Physician Associate Studies

Academic year 2024/25

Physician Associate placement dates for all cohorts are below.

Year 1 students (August 2024 intake)

• Primary Care 1: 4 November – 22 November 2024 (three weeks total).
• Secondary Care 1: 2 December – 20 December 2024 (thee weeks total).
• Primary Care 2: 26 May – 4 July 2025 (six weeks total).
• Secondary Care 2: 7 July – 25 July 2025 (three weeks total).

Year 2 students (August 2023 intake):

• Secondary Care 1: 27 August – 1 November 2024 (ten weeks total).
• Secondary Care 2: 6 January – 15 February 2025 (six weeks total).
• Secondary Care 3: 5 May – 4 July 2025 (nine weeks total).
• Primary Care: 7 July – 25 July 2025 (three weeks total).

Find out more about supporting, supervising and assessing students in practice.

In lieu of the upcoming General Medical Council (GMC) registration of Physician Associates, the Physician Associates (PA) student placement portfolio is undergoing review. As a result of this there may be differences between the portfolios being used by students in year one (cohort 2023/24) versus those in year two (cohort 2022/23). Electronic communications regarding this will be sent to all appropriate practice partners/placement providers accordingly.

UWE Bristol and the Physician Associate programme team encourage all practice educators and placement supervisors to undertake training in supporting students whilst on placement. Additionally, it will soon be a GMC requirement to evidence that practice educators and placement supervisors are appropriately trained in the PA pedagogy and clinical assessments utilised on their clinical placements. Practice educators and placement supervisors are recommended to complete the online self-study UWE Bristol course Supporting Students in Practice. The aim of the Supporting Students in Practice course is to provide an understanding of the principles of supporting students in practice.

This course is suitable for all healthcare professionals supporting students in practice. You will be directed to profession-specific material during the course.

This course is self-directed learning which you can undertake over a period of three to four months. There are no specific times or dates to undertake this course but you must apply for a specific start date to be enrolled.

View programme information:

• MSc Physician Associate Studies programme overview
• Primary care placement handbook (PDF)
• Secondary care placement handbook (PDF)
• Funding overview for placement providers: Placement funding overview (PPTX)

Course dates: Academic year 2024/2025

• Term 1: 27 August – 20 December 2024
• Term 2: 6 January – 4 April 2025
• Term 3: 28 April – 25 July 2025

Other important dates

Please note: on these dates students may be expected to attend events which take place on campus for their learning and development.

• National PA Conference: 11 and 13 December 2024 (further information from Royal College of Physicians).

Whilst on placement all students are expected to adhere to the standards as outlined in GMC's Good Medical Practice.

Find more information on GMC's Education for Physician Associates.

• Student login: UWE ARC POW (Placements on the Web)
• Placement provider login: UWE ARCPEP (Placement Environment Profile and Audit)

Student learning objectives

The below objectives are guidance for cohort 2023 (year two students) only. Cohort 2024 (year one students) will receive refreshed information under the new curriculum as per portfolio provided.

Whilst on placement, students will be expected to develop their knowledge and understanding of the medical and surgical specialties as outlined below.

Please follow the hyperlinks to find quick guide summaries of the specific placement requirements for each specialty:

• Primary Care/Community Medicine: Primary Care Learning Objectives (PDF)
• General Hospital Medicine: General Medicine Learning Objectives (DOCX)
• Front Door Medicine, including Acute and Emergency Medicine and Critical Care: Emergency ('Front Door') Medicine Learning Objectives (DOCX)
• Surgery, including General and Specialties: General Surgery Learning Objectives (DOCX)
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Obstetrics and Gynaecology Learning Objectives (DOCX)
• Mental Health: Mental Health Learning Objectives (DOCX)
• Paediatrics: Paediatrics Learning Objectives (DOCX)

Student appearance

Whilst on placement students will be expected to adhere to the following guidance on appearance:

• UWE student Physician Associate name badge and either UWE-branded or Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) branded lanyard.
• UWE branded ‘Caribbean blue’ scrubs. If these are unavailable, then students are permitted to wear trust/placement provider-approved scrubs, or smart professional attire (when working in primary care).
• Comfortable, clean, work appropriate footwear.
• Professional standards of personal hygiene are expected at all times.

From time-to-time staff including clinical staff, academic staff, support staff and administrative staff may have concerns about individual students. Concerns may vary in nature - from students who become withdrawn and about whom a member of staff is worried, to students whose attitude or behaviour is inappropriate. Placement providers should contact the programme team as soon as is possible to inform them of concerns, and complete a yellow “Notification of Concern” form.

This process is intended to be supportive to students. Our aim is to help those who are in difficulty. We have access to a number of avenues of support for students. Notifying the programme team of concerns via the “Notification of Concern” form offers staff the opportunity to “flag” students to the welfare system. We do not expect major concerns to be highlighted in this way. We anticipate that if there is a potentially serious problem staff will contact us by telephone, email or letter as soon as is possible.

Completed forms will not be accepted unless they are signed by the completer. We would also encourage completers to discuss the contents of the form with the student so that students understand the intention is to help rather than to punish them. We find that students respond positively to the reporter speaking to them. Completed forms should be submitted to PAStudies@uwe.ac.uk On receipt they will forward to the relevant academic personal tutor who will meet with the student to discuss the nature of the concern. Tutors will then inform completers of the outcome of the discussion with the student and any actions that have been taken.

Regardless of the outcome of any discussions – all forms will be retained on the student file and will be kept during their entire academic career, in order for any patterns to be recognised. There is no “tariff” of concern forms that leads to disciplinary action. If a student disagrees with any part of the concern form they may summarise their argument to be filed with the form. The student’s Clinical Mentor will be notified that a form has been raised but will not receive a copy without the written permission of the student. If a form is issued in a Trust or Practice the relevant Head of Academy will be informed.

• Access the yellow Notification of Concern form (PDF)
• Reporting Concerns Process for Placement Providers (PDF)
• Reporting Concerns Process for Students (PDF)

If you have any queries or questions about the Physician Associate Studies programme or require placement related support, please contact PPO Allocations in the first instance.

Programme contacts

Placement team

• Email: ppoallocations@uwe.ac.uk

Natacha Barrett

• Senior Lecturer and Primary Care Placement Lead
• Email: natacha.barrett@uwe.ac.uk

Sean Maber

• Senior Lecturer and Secondary Care Placement Lead
• Email: sean.maber@uwe.ac.uk