Physician Associate) defines the Physician Associate as:
…a new healthcare professional who, while not a doctor, works to the medical model, with the attitudes, skills and knowledge base to deliver holistic care and treatment within the general medical and/or general practice team under defined levels of supervision.
Physician Associates (PAs) are part of a new and growing profession within the NHS. PAs work alongside doctors in hospitals and GP surgeries to provide safe and quality care to patients. PAs, under supervision of doctors, may obtain medical histories, perform physical examinations, carry out diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, request and interpret test results, diagnose illnesses and develop treatment and management plans.
The Physician Associate MSc programme includes over 1,800 hours of professional practice and will fully prepare you to practise in a wide variety of specialties and settings. Currently PAs work in General Practice, Emergency Medicine, and multiple Adult Medical and Surgical specialties.
Successful completion of the Physician Associate MSc programme provides eligibility to sit for the Physician Associate National Examination and join the Managed Voluntary Register.
If you are considering studying the Physician Associate MSc Programme at Brunel University London then you are committed to working jointly with the NHS to demonstrate the values and beliefs of the constitution.
NHS Values
Patients, public and staff have helped develop this expression of values that inspire passion in the NHS and that should underpin everything it does. Individual organisations will develop and build upon these values, tailoring them to their local needs. The NHS values provide common ground for co-operation to achieve shared aspirations, at all levels of the NHS.
Aims
The aim of the Physician Associate MSc programme is to prepare you as a medical professional who strives for excellence in clinical practice. To achieve this aim, the programme provides you with a strong scientific foundation and encourages the development of excellent practical and clinical reasoning skills. All of this is essential for you to treat patients safely and effectively.
The programme also provides you with the means to critically evaluate your own patient care – a skill which is vital to continuing evidence-based practice. A sound working knowledge of research methodology provides the basis for this evaluation process and also the tools to develop your own research interests at any stage of your professional career.
In addition, it helps develop vital communication skills and soundly embeds the essential core values of professionalism. Indeed, the Master's programme aims to produce highly professional graduates with excellent communication skills. Graduates are able to function as adaptable clinicians and fully interactive members of the multidisciplinary health care team within a changing health and social care setting.
Į magistro studijų programas gali stoti visi, baigę universitetą arba besimokantys paskutiniame kurse. Studijos kurias baigei ar tebesimokai turi būti panašios krypties kaip ir tos, į kurias nori stoti, kadangi priėmimas yra paremtas ECTS kreditų suderinamumu.
ECTS kreditų išrašas - jei dar nesi baigęs aukštosios mokyklos, būtina prisegti ECTS kreditų išrašą, kuriame būtų matyti, kokius dalykus Tu mokeisi bei kokius pažymius ir kiek kreditų už juos gavai. Kai siunti anketą paskutiniame kurse, diplomą reikia prisegti vėliau, kai tik jį gausi.
Bakalauro diplomas – jei jau esi baigęs aukštąją mokyklą, išrašo nereikia, užtenka prie anketos prisegti savo Bakalauro diplomą.
Svarbu, jog anglų kalbos testo rezultatai universitetą pasiektų iki Liepos 31d.
Anglų kalbos žinias gali patvirtinti vienu iš šių būdų:
Valstybinis anglų kalbos egzaminas išlaikytas 80 % ir daugiau (gali reikalauti ir didesnio balo priklausomai nuo pasirinktos programos anglų kalbos reikalavimų)
IELTS - 6.5
TOEFL - 90
The Physician Associate (PA) profession is poised to make a significant difference to the provision and continuity of patient care throughout the NHS. Physician Associate graduates are pioneers in health care, promoting the profession, as well as educating both providers and patients about the work that PAs do.
You will learn the following skills while you are studying on campus. These are further refined during your 42 weeks of clinical practice.
- Professionalism and professional development.
- The application of basic science and knowledge to the clinical situation.
- The needs of the patient for effective communication, compassion, dignity, confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and respect.
- Evidence-based practice.
- Proficiency with information technology as utilised in healthcare.
- Practical skills underpinned by a sound understanding of science and scientific principles.
- Problem-solving as evidenced by our teaching and learning situations and our assessment requirements.
- Developing the confident practitioner who is aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
- Developing the self-reliant life-long learner with the skills and motivation to address weaknesses and to build on strengths.
- Developing the critical thinker able to evaluate scientific evidence and able to make valid judgments regarding evidence-based practice and to contribute to the profession and to the evidence base via their own research.
Careers
There continues to be a growing demand for Physician Associates throughout the UK. PAs usually earn salaries based in Band 7 of the NHS Agenda for Change while some are offered salaries based in Band 6 if a structured internship is being offered.
PAs work in a variety of clinical settings and specialties including GP surgeries, hospital inpatient wards, and A & E departments. Please see the FAQ page of the Royal College of Physicians Faculty of Physician Associates (RCPFPA) website for more information. The RCPFPA’s most recent census information can be viewed at Census Results.
For additional information regarding the Physician Associate profession please explore:
Royal College of Physicians Faculty of Physician Associates
Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant
Matrix Specification of Core Clinical Conditions for the Physician Assistant
Physician Associate Managed Voluntary Register
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Watch this video 'A Day in the Life of a Physician Associate'.
Work Placements
Clinical placements will include rotations in the following areas:
• Accident and Emergency
• Acute Medicine
• General Practice
• Mental Health
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Paediatrics
• Surgery
• Electives
Whilst on placements you will be supervised by doctors and physician associates. You will be assessed on placement by your supervising clinician(s). The assessment score from clinical placement modules will contribute to your final degree classification.
All clinical placement modules are organised on the student's behalf by the clinical co-ordination team. This allows us to provide you with a balanced clinical experience both in terms of the specialties/patient groups you have worked with and the range of health care setting you have worked in. It is important that you are exposed to a variety of health settings, which are reflective of current clinical practice.
We are sympathetic to your needs when we assign clinical placements. However, we are unable to guarantee that any student will be located close to their home or term-time address and you may have to commute or live away from home for the duration of a placement or two. We do try to give special consideration to students whose personal circumstances fall within specified criteria, ie they have young children, are a main carer, or have a declared disability etc.
At Brunel we provide many opportunities and experiences within your degree programme and beyond – work-based learning, professional support services, volunteering, mentoring, sports, arts, clubs, societies, and much, much more – and we encourage you to make the most of them, so that you can make the most of yourself.
