A 4-Year Undergraduate Route to UK Physician Associate qualification.

Abstract

Physician associates (PAs)—initially called physician assistants— were first introduced to the United Kingdom in 2003 through a pilot scheme involving American physician assistants. The late 2000s saw the development of 4 UK PA programs. The number ofUKPA trainingprogramshas since increased significantly, with 37 universities graduating PA students and approximately 2500 PAs working in the United Kingdom in 2021. Conventional PA training in the United Kingdom is through a 2-year postgraduate course, and this remains by far the predominantmodel of UK PA training. It has been recognized that PAs represent an opportunity to address 21st century health care challenges in the United Kingdom through providing continuity of medical care to patients, thus complementing medical and wider multidisciplinary teams. This additional role within the UK health care system facilitates a team approach and allows medical doctors a more focusedworkload, time for complex clinical cases, and increased opportunities for developmental training. Despite the potential advantages that PAs provide and managed voluntary professional registration with the Faculty of Physician Associates in the Royal College of Physicians, the profession is not yet legally regulated which presents workforce challenges. A common frustration is the inability of PAs to prescribe; however, with incoming regulation by the General Medical Council—the same regulatory body for medical doctors—it is expected that prescribing rights will soon follow. The situation is similar regarding ordering ionizing radiation. The continuing potential of and interest in physician associates has led not only to the explosive growth in traditional programs but also to more innovative approaches to PA education. At the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), we have developed a 4-year undergraduate-entry degree that leads to an Integrated Master’s in Physician Associate Studies (MPAS), in addition to our longer-running standard 2-year postgraduate-entry degree. The undergraduate MPAS program graduated its first 2 cohorts in 2021 and 2022, with class sizes increasing year-on-year. This article will outline the educational philosophy in England to context-set the training on MPAS, discuss the ethos and curriculum of the program, and highlight its potential advantages relative to conventional PA programs. Reflections on the UCLan experience will be discussed, with the article closing on future opportunities.