Physician Associate Studies MSc/PGDip/PGCert at Bangor University

A Physician Associate (PA) is defined as someone who is a new healthcare professional who, while not a doctor, works to the medical model, with the attitudes, skills and knowledge base to deliver holistic care and treatment within the general medical and/or general practice team under defined levels of supervision.

While Physician Associates are not meant to replace doctors, they are urgently needed to meet the increasing demand of a growing and ageing population combined with reductions in the medical workforce especially in the more rural areas of Wales. Working within teams, they would enhance patient care both in the community and hospital setting in a more efficient and relatively cost-effective manner. Graduates from this course will have a broad and relevant set of transferable skills with a focus on medical history taking, clinical examination, analysis of test results, clinical reasoning and diagnosis, and the development of evidence based patient management plans.

In order to be eligible to sit the national Physician Associate examination, successful completion of the PGDip or MSc in Physician Associate Studies is required.

“Our Physician Associate programme was one of the first of it’s kind in the UK. The program will utilise the best teachers in medical science and clinical practice in North Wales all of whom have a track record of teaching, research and clinical excellence in their specialist fields.”

Professor Dean Williams, Head of School of Medical Sciences at Bangor University and Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital, one of the three main District General Hospitals within the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, is Program Director and will have a significant role in delivering key aspects of the course.   

Watch the Royal College of Physicians video on the role of a Physician Associate.

Careers and Employability

The School of Medical Sciences at Bangor University has a track record in educating excellent graduates in Clinical and Medical Sciences. Many key positions in the NHS are now filled with graduates from our programs. The program outcomes deliver professional expertise and ethos, and are mapped against the key skills required by the General Medical Council and the Core Curriculum for Physician Associates as defined by the Faculty of Physician Associates.

Physician Associates can be found working in GP surgeries, accident and emergency departments, and inpatient medical and surgical wards throughout the UK. Find out more about physician associates in primary care. 

What do Physician Associates do?

Physician Associates work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence. They:

• take medical histories from patients
• carry out physical examinations
• see patients with undifferentiated diagnoses
• see patients with long-term chronic conditions
• formulate differential diagnoses and management plans
• perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
• develop and deliver appropriate treatment and management plans
• request and interpret diagnostic studies
• provide health promotion and disease prevention advice for patients.

Have a look at these NHS Wales or NHS England  pages for further information or The Faculty of Physician Associates at the Royal College of Physicians.