Physician associates: an asset for physician training and a 21st-century NHS?

Abstract

The introduction of physician associates in the UK reflects a need within our healthcare system to continue providing high-quality care amid a backdrop of ever-increasing demand, while acknowledging a medical workforce demanding flexibility and choice in their training alongside a well-resourced working environment. This article looks at the fundamental benefits that could be drawn from the physician associate workforce, while highlighting the historical progress of the profession and emphasising ongoing issues and limitations that will provide insight for the future development of the profession. 'A problem shared is a problem halved.' The challenges of 21st-century healthcare in the UK have placed ever more pressure on fulfilling the fundamental principles of the NHS: to meet the needs of everyone, be free at the point of delivery and reflect clinical need. Physician associates are trained as autonomous medical healthcare professionals to work alongside doctors, providing access to quality and timely care for a population with ever-increasing healthcare needs. The year-on-year decrease in progression into specialty training following the foundation programme reflects a medical workforce keen on flexibility around traditional career progression, 1 yet the demand for high-quality healthcare with efficient specialist services necessitates that we provide tangible solutions to uphold healthcare delivery. The quality of physician training relies on multiple factors. These include quality of postgraduate medical education, ability to attend education sessions without compromising service delivery and the development of day-today skills in an environment that facilitates efficient learning. While most doctors are very positive about the quality of their teaching and clinical supervision, many report the impact of rota gaps together with heavy, intense workloads affecting their training. 2 This reflects a need to introduce measures to tackle the balance of resources within working environments such that training is not compromised by a lack of capacity.