Physician Associate

Job responsibilities

The role is based across three main areas of the Integrated Medicine & Community Clinical Business Unit ; inpatient ward based care, the Frailty Assessment Unit (FAU) and the Perioperative Care for Older Patients Undergoing Surgery Team (POPS). The Physician Associate will rotate in the role, spending twelve weeks in each area. FAU is a Same Day Emergency Care area. The POPS Team focuses on caring for patients who are frail or over the age of 75 who have recently undergone surgery. The inpatient ward provides consultant led care for older people , supported by multidisciplinary team . The aim is to tailor care support plans to each individual patient to ensure safe and effective care and reduce the possibility and severity of post-operative medical complications.

In Frailty Assessment Unit, as part of the specialist multidisciplinary team, you will be essential in delivering a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, coupled with access to timely diagnostics, coordinated from a dedicated purpose-built Acute Frailty Same Day Emergency Care ambulatory assessment area. This model includes Acute Frailty Virtual Ward provision. The outcome of this assessment will result in the development of a Care and Support Plan, developed collaboratively between the specialist teams with the patient and their carers.

During the rotation into POPS the PA will be responsible for reviewing patients via the ePR services to identify those that meet the criteria liaise with the MDT team on the wards. The PA will then prepare the patients notes, organise the ward round and follow up any test results required. In the afternoons, the PA will participate in the ward round with the consultant responsible for POPS on that day. The role includes 3 SPA hours per week, 2 hours on weeks 1 to 3 and 6 hours on week 4 as the last Tuesday of the month will be a PA teaching day.

The inpatient ward-based rotation will give the successful applicant opportunity to work within an MDT, providing specialist care for older people in the hospital setting. The PA will help to organize and pro-actively participate in ward rounds, prepare patient records, support management of acutely unwell older people and facilitate their discharge planning, as part of the wider MDT.

Please see the attached document for a full Job Description.

Skills, Knowledge and Competencies

Essential

• Ability to take responsibility for the care of patients under the supervision of a consultant.
• Demonstrates knowledge of evidence informed practice.
• Able to organise and prioritise own workload to meet deadlines.
• Able to build a rapport, listen, persuade and negotiate when communicating with patients and the multi-disciplinary team.
• Able to work flexibly to meet the needs of patients.

Desirable

• Experience of managing complex workloads in the day to day management of patients.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Ability to pioneer a new role and show resilience in being a part of the development of the role within the Trust to inform positive service change.

Mental and Emotional Effort

Essential

• Shows self-discipline and commitment.
• Has a critical and inquiring approach to work.
• Credible and able to gain confidence of both staff and patients.
• Conscientious, responsible and empathetic to the needs of patients.
• Team player with the capacity to take on board the perspectives of others with understanding.
• Self-motivated, proactive and innovative.
• Committed to continual quality and service improvement.
• Self-aware and committed to continual professional and personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision.
• Capacity to operate under pressure whilst maintaining high standards of care and professionalism.
• Able to maintain a resilient work life balance.

Working Conditions

Essential

• Rotational post based across urgent care, same day emergency care and ward based areas.
• Hazards may be associated with working with patients with unpredictable behaviours on occasions

Qualifications

Essential

• BA/BSc level degree prior to undertaking Physician Associate program.
• Postgraduate Diploma / Masters Degree in Physician Associate studies from a recognised UK University.
• Current and valid certification or Re-certification awarded by the Physician Associate Medical Examination.
• Registration on the Faculty of Physician Associates Managed Voluntary Register (PAM/R) post qualification.

Desirable

• Additional qualifications e.g. BSc, MSc, PhD or equivalent.

Experience

Essential

• Experience in working as part of a clinical environment within the NHS providing support for medical care.

Desirable

• Experience in Care of the Elderly and Frailty specialties.

Physical Skills and Effort

Essential

• Able to move patients following risk assessment and training.
• Able to operate wheelchairs and patient trolleys.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).