Physician Associate

**Responsible to**: Supervising GP/Practice Manager

**Proposed salary**: £41,351.78 to £44,760.49 a year depending on experience

**Hours of work**:Full time

**Base: Bewbush Medical Centre**

**About Alliance for Better Care CIC**

Alliance for Better Care CIC is a GP Federation that unites 47 NHS GP practices across 12 Primary Care Networks in Sussex and Surrey. We support our Primary Care colleagues as well as their patients, to transform how healthcare is managed within the community.

As a membership organisation, our focus is to work in partnership with our members and help them to improve the provision of General Practices in the local area.

We work with - and listen to - our GP Practices, PCNs, Hospitals, Community Organisations and the Third Sector. These vital partnerships ensure that, together, we deliver a truly integrated approach that offers the support and expertise needed to effectively serve our communities.

**Job summary**

Under supervision of the GP in the practice, the post holder will provide care for the presenting patient from focused history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the service. The post holder will demonstrate critical thinking in the decision-making process. They will work collaboratively with the healthcare team to meet the needs of the patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures. The post holder will provide a holistic and clinical service, with support and supervision of GPs, implementing agreed management plans and following approved protocols as appropriate.

This post will provide first point of contact care for a range of patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems.

**Primary duties and areas of responsibility**

The postholder, under appropriate supervision, will:

- Provide first point of contact care for patients presenting with undiagnosed problems and manage a clinical caseload in a primary care setting. The postholder will take a history, carry out any necessary physical examinations and utilise clinical decision-making skills and diagnostic tools to establish a working diagnosis and management plan in partnership with the patient (and carers where applicable)
- Review, analyse and action diagnostic test results
- Deliver integrated patient-centred care through appropriate working with the wider primary care multidisciplinary team and social care colleagues
- Undertake consultations face-to-face, via telephone or online for emergency or routine problems as determined by the PCN.
- Where required by the PCN, undertake specialised clinics following appropriate training.
- Undertake home visits and participate in duty rotas
- Provide health promotion/disease prevention advice to patients
- Utilise clinical guidelines and promote evidence-based practice in all interactions with patients
- Participate in clinical audit, significant event reviews and other research
- Participate in continuing professional development activities as agreed with your line manager and clinical supervisors
- Work in accordance with PCN and practice policies
- Record all patient interaction contemporaneously in the patient record
- Provide clinical leadership where appropriate within the practice and support other members of the team to develop and maintain clinical skills appropriate to your role and expertise.

**Person specification**:Physician Associate**

**Qualifications**

Essential

**Experience**

Essential
- Demonstrable patient assessment skills
- Demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of related medical conditions, treatments and pharmacology
- Experience of supporting doctors in clinical decision making
- Ability to work autonomously within the scope of supervised practice
- Detailed knowledge of maintaining confidentiality and implementing data protection legislation requirements including information governance

Desirable
- Experience of working in a primary care setting

**Skills & Knowledge**

Essential
- Advanced clinical practice skills
- Clinical examination skills
- Knowledge of clinical governance within primary care
- Knowledge of local and national health policy
- Excellent communication skills
- IT literate
- Negotiating and conflict management skills

Desirable
- Knowledge of public health issues
- Able to identify determinates of health in a local area

**Other**

Essential
- Understanding of the need for strict confidentiality
- Able to work under pressure
- Hard working, flexible, reliable, honest, pleasant and approachable
- Able to work autonomously with mínimal supervision