Help!! Accredited course or not to become a physician associate!!!

Hi could anyone give me any advice,preferably someone who is considering or is currently studying to become a physician associate. I will be going to university in September to study biomedical science and I think I want to become a physician associate as my future career as I have researched about it and like the job aspects.

Do I need to do an accredited biomedical science degree in uni to become a physician associate,or if not would it help if my degree was Accredited??
Thankyou !!!

Reply 1

thatonethere

16

Hiya, Graduate medic here - personally I don;t think it will make a difference as PA studies at my uni (Leeds) just ask for a decent science/healthcare related undergraduate degree.

I looked into Biomed and ended up doing Molecular and Cellular Bio as an undergraduate and it didn't make a difference that I didn't have an accredited course when applying for medicine (the PA course at Leeds is largely designed using our medicine curriculum hence why commenting).

From my experience it seemed the accreditation was desirable if you wanted to pursue the NHS healthcare scientist grad program - hope that helps!

Reply 2

Temss_

OP

2

If anyone is a current physician associate, could you give me tips and advice on the best route to take, pros and cons on the course and key facts, thanksss

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 3

Temss_

OP

2

Original post by thatonethere

Hiya, Graduate medic here - personally I don;t think it will make a difference as PA studies at my uni (Leeds) just ask for a decent science/healthcare related undergraduate degree.

I looked into Biomed and ended up doing Molecular and Cellular Bio as an undergraduate and it didn't make a difference that I didn't have an accredited course when applying for medicine (the PA course at Leeds is largely designed using our medicine curriculum hence why commenting).

From my experience it seemed the accreditation was desirable if you wanted to pursue the NHS healthcare scientist grad program - hope that helps!

Oh okay good to know, Thank you so much for replying!!! It’s such a new course so it’s so hard finding a lot of information on it

Reply 4

Dimmy01

1

Original post by Temss_

Hi could anyone give me any advice,preferably someone who is considering or is currently studying to become a physician associate. I will be going to university in September to study biomedical science and I think I want to become a physician associate as my future career as I have researched about it and like the job aspects.

Do I need to do an accredited biomedical science degree in uni to become a physician associate,or if not would it help if my degree was Accredited??
Thankyou !!!

I studied biomedical science at a very good university that was not accredited and have just finished my 2 yrs of Physician Associate with no problem. :smile:

Reply 5

Andremasil

10

Original post by Temss_

If anyone is a current physician associate, could you give me tips and advice on the best route to take, pros and cons on the course and key facts, thanksss

2 PA students on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/my_life_as_a_pa/ https://www.instagram.com/_mypajourney_/

Reply 6

PR24

7

Original post by Temss_

If anyone is a current physician associate, could you give me tips and advice on the best route to take, pros and cons on the course and key facts, thanksss

I’m starting PA in a few weeks. I’m gonna try to answer call of your questions!

Routes: there’s mainly two ways to be a PA in the UK which will make you eligible to sit the national exams and qualify as a PA
1. 4-year undergraduate degree (offered only at UCLAN)
2. A science-based undergraduate degree + 2-year MSc/MPAS/PgDip.

You don’t need an accredited BMS course so long as you can show you understand the content and that it is relevant to medicine.

There are many factors that stand as pros/cons and I’m not going to list them all, as I might think something is a negative but someone else might think it’s a big pro. However, one big factor for a lot of prospective students is funding. For the two year PgDip you will need to pay around £9-10k in fees each year plus living and placement costs. Some unis have secured a £2500 bursary for each year which helps. For MSc applicants, you may be eligible for the postgraduate masters loan (a little short of £11k this year) which will be split over two years. As you can see leaves a lot of money to be paid from your own pocket. A lot of people plan to do part time work during their studies but unlike a lot of postgrad courses, PA is 9-5 every day with some unis expecting 35+ hours of independent study on top of this.

If you have more qs feel free to dm me on my insta (I have loads of tips and things on there too!) @thedesiphysicianassociate :smile:

Hope that helps!

Help!! Accredited course or not to become a physician associate!!!

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