Physician Associate

**THE PERSON**

Passionate about contributing to DMCs service development across our Clinical Service Team and more widely across the organisation, enabling you to be involved in the decisions that affect our care delivery.

**THE ROLE**

The Physician Associate will independently assess, diagnose and manage patients with acute and chronic medical conditions, coordinating with other primary and secondary healthcare services as appropriate. There is an expectation that the Physician Associate will attend to patients within the practice and at their own homes or care homes and will coordinate care with other members of the organisation team and external providers.

Whilst the Physician Associate role is not able to prescribe independently at present, the expectation will be to make recommendations regarding drug treatment and medication reviews. Appropriate training and mentoring will be provided as necessary.

**LOCATION**
- Chadwick Road Surgery_
- 60 Chadwick Road, London SE15 4PU_
- Crystal Palace Road Medical Centre_
- 163-169 Crystal Palace Road, London SE22 9EP_

**JOB RESPONSIBILITIES**

**Primary Key Responsibilities**
The Physician Associate has the following key responsibilities in delivering health services at DMC Healthcare. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

- Provide first point of contact care for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems by utilising history-taking, physical examinations and clinical decision-making skills to establish a working diagnosis and management plan in partnership with the patient (and their carers where applicable)
- Support the management of patients conditions through offering specialised clinics following appropriate training including (but not limited to) family planning, cervical screening, baby checks, COPD, asthma, diabetes and anticoagulation
- Provide health/disease promotion and prevention advice, alongside analysing and actioning diagnostic test results
- Develop integrated patient-centred care through appropriate working with the wider primary care multi-disciplinary team and social care networks
- Utilise clinical guidelines and promote evidence-based practice and partake in clinical audits, significant event reviews and other research and analysis tasks
- Participate in duty rotas; undertaking face-to-face, telephone and online consultations for emergency or routine problems as determined by the organisation, including the management of patients with long-term conditions
- Undertake home visits when required
- Develop and agree a personal development plan (PDP) utilising a reflective approach to practice, operating under appropriate clinical supervision
- Receive referrals and directed patients from triage services and other clinicians
- Manage a caseload of complex patients and potential care institutions
- Plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions for patients with acute and chronic physical and psychological conditions
- Utilise as needed the full range of non-drug therapies for all patients, consider pharmacological interventions and make recommendations to prescribers in accordance with evidence-based practice and national, local and practice protocols
- Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care
- Review the latest guidance ensuring the organisation conforms to NICE, CQC etc.
- Provide targeted support and proactive reviews for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care
- Be responsive to the changing needs of patients and service provision in terms of scope and nature of clinical practice
- Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
- Undertake clinical responsibilities as required by the organisation within scope of practice defined by RCP/GMC
- Identify and be proactive in own training needs and development and as agreed with clinical mentor
- Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the GMC
- Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultations, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
- Support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of the organisation
- Support virtual and remote models of consultation and support including e-consultations, telehealth and telemedicine
- Participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through incidents and near miss events
- Develop yourself and the role through participation in clinical supervision, training and service redesign activities
- Contribute to a patient safety culture through the reporting and investigati