Family handout’PAs hard to tell apart from doctors’In response to a BBC Freedom of Information request, NHS England said that as of 30 September 2023 there were 3,286 PAs in primary and secondary care in England and 76 AAs in secondary care.The government says it wants to increase the number of PAs to 10,000 by 2036 to 2037 and the number of AAs to 2,000 over the same period. An NHS England spokesperson told the BBC that PAs “play an important role in supporting the NHS”.Adam Skeen started working as a PA in 2021 before going to medical school. He is a BMA representative, but not speaking on behalf of them.He said his day-to-day tasks were “difficult for the untrained eye to distinguish from that of the team of doctors” with whom he worked.”Physician associates are not doctors and have not completed a medical degree. Patients deserve to be treated by those with more experience and training.”For patients, because these tasks look like those of a doctor, it may have been difficult for them to appreciate that I was not a doctor. This is worrying.”Now as a medical student, Adam said his training is distinctly different.Some doctors argue that, when used correctly, PAs can be largely beneficial to healthcare settings. Prof David Strain, a consultant based in Exeter who chairs the BMA’s board of science, said that PAs’ basic training puts them in a good position to do rudimentary clinical examinations, which eases the load on wards. However, Prof Strain said that he is “incredibly worried about missed diagnoses” because of a lack of training.The Faculty of Physician Associates makes it clear that PAs “are not doctors” and “do not replace medical roles”.What will regulation mean?On 26 February, the regulation, called the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024, was debated in the House of Lords.Both houses of Parliament have approved the new law, meaning regulation can be made into law.Once it begins, PAs and AAs will go on the register of the GMC, which will oversee their work.The GMC says this will mean that it can set conditions for PA and AA course providers to meet to ensure adequate training.Regulation will also mean they will have to go through a revalidation, which the GMC uses to make sure those on the register remain fit to practise. The GMC and Royal College of Physicians (RCP) make it clear that there needs to be additional education, a defined scope of practice and guidance for PAs and AAs, which they hope regulation will bring.Currently there is a curriculum for them, but no overseeing regulator.Donya Mighty has been working as a PA since 2018, while studying to become a doctor herself. She says the key benefit of the role is continuity of care for patients.Donya is in favour of the regulation but says her colleagues would “welcome further clarity on their scope for progression.” Adam and Prof Strain echo this sentiment and say they support regulation, but not by the GMC, as it “blurs the lines between doctors and PAs”.An anaesthetics trainee in the Midlands told the BBC he was concerned that an AA in his area was added to the registrars’ list.”If you …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnFamily handout’PAs hard to tell apart from doctors’In response to a BBC Freedom of Information request, NHS England said that as of 30 September 2023 there were 3,286 PAs in primary and secondary care in England and 76 AAs in secondary care.The government says it wants to increase the number of PAs to 10,000 by 2036 to 2037 and the number of AAs to 2,000 over the same period. An NHS England spokesperson told the BBC that PAs “play an important role in supporting the NHS”.Adam Skeen started working as a PA in 2021 before going to medical school. He is a BMA representative, but not speaking on behalf of them.He said his day-to-day tasks were “difficult for the untrained eye to distinguish from that of the team of doctors” with whom he worked.”Physician associates are not doctors and have not completed a medical degree. Patients deserve to be treated by those with more experience and training.”For patients, because these tasks look like those of a doctor, it may have been difficult for them to appreciate that I was not a doctor. This is worrying.”Now as a medical student, Adam said his training is distinctly different.Some doctors argue that, when used correctly, PAs can be largely beneficial to healthcare settings. Prof David Strain, a consultant based in Exeter who chairs the BMA’s board of science, said that PAs’ basic training puts them in a good position to do rudimentary clinical examinations, which eases the load on wards. However, Prof Strain said that he is “incredibly worried about missed diagnoses” because of a lack of training.The Faculty of Physician Associates makes it clear that PAs “are not doctors” and “do not replace medical roles”.What will regulation mean?On 26 February, the regulation, called the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024, was debated in the House of Lords.Both houses of Parliament have approved the new law, meaning regulation can be made into law.Once it begins, PAs and AAs will go on the register of the GMC, which will oversee their work.The GMC says this will mean that it can set conditions for PA and AA course providers to meet to ensure adequate training.Regulation will also mean they will have to go through a revalidation, which the GMC uses to make sure those on the register remain fit to practise. The GMC and Royal College of Physicians (RCP) make it clear that there needs to be additional education, a defined scope of practice and guidance for PAs and AAs, which they hope regulation will bring.Currently there is a curriculum for them, but no overseeing regulator.Donya Mighty has been working as a PA since 2018, while studying to become a doctor herself. She says the key benefit of the role is continuity of care for patients.Donya is in favour of the regulation but says her colleagues would “welcome further clarity on their scope for progression.” Adam and Prof Strain echo this sentiment and say they support regulation, but not by the GMC, as it “blurs the lines between doctors and PAs”.An anaesthetics trainee in the Midlands told the BBC he was concerned that an AA in his area was added to the registrars’ list.”If you …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
