Job responsibilities
Job Title
Physician
Associate
Reports to
Partners
Professionally
Practice
Manager - Managerially
Responsible for
N/A
Hours of Operation
As per
contract
Job
Purpose
To deliver a high standard of
patient care as Physician associate (PA) in general practice, using advanced
autonomous clinical skills, and a broad and in-depth theoretical knowledge
base, but always under the supervision of a GP.
JOB SUMMARY
As a Physician associate you will
be acting within your professional boundaries, will provide care for the
presenting patient from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis,
treatment and evaluation of their care, under the supervision of a GP. You will demonstrate safe, clinical
decision-making and expert care for patients within the general practice, in consultation
with the duty GP. You will work
collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary general practice team to meet the
needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures. In order
to work at this level, you will follow the Matrix of Core Clinical Conditions
by system theme as provided by the Faculty of Physician Associates in the Royal
College of Physicians, and be registered in the same Faculty. You will follow
recommended annual appraisals and continuing professional development as set
out by the Faculty.
1. SCOPE
OF THE ROLE
- To deliver a high standard
of patient care as Physician associate (PA) in general practice, using
advanced autonomous clinical skills, and a broad and in-depth theoretical
knowledge base, but always under the supervision of a GP.
- To manage a clinical
caseload, dealing with presenting patients needs in a primary care
setting
- To ensure the highest
standards of care are provided for the patients
- To provide clinical leadership
where appropriate within the practice.
2. JOB
DIMENSIONS
- To manage own clinical
workload in general practice responding effectively to patient need and
ensuring patient choice and ease of access to services.
- To be familiar with and use referral
pathways to local acute NHS Trust services and other community based
services.
- To support other members of
the team in developing and maintaining clinical skills appropriate to your
role and expertise.
3. PRIMARY
DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
3a. CLINICAL ROLE:
The
post-holder will :
- Work as part of the patient triage team to manage patient queries and decide on the most suitable outcomes.
- Have appointments to consult with patients, either face to face or over the telephone, to assess their needs and provide appropriate care by making use of history taking skills, physical examination, problem solving, ordering investigations and coming up with a management plan.
- Make professional decisions under the supervision of a GP.
- Instigate necessary invasive
and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret
findings/reports
- Provide home visits as
appropriate under the supervision of a GP.
- View and action clinical
laboratory results and clinical letters and work through duty clinical
administration including prescription queries.
General
- Provide safe,
evidence-based, cost-effective, individualised patient care
- 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
- Promote health and
well-being through the use of health promotion, health education,
screening and therapeutic communication skills
- Refer patients directly to
other services/agencies as appropriate
- Work with nursing, medical
and health care assistant colleagues to ensure that National Service
Frameworks are being delivered
- Work with the
mutli-disciplinary team within the Practice, and across the wider
neighbourhood cluster as necessary, to promote integrated and seamless
pathways of care
- Contribute to the practice
achieving its quality targets to sustain the high standards of patient
care and service delivery
Participate in identification of community health
needs and develop patient/family-centred strategies to address them
- Be aware of and contribute
as appropriate to planning and delivery of practice-based commissioning
- Participate in supervision
with the designated GP.
3b TEACHING ROLE:
The
post-holder will :
- Promote a learning environment for patients, nurses and other
health professionals.
- Contribute to the planning
and implementation of the teaching for existing staff, such as medical
students, nursing students, GP registrars, Health Care Assistants,
visiting overseas doctor within the Practice.
3c .
PROFESSIONAL ROLE :
The post-holder will :
- Promote evidence-based
practice through the use of the latest research-based guidelines and the
development of practice-based research.
- Monitor the effectiveness of
their own clinical practice through the quality assurance strategies such
as the use of audit and peer review
- Maintain their professional
registration
- Participate in continuing
professional development opportunities to ensure that up-to-date
evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role is
maintained
- Work within the latest Code
of Professional Conduct
- Record accurate consultation
data in patients records in accordance with guidance and other pertinent
standards
- Keep up to date with
pertinent health-related policy and work with the practice team to
consider the impact and strategies for implementation
- Work collaboratively with
colleagues within and external to the practice.
- Demonstrate leadership
- Pro-actively promote the
role of the PA within the Practice, and externally to key stakeholders and
agencies
3d.
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS:
The post-holder will :
Encourage and develop teamwork within the practice.
Participate in multi-disciplinary protocol and
Patient Group Directions development
Identify appropriate opportunities to delegate both
clinical and administrative tasks to more junior staff.
Help the practice operate in a cost-effective
manner.
Participate in practice meetings reporting progress
as required.
Participate in audits and inspections as
appropriate.
Work closely with the doctors and administrative
managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for
monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality
Indicator targets.
Ensure that all Practice Policys are fully
implemented
HEALTH AND
SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT
- The post-holder must comply
at all times with the Practices Health and Safety policies, in particular
by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using
the organisations Incident Reporting System.
- The post-holder will comply
with the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act
(1990).
EQUALITY AND
DIVERSITY
- The post-holder must
co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of
employment. Co-workers, patients
and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic
origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.
- The post-holder should
respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient
information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.
COMMUNICATION
AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
- The post-holder will
establish and maintain effective communication pathways with all staff of
the practice and visiting clinical team members such as district nurses,
modern matrons, health visitors etc.
JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT
This job description is intended
to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. There may be other duties required of the
post-holder commensurate with the position.
This description will be open to regular review and may be amended to
take into account development within the Practice. All members of staff should be prepared to
take on additional duties or relinquish existing
duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the Practice.