TSR Doctors' Society Part II

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I work with about 6 PAs in ED and they're all great. Sure, they can't prescribe. But they just bring it to you and ask for a sign-off - they're good and I trust them, so takes very little of my time to hear the story and quickly sign. Otherwise they're doing the same work as the rest of the SHOs.

and this is why PAs are dangerous

it has to be remembered that PAs in the UK are a land-grab by a breed of arrogant Dinosaur consultants

ACPs who have their own primary registration and own prescriptive authority are a far more secure prospect, just the Fossils don't want to admit that arse wipers and ambulance drivers are as good if not better than Doctors in training .

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 181

fishfacesimpson

The only PA I've worked with was absolutely superb and batting at a CMT level I'd say for getting **** done, organisation and knowing how the system worked. The role was limited and couldn't prescribe but could do the clinical bits of discharge letters etc and often did them better than doctors.

The safety aspect of prescribing is a good point though. I suspect most people who sign prescriptions for PAs dont (possibly due to time constraints) carefully check what they're signing though and that's an issue that needs to be raised in departments

Reply 182

Zodiac88

Hi all, I just got an offer for a CF post in Ealing Hospital. I was just wondering if anyone on here knows anything about Ealing Hospital and will be happy for me to chat them up? Thanks in advance.

Reply 183

Democracy

Original post by InArduisFouette

ACPs who have their own primary registration and own prescriptive authority are a far more secure prospect, just the Fossils don;t want ot admit that arse wipers and ambulance drivers are as good if not better than Doctos in training .

And there it is...so comforting to know that however messy the rest of the world gets, there are always some things you can rely on :tongue:

Reply 184

girl_in_black

Original post by baztech

How does any jobs get done? Working on a horrendously short staffed 30bed gastro ward we had a few days like this. Was a nightmare and resigned to a late finish and a sandwich lunch at 4pm chasing bloods..

You do the urgent ones as you go, the less urgent ones after you have finished. Ultimately, you just don't ever leave on time though. The hospital always has issues with failing monitoring.

Reply 185

girl_in_black

Original post by Anonymous

The worst days have been one FY2 and one FY1 on a Friday splitting the ward round, with consultant seeing new patients in the morning, and on remote support for the rest of the day. Makes me shiver now even thinking about it.

I don't see what's so bad about that. How big is the ward?

Reply 186

joeymr

Hi! FY1 here looking to start tackling the MRCPCH soon as my FY2 rotations are reasonably chilled and feeling a bit stagnant and keen to learn some new things/added bonus of getting ahead a bit for specialty training!. Been having a good read through the RCPCH website about FOP/TAS and looked at the sample papers- FOP doesn't look too horrific but TAS looks really hard (all my preclinical knowledge seems to have fallen out of my head lol) so will def need to put a lot of work into it. The resources mentioned on the college website include The Science of Paediatrics which I understand is the syllabus for the exam but is expensive ++. Has anyone been able to find cheaper copies anywhere?
There are also the Clinical Cases for FOP/TAS and these are a lot cheaper- are these any good?
Happy to be recommended any other resources that people found useful/any tips for tackling these exams!

Edit: I have a paeds job next (first job of FY2) which ive been told will make FOP a lot easier!

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 187

manic_fuzz

Original post by joeymr

I do hear good things about The Science of Paediatrics but I personally did FOP/TAS in F1 and just used Pastest. I think TAS does heavily depend on how science-heavy your university was as I found it by far the easiest of the theories. Nonetheless, I do have access to a much cheaper version of the book - just DM me your e-mail if you're interested. And welcome to paediatrics!

Reply 188

Anonymous #8

Hi FiY1 here seeking some advice work-related (hence anonymised). My colleague who found out they got paid less than me collected (along with theirs) and opened my payslip and then handed it to me saying ‘it was a mistake’. They haven’t apologised and when confronted, chose to ignore me. Couple of issues here a) my NI number is now revealed b) no concept of privacy which makes me question their professionalism and integrity, considering the nature of work that we do. Is there anything I can do, in terms of a complaint?

Reply 189

nexttime

Original post by joeymr

I passed both first time just using the Clinical cases for TAS book and making notes on the published syllabus. Even 6 years ago I think I was considered old fashioned though - people just use Pastest/a competitor these days for everything i think.

TAS is definitely very med school dependent (and hence probably easier the earlier you do it) and FOP is definitely easier after a paeds block. FOP is just far easier in general - not only is the pass rate high, its also taken by a lot of GPs.

Reply 190

Smile88egc

If you're looking to get hold of an expensive book then BMA library is a good shout as they'll give you free return postage also and I think you can renew a number of times.

Reply 191

Etomidate

Original post by Anonymous

You’ve said your piece to them. If it were me, I would probably just pick my battles and move on. Life is too short to get upset over such things.

Reply 192

nexttime

Original post by Anonymous

They likely didn't realise how much of a breach of privacy that is. Hopefully you've made them realise now, even if they appeared dismissive. I would not take this further, personally.

Reply 193

joeymr

Original post by nexttime

Thanks buddy sound advice- yeah I can tell the TAS is going to be tricky for me, my med school was definitely more clinical > science focussed! Hopefully should be fine I’m sure it’ll come flooding back

Original post by Smile88egc

If you're looking to get hold of an expensive book then BMA library is a good shout as they'll give you free return postage also and I think you can renew a number of times.

Didn’t think of this- thank you so much!
Just checked and BMA library isn’t currently doing postal loans due to Covid but will keep checking. I’ve not got anything from there before- any idea how long you’re allowed to have the books for?

Reply 194

Smile88egc

Original post by joeymr

Ah that's a shame, hopefully not long until it's back up and running.
I think the standard loan period is 3 months and you can renew at least once.

Reply 195

baztech

Original post by girl_in_black

You do the urgent ones as you go, the less urgent ones after you have finished. Ultimately, you just don't ever leave on time though. The hospital always has issues with failing monitoring.

Indeed. I just feel it’s unsafe. It was my first FY2 job doing WRs so my nascent ward rounds was a factor but anyone can tell you that isn’t anywhere near adequate staffing.

Reply 196

InArduisFouette

Original post by Starz678

I’ve worked with some excellent PAs in my current (never ending) job but I would never really sign a script without going to see the patient/looking at the notes first. This was on the advice of my clinical supervisor, reminding us we’re all responsible for what we sign and it doesn’t mater how much you trust someone always double check yourself. They do seem to have fairly good clinical skills but less safety awareness if that makes sense.

I find myself far more trusting of nurse specialists asking for things prescribed. Maybe it’s because PAs are rather new in any of my recent jobs and nobody is sure of their role. There was complaints in my last job last year due to trainees missing training opportunities due to PAs being in clinic/theatre a lot of the slots but I haven’t personally been affected.

probably because of the following

1. Nurses are accountable in law for their actiosn and omissions

2. Nurses and other ACPs with a primary HCP registration ( paramedics, / pharmacists / physios whatever) have years of clinical experience before taking on those roles

Reply 197

Es0phagus

quick question – is the role of 'rota coordinator' an actual job someone is employed to do or is it something someone (i.e. Dr) simply elects to do? or... can it be either and just depends on department/hospital?

Reply 198

girl_in_black

Original post by Es0phagus

In my experience, it depends on the department. On one of my jobs, it was someone who was employed to do it (and she was absolutely useless) and on all my other jobs, it has been a reg or consultant who elected to (or was elected to) do it.

Reply 199

nexttime

Original post by Es0phagus

Can be either. It's unlikely to be their only job if it's not a doctor - a secretary probably.

Generally it being a doctor is nicer and I think this is more common for SpR rotas (?) but it's a LOT of thankless work for that person.