Physician Associates (PAs) are healthcare professionals, trained in a generalist medical model to deliver care and treatment within hospital and community environments. A PA works independently, under the supervision of a senior doctor, to diagnose, manage and treat a range of patients as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Once qualified, PAs may also develop a specialist area of practice. Keele’s PA course utilizes a diverse range of teaching faculty including PAs, clinicians, scientists, and researchers to maximize students’ learning potential. Furthermore, Keele’s placement providers are committed to developing PAs for recruitment into their organizations. Postgraduate medicine is closely affiliated with the North Staffordshire PA Internship Programme and is actively involved with the development of PA education nationally.

Year 1

Areas taught in this first year include cardiology, respiratory, gastroenterology, endocrinology, GU and renal, neurology, eyes and ENT, and MSK.

Year 2

The clinical placement in Year 2 includes a 12-week rotation between mental health, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine. They also have a 6-week GP block and a further 4-week additional placement, where at least one week is spent in emergency medicine again and the other three weeks in areas of their choice. Many opt to spend this final 3-week placement in the area in which they have chosen to work once qualified. This is facilitated wherever possible.

Master’s dissertation module across both years

Students are placed in the local primary and secondary care trust in the North Staffordshire and Cheshire areas. These are teaching hospitals and practices and have close links with the School of Medicine.

Employability

A career as a PA can be very diverse and opportunities are opening up in our local Trusts to facilitate this. We work very closely with our healthcare providers to review and develop PA roles and career progression locally.