physician associate career path

does physician associate career path have a good outlook? is this a good career choice?

i want to go into medical field with a psych degree ( possibly physician associate MSc ). i don’t want to stay in psych field anymore and i’ve always been interested in medicine but did not go medical school.

Reply 1

normaw

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by pcpgirl

There is some information on the following website that might be useful:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/physician-associate

Also, have you considered any of the Allied Health Professions:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/ahp/role/

Reply 2

ollielee

I would advise against it as a career path if I'm honest. PAs who have graduated are struggling to get hired as there is little confidence in them across Trusts, they are too expensive for the skill set required. Nurses can often do more than a PA can do and are cheaper, as well as having 3 years of training and clinical placements under their belt. Also it puts you in a limited position with how far you can progress your career.

I know people who work in various different roles in the NHS and there have been a ton of problems with PAs due to poor training or their not being qualified to actually do a lot of things in a ward setting. There's also the problem that they are often mistaken for doctors in care settings which is dangerous.

Generally within the NHS they are not seen positively by anyone other than the PAs themselves... stay clear.

Reply 3

Jotenno

Original post by ollielee

I would advise against it as a career path if I'm honest. PAs who have graduated are struggling to get hired as there is little confidence in them across Trusts, they are too expensive for the skill set required. Nurses can often do more than a PA can do and are cheaper, as well as having 3 years of training and clinical placements under their belt. Also it puts you in a limited position with how far you can progress your career.
I know people who work in various different roles in the NHS and there have been a ton of problems with PAs due to poor training or their not being qualified to actually do a lot of things in a ward setting. There's also the problem that they are often mistaken for doctors in care settings which is dangerous.
Generally within the NHS they are not seen positively by anyone other than the PAs themselves... stay clear.

This is not true at all. Lots of PAs are getting jobs.
They are valued in our trust.
Nurse have a different skill set to PAs - they can't do some of the things PAs do and PAs can't do some of the thing nurses do.

Reply 4

username5579906

The doctor fought relentlessly to get pay rise and they succeded . All current PAs and qualified PAs with no jobs should start a union to fight aganist this and sign a petition to education minister. How can they stop recruiting all of a sudden ? What is the future for current students and qualified PAs? it is not their fault. Why are these universities hiring more students to train ? They should ban the course ,if they don't want PAs.