Physician Associate September 2019 Entry

Congratulations! Yeah that must be nerve wracking but think of all that experience and how useful it’ll be!I have an offer from BSMS! I’ve still got my interview for Swansea so I’m going to go to that and see what happens - not sure who is my top choice yet. Thank you

Hello, not sure if anyone will read this but thought I'd start my own discussion as most of the PA forums are about universities I'm not applying to so I thought I'd see what other people are doing. Also I don't know about you guys but not many people know about this role (at least where I work) so I feel a little isolated at times so thought I'd could offer support/get a little support here :-)

So a little about me, I am a Biology grad (graduated 2017) realised in 3rd year that I wanted to work in healthcare but wasn't sure of what career path. Spent 2017/18 considering medicine/sitting UKCAT but ultimately decided the role wasn't for me. Came across the PA role, my friend is currently doing the PGdip at Surrey and decided that I think this role may be for me!

I am currently working as a Bank HCA and Theatre HCA, I have applied for Swansea and am anxiously waiting for a response! I am also applying for UWE, Brighton, Brunel and maybe Plymouth.

Let me know where you guys are application wise and how are you feeling! I am definitely anxious as Swansea is my first choice but I know it is very competitive!

Hi, I'm in the exact same position. Realised in my final year of my Biomedical Science degree (2017) that i didn't want to work in a lab but in healthcare and so I spent a while debating medicine and then decided on becoming a PA. I've had an interview at Newcastle and still waiting (anxiously) to hear back, they seem to take quite a while to respond judging from other posts. If anyone else has had an interview in Newcastle can you tell me how long it took to hear back? I'm almost at 2 months now :/ I've also got an interview at Swansea which I am super nervous for. Good luck with yours!

Hi, I'm in the exact same position. Realised in my final year of my Biomedical Science degree (2017) that i didn't want to work in a lab but in healthcare and so I spent a while debating medicine and then decided on becoming a PA. I've had an interview at Newcastle and still waiting (anxiously) to hear back, they seem to take quite a while to respond judging from other posts. If anyone else has had an interview in Newcastle can you tell me how long it took to hear back? I'm almost at 2 months now :/ I've also got an interview at Swansea which I am super nervous for. Good luck with yours!

Hi, I'm in the exact same position. Realised in my final year of my Biomedical Science degree (2017) that i didn't want to work in a lab but in healthcare and so I spent a while debating medicine and then decided on becoming a PA. I've had an interview at Newcastle and still waiting (anxiously) to hear back, they seem to take quite a while to respond judging from other posts. If anyone else has had an interview in Newcastle can you tell me how long it took to hear back? I'm almost at 2 months now :/ I've also got an interview at Swansea which I am super nervous for. Good luck with yours!

Hi, I'm in the exact same position. Realised in my final year of my Biomedical Science degree (2017) that i didn't want to work in a lab but in healthcare and so I spent a while debating medicine and then decided on becoming a PA. I've had an interview at Newcastle and still waiting (anxiously) to hear back, they seem to take quite a while to respond judging from other posts. If anyone else has had an interview in Newcastle can you tell me how long it took to hear back? I'm almost at 2 months now :/ I've also got an interview at Swansea which I am super nervous for. Good luck with yours!

Hopefully you’ll hear back soon from Newcastle. Thank you and good luck with your interview too! Which date did you choose? Mine is the 5th, maybe I’ll see you there

Hey I’m in a similar position to you, I had an interview at Newcastle two weeks ago but haven’t heard from them yet. I do have an interview at Swansea next week as well so if you’ve picked the 6th I might see you! Best of luck x

Hello, not sure if anyone will read this but thought I'd start my own discussion as most of the PA forums are about universities I'm not applying to so I thought I'd see what other people are doing. Also I don't know about you guys but not many people know about this role (at least where I work) so I feel a little isolated at times so thought I'd could offer support/get a little support here :-)

So a little about me, I am a Biology grad (graduated 2017) realised in 3rd year that I wanted to work in healthcare but wasn't sure of what career path. Spent 2017/18 considering medicine/sitting UKCAT but ultimately decided the role wasn't for me. Came across the PA role, my friend is currently doing the PGdip at Surrey and decided that I think this role may be for me!

I am currently working as a Bank HCA and Theatre HCA, I have applied for Swansea and am anxiously waiting for a response! I am also applying for UWE, Brighton, Brunel and maybe Plymouth.

Let me know where you guys are application wise and how are you feeling! I am definitely anxious as Swansea is my first choice but I know it is very competitive!

Hey! When you say cover letter do you mean personal statement? I would include your experience as a patient as it gives you in a insight into how patients feel - working on the other side, when you’re rushed and stressed you can sometimes forget how they’re feeling. This sounds horrible - sometimes it can be a numbers game as your trying to figure out which patient needs what. Obviously they are vulnerable people and you’re kind and respectable to them but sometimes you can forget they are people who are scared if that makes sense. So what you have is a valuable insight! I was a patient myself a couple of months ago and it is eye opening. My mother suffers from an autoimmune illness which was my initial exposure into healthcare - I used this as the opening into my statement and it was mentioned at 2 of my interviews as a memorable statement. So definitely use it! I would also definitely mention why you want to be a PA, why not biomed scientist or doctor etc. Also how you feel the role fits in the UK healthcare system - a couple of my uni’s asked for that in the statement. Experience in banks is still useful - you’ve got people skills, you can definitely use that. A friend of mine got into post grad nursing with no healthcare experience - she just mentioned how she worked in a currency exchange bureau and as a waitress and she got 3 offers. It’s not what experience you’ve got it’s what you’ve gained from it :-)

Thank you, she is okay - she's managing it pretty well. Yes I received 3 offers and am studying at Swansea Med School this September. I would definitely mention your experience as a patient, with regards to your chronic condition, is it something you think will hinder you in any way? If you get an offer you will fill out an occupational health form and you can discuss with you GP if you need any support (I will warn you, getting the Occi health form signed by the GP is expensive). Maybe not go into detail about your condition but just mention how you've got a unique perspective, something like that.

In all honesty, PA's do a lot of what Doctors do, it's more the fact that they will always have a supervisor which isn't necessarily a bad thing. So you could mention how you want to be in a practical role but without having to undergo so much training. I wouldn't mention the confidence thing. Maybe focus on other positives of the role - for me it was less training and the fact that I wouldn't have to be forced into a speciality for the rest of my career.

I picked Swansea because it’s a masters at a medical school and it’s fully funded by the welsh government. Also it’s a really great programme and I was really impressed when I went to the open day. Yeah mentioning your condition and how it’s made you stronger sounds good. I’m sure you’ll be okay - most of the uni’s have pretty good pass rates. That’s another reason why I chose Swansea it has 100% pass rate for the national exam and 95% student satisfaction. That’s another thing to look at in the schools you’re choosing.

I picked Swansea because it’s a masters at a medical school and it’s fully funded by the welsh government. Also it’s a really great programme and I was really impressed when I went to the open day. Yeah mentioning your condition and how it’s made you stronger sounds good. I’m sure you’ll be okay - most of the uni’s have pretty good pass rates. That’s another reason why I chose Swansea it has 100% pass rate for the national exam and 95% student satisfaction. That’s another thing to look at in the schools you’re choosing.