Physician Associate

Course Overview

Do you have a scientific background, and would you like to work with patients?

Working in the healthcare profession can be both inspiring and rewarding. A career as a Physician Associate (PA) will mean that you will support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. This might be in a hospital or a GP surgery. You will be part of a growing profession in the NHS where vacancies currently exceed the supply of skilled professionals.

Our experienced lecturers will prepare you with all the skills you need to provide care and treatment to patients. You will learn to carry out a range of medical activities such as physical examinations, medical histories, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

At Bucks, we have great links with several partnerships within the local community such as Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, so you’ll add exceptional work experience to your CV.

Health Education England, has launched a national funding strategy for all Physician Associate courses in England and students will receive a training grant of £5,000 per student; it is not expected that you will be required to make an application for this allowance. More information can be found in the HEE Physician Associate document.

By the time you complete the course, you will have learnt how to request and interpret test results, diagnose illness and develop treatment and management plans. All vital skills that will enable you to become an effective Physician Associate.

Course Details

The MSc Physician Associate programme, is in alignment to Physician Associate Curriculum Framework to ensure that the graduates succeed in the National Examination and work as physician associates in healthcare.

A range of learning and teaching methods are utilised. You will learn through:

• Lectures, Seminar
• Workshop
• Group work
• Tutored classroom sessions
• Independent learning through individual learning plans
• Case studies (skills and simulations)
• Presentation
• Problem-based learning

You will be assessed using a variety of methods such as single based answer (SBA), OSCE and Case study.

Learn from industry-experienced tutors

Taught lectures and seminars are led by industry specialists, with the aim of creating an ambience where you can express yourself in any form and understand the nature of working in the industry.

Work placement

The programme has a strong employability focus to enable you to become an effective Physician Associate. Bucks New University has a number of well-established partnerships with health organisations to enhance your experience and promote practice based learning.

Therefore you will be equipped with the experience and expertise that will give you an excellent start to your career as a Physician Associate.

Upon graduation you can progress to work as a Physician Associate in a range of clinical environments in Primary and Secondary care.

What are the course entry requirements?

Achievement of a first degree, minimum of a 2:1, in a life science, e.g. Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Medical Science, Nursing, Physiotherapy or equivalent qualification or health-related subject from a UK university or an equivalent overseas qualification.

Advice on equivalent status of overseas awards will be obtained from the National Academic Recognition and Information Centre for the UK (NARIC™). Certified translation of any 9.

Have experience of working with people, for example, in a health or social care context.

• A Level Chemistry Grade C or equivalent.
• GCSE Maths and English Grade B or above.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the English language, e.g. achieve an IELTS score of at least 7.5 in all sections or equivalent (in line with the General

Medical Council requirements.

Demonstrate appropriate personal qualities such as; motivation, good communication skills and understanding of the PA role during the selection process.

A satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and occupational health assessment will be required by all applicants prior to acceptance on the course. Candidates who fail the DBS check and/or occupational health assessment will not be given entry onto the course.

The DBS in the United Kingdom does not currently conduct overseas criminal record checks. Therefore, International applicants, those without British Citizenship and British Citizens with a significant period of overseas residency require a criminal records check or certificate of good conduct from their home/overseas country prior to entry onto the course. A UK DBS check will be required after enrolment. Should the DBS and/or occupational health assessment be unsatisfactory the student will be referred to the Fitness-to-Practise panel.

How do I apply?

For application details please visit bucks.ac.uk/applying-to-bucks