Physician Associate

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job summary

To be responsible for the provision of a clinical service, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. The physician associate will be required to work autonomously in the practice, providing a range of services such as assessment, diagnosis, treatment, telephone triage, clinical decision-making and referring patients appropriately, as well as supporting the management team in the reviewing of clinical policy and procedure when required.

Primary responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the physician associate. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels. The physician associate will work within their scope of clinical practice and:

a. Identify, signpost or refer patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on the patients health

b. Provide routine care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF

c. Examine, assess and diagnose patients and provide clinical care/ management as required

d. Triage patients and provide the necessary treatment during home visits

e. Collect pathology specimens as required

f. Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

g. Ensure read codes are used effectively

h. Ensure continuity of care, arranging follow-up consultations or reviews as necessary

i. Review the effectiveness of the treatment provided, making changes where necessary to improve patient outcomes

j. Chaperone patients where necessary

k. Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately

l. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs

m. Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines (within own scope of practice)

n. Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure that the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

o. Ensure that they adhere to the relevant patient group directives and local clinical pathways at all times

p. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies

q. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately

r. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Secondary responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the physician associate may be requested to:

a. Support the practice audit programme, undertaking audits when necessary

b. Support junior members of the team, providing guidance when necessary

c. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

d. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice

e. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

f. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e. root cause analysis (RCA)

g. Take personal responsibility for own learning and development, including the requirement to maintain currency, achieving all targets set in their Personal Development Plan (PDP)

Generic responsibilities

All staff at Putneymead Group Medical Practice have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, diversity and inclusion

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates an environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and to be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, health, environment and fire (SHEF)

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.

Confidentiality

This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect that all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times. It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and continuous improvement (CI)

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver health care with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and to enhance patient care.

Induction training

On arrival at the practice, all personnel are to complete a practice induction programme. This is managed by the HR Lead

Learning and development

The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake and complete mandatory training as directed. Staff will also be permitted (subject to approval) to undertake external training courses which will enhance their knowledge and skills, progress their career and ultimately enable them to improve processes and service delivery.

Collaborative working

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Team work is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is essential and all staff must ensure that they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

Service delivery

Staff at Putneymead Group Medical Practice] must adhere to the information contained within practice policies and regional directives, ensuring that protocols are adhered to at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.

Security

The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure that they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and they are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

Professional conduct

Putneymead Group Medical Practice staff are required to dress appropriately for their role. Reception staff will be provided with a uniform whilst clinical staff must dress in accordance with their role.

Person Specification

Clinical knowledge and skills

Essential

• Ability to effectively triage, assess and diagnose
• Wound care
• ECGs
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• Spirometry
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Understand the importance of evidence-based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs

Desirable

• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy

Other requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Occupational Health Clearance

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of working as a physician associate
• Experience in triage
• Experience of dealing with a range of clinical conditions

Qualifications

Essential

• Member of Physician Associate Managed Voluntary Register

Desirable

• Post graduate diploma or degree (physician associate)

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• EMIS/SystmOne/Vision user skills
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• Understanding of the audit process
• Understanding of clinical risk management

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Putneymead Group Medical Practice

Address

266 Upper Richmond Road

Putney

London

SW15 6TQ

Employer's website

https://www.putneymead.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)