UK physician associate primary care placements: staff and student experiences and perceptions.

Rhiannon Hoggins,Michael Okorie,Wesley Scott-Smith

doi:10.5116/ijme.5bcf.7914

Rhiannon Hoggins, Michael Okorie + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.5bcf.7914

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Abstract

ObjectivesTo provide an insight into the experiences and perceptions of physician associate students and primary care staff involved in primary care educational placements in the United Kingdom.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted. Data were collected from focus groups and semi-structured interviews with eight first year physician associate students and six primary care staff in two general practice surgeries in East Sussex, United Kingdom. Recruitment was via purposeful sampling. Thematic Analysis was used to identify themes.ResultsThree themes were identified: perceptions of the physician associate role, interprofessional working, and the physician associate course structure and placements. Staff demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the physician associate programme and there was a risk of unrealistic expectations. Overall, staff and students were positive about their experiences. However, students expressed anxiety over a large amount of learning in a short timeframe, the perceptions of others, and the reluctance of staff to train them in phlebotomy skills. In addition, students were unsure about their career aspirations for the future.ConclusionsParticipants were positive about their experiences however students expressed a number of anxieties, with a scope to improve interprofessional education. Practice staff demonstrated an overall lack of knowledge of the curriculum and physician associates in general leading to a risk of unrealistic expectations. Further studies on these themes with a larger sample size across relevant training institutions in the United Kingdom is required to explore this further.

Highlights

Primary care is facing increasing demand and an increased workforce burden.[1,2] Despite this, the number of junior doctors choosing to become general practitioners (GPs) is not commensurate.[1,2] These challenges have identified the need for more appropriate working practices and underpinned the introduction of physician associates (PAs) in the UK in 2003
Qualitative methodology was used since this study focuses on the experiences and perceptions of both the PA students and the primary care staff; highlighting how this is affected by the social interactions between the PA students and the staff and how their behaviour might be influenced
Three themes were identified: perceptions of the PA role, interprofessional working, and course structure and placements. These themes are explored in detail as follows: Perceptions of the PA role Students and the staff discussed their perceptions of the primary care placement programme and the role that PAs can have in primary care

Summary

Introduction

Primary care is facing increasing demand and an increased workforce burden.[1,2] Despite this, the number of junior doctors choosing to become general practitioners (GPs) is not commensurate.[1,2] These challenges have identified the need for more appropriate working practices and underpinned the introduction of physician associates (PAs) in the UK in 2003. This role is closely related to the role of physician assistants in the United States of America, which was introduced in the 1960s. It is anticipated that a large proportion of the PA students will be employed in primary care after qualification since evidence suggests that the three largest areas of PA employment currently are all generalist, encompassing general practice, acute medicine, and emergency medicine.[4,5]

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