Job responsibilities
CLINICAL: (under appropriate Supervision)
Provide first point of contact for
patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, utilising
history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical
decision-making skills to establish a working diagnosis and management plan working
in partnership with patients.
Undertake as agreed surgery based
consultations for emergency or routine problems including management of long
term conditions. In addition, undertake telephone consultations / home visits
and participate in duty rotas
Instigate necessary invasive and
non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret
findings/reports within the scope of a PAs practice. Discuss the result and
implications of laboratory investigations with patients
Utilise clinical guidelines and
promote evidence-based practice
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
Refer patients directly to other
services or agencies using appropriate referral pathways
Ensure safe handover of care within
and outside the practice as appropriate
Work directly with members of the
practice primary health care team and support integrated patient centred care
through appropriate working with wider primary care / social care networks
Identify community health needs and
participate in the development of patient/family-centred strategies to
address them
Contribute to the practice quality
targets to consistently achieve high standards of safe, evidence-based,
cost-effective patient care and service delivery
TRAINING
AND DEVELOPMENT:
Participate in
continuing professional development opportunities to keep up-to-date with
evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role to meet
clinical governance guidelines for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
and a Personal Development Plan (PDP) utilising a reflective approach to
practice. This requires 50 hours of
CPD every year: a minimum of 25 hours must be in accredited direct learning
programmes
Undertake
a variety of research and analysis tasks associated with the improvement of
clinical care, medical diagnosis and treatment where appropriate using the
following means.
- Audit of clinical practice
- Significant event review / root cause
analysis
- Review of relevant literature
- Research unusual symptoms and treatment
options through consultation with general practitioners, physicians and other
specialists
Promote
and support a learning culture within the practice and assist in clinical
instruction, mentoring and supervision of medical, nursing or physician
associate students and other learners that may periodically be attached to
the practice
Contribute to regular
multi-disciplinary and or practice educational meetings
Participate in multi-disciplinary
protocol and patient group directions (PGDs) development as appropriate
Work closely with other clinical
staff and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of
practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical
Governance and Quality Indicator targets
For a newly qualified PA we are linking with the West Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce &
Training Hub:
Training
Offer (newly qualified) (please note that this is dependant on the course
being available at the time of recruitment, and we also have an excellent
support structure within
our PCN)
We are looking to provide a 2-year
development programme for newly qualified Physician Associates to help make
the transition from training/qualification into safe and effective clinicians
capable of independent practice. This will include the following:
- Long
appointment times initially gradually reducing these over the period as
confidence and skills develop
- Named GP
support in each clinic
- Named GP
mentor with regular tutorials
- Opportunity
to run Long Term Condition clinics with suitable training
- 4 days per
week clinical work
- 1 day per
week study/tutorial/peer group learning/practice PLT (protected learning
time) session, and PCN based project work
- Regular
Peer group learning sessions
- Support to
complete independent prescriber status once legislation allows this
ADMINISTRATION:
Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all
required paperwork for legal and administrative purposes in accordance with
relevant standards
Work in
accordance with internal administrative systems relating to but not limited
to the management of clinical data
Send and receive written information on behalf of the practice
relating to the physical and social welfare of patients
Work closely with other clinical staff and administrative
managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for
monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality
Indicator targets and work to deliver the NHS contract pertinent to the practice including the terms of the Quality and
Outcomes Framework and locally enhanced services
Ensure that all practice policies are fully implemented
Support, contribute to and participate in external inspections
PROFESSIONAL:
Take the UK PA National Re-Certification Exam every six years -
required for Physician Associates AND
maintain your professional registration working within the latest Code of
Professional Conduct (CIPD)
Undertake statutory and mandatory training as required by the
practice
Demonstrate clinical leadership
Pro-actively promote the role of the PA within the practice and
externally to key stakeholders and agencies
Respect patient
confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless
sanctioned by the requirements of the role
HEALTH AND
SAFETY:
Comply at all times with the practice health and safety policies by
following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the
organisations Incident Reporting System (IRS)
Comply
with the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act
(1990)
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY:
Co-operate with
all policies and procedures designed to support equality of employment.
Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of
gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.
COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:
Establish and maintain effective
communication pathways with all practice staff and visiting clinical team
members such as district nurses, modern matrons, health visitors etc.