Physician Associate Studies MSc at University of Leeds

Physician Associates are medically trained, generalist healthcare professionals, who work alongside doctors and provide medical care as an intergral part of the multidisciplinary team. Physician associates are dependent practitioners working with a dedicated medical supervisor, but are able to work autonomously with appropriate support.

Do and be more

A Physician Associate plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients. They work within a defined scope of practice and their roles and responsibilities include:

• Taking medical histories

• Performing physical examinations

• Requesting and interpreting diagnostic tests

• Diagnosing illnesses

• Managing patients with long term illnesses

• Performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures

• Developing and deliver appropriate treatment and management plans

• Health promotion and disease prevention advice

Why consider being a Physician Associate?

As a Physician Associate, you’ll work with a range of healthcare professionals to provide health and social care to a diverse patient population. This will require you to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to respond and adapt to different situations, be an effective team player with problem-solving skills and have a commitment to providing healthcare that is underpinned by the NHS Constitutional values.

The MSc in Physician Associate Studies is an intensive and challenges 2-year course that will require commitment, discipline and good organisational and time-management skills to be able to juggle the demands of your academic studies with your clinical placements. You will be encouraged to be an independent autonomous learner who can devise your own learning and support strategies.

Our course has been carefully developed to address local demand. It will equip you for clinical practice, with early clinical exposure and cadaveric anatomy.

You’ll have close support from personal and academic tutors throughout the course, whilst also developing your independent learning and research skills.

• Learn from leading professionals, whose teaching is underpinned by world-leading research.

• Gain experience from a diverse range of placements within Yorkshire and Humber, including major teaching hospitals, district general hospitals and general practices.

• Develop with support from personal tutors, course tutors, support staff and peer mentoring.

• Work with students from other healthcare related professions.

On our course, you’ll work with patients and carers from the Patient Carer Community (PCC). The members of the PCC support the teaching throughout the curriculum, through small group sessions in communication skills, workshops and assessments.

Also undertake training in basic ultrasound techniques with the opportunity to complete the Resuscitation Council’s Immediate Life Support course.

More information

After successfully completing this programme you must take the national qualifying examination (which you are prepared for throughout the course) in order to be entered on the voluntary national register (UKFPA) to practise as a Physician Associate.