Physician Associate Studies

ThPhysician Associate (formerly known as Physician Assistant) is a rapidly growing healthcare role in the UK, working alongside doctors in hospitals and in GP surgeries. Physician Associates will support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. They are trained to perform a number of roles including: taking medical histories, performing examinations, analysing test results, and diagnosing illnesses under the direct supervision of a doctor.

The University of Birmingham (in partnership with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and in collaboration many other Trusts across the Midlands) is delighted to offer this opportunity to graduates to make a valuable contribution to the nation’s health.

The development of the profession has been led by the Department of Health and has involved the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of General Practitioners as well as the profession itself through the UK Association of Physician Associates (UKAPA). University of Birmingham staff have taken a key role in the development of the programme at a national as well as a regional level in response to need identified by local healthcare providers.

Successful completion of the programme will qualify you to practise as Physician Associates (PAs) in the UK (NB: the UK PA training programme does not qualify you to work in the USA).

Why study this course

Make a real difference to patient care and the NHS while typically earning a salary of £30,764 rising to £40,558 (with possible progression in exceptional cases to £47,088)… All UoB's graduates are currently being paid at least £30,000 p.a. Many Trusts offer a formal internship training year which would typically start on approximately £25,500

• Be part of this new and rapidly growing UK profession and follow a career path which has already had proven success in the US (there are over 86,000 Physician Associates practising there)
• Pursue a profession that is supported by the NHS and the Department of Health: over 30 hospitals employ PAs across the UK and the numbers are growing fast
• 95% of our past graduates are now working as Physician Associates in almost every clinical area from specialist mental health to paediatric surgery to oncology to general practice.