PAs are a key part of the patient-centred healthcare team. Physician Associates diagnose, treat chronic illnesses and assist in surgery. ‘Physician associates are dependent practitioners working with a dedicated supervisor, but are able to work independently with appropriate support.'' RCP PA Faculty FAQ section

Patients have been seeing members of the multi-disciplinary team for years…as long as they see safe and qualified practitioners they have positive experiences. 93% of patients who recently interacted with a PA agreed that PAs are trusted healthcare providers’’ (According to a Harris Poll conducted on behalf of AAPA).

Wrong. PAs have 2 years intensive post-graduate training on top of a compulsory healthcare or science undergraduate degree. All PAs have post- graduate degrees, with an average of 1,700 hours of clinical rotations in primary and secondary care after 2 years of placement and classroom and study.

Not correct. Whilst Physician Associates work as part of the overall healthcare team they are trained in medicine and work as part of the medical team, after experience they work similar to a middle grade doctors.

Studies show PA-doctor teams deliver high-quality care. Results also indicate that PAs enhance care coordination, increase access and elevate health outcomes and that utilizing PAs is cost-effective for health systems.

According to the national PA census 2016, PAs in specialities accounted for 60%!! Of all PAs working in secondary care. From Neurosurgery to paediatric intensive care, PAs in the NHS are fast becoming valuable clinicians throughout all specialities.