Physicians' assistant jobs are an alternative for those interested in healthcare but who don't want to become a doctor
The European Commission clampdown on doctors' working hours has opened a new career path for UK graduates wondering what to do with a science degree. Physicians' assistants are an emerging breed of healthcare professionals trained to relieve the pressure on overstretched doctors in hospitals, GPs' surgeries and community services.
The idea, borrowed from the US, which devised the role 40 years ago to overcome a shortage of physicians, has now translated into the first wave of UK-trained recruits who will join a medical team supervised by a doctor and have powers including the diagnosis and referral of patients and the analysis of test results.
The career is an appealing alternative for graduates who would like to work in the frontline of the health sector but without committing to five years in medical school. Graduates with a degree in life or health-related sciences can earn the necessary qualification in a two-year degree course at St George's Medical School in London, and Birmingham and Wolverhampton universities have launched two-year postgraduate diploma courses in general medicine.
Jonathan Ogidi was among the first tranche of physician assistants to graduate from St George's last September and has joined the hospital's trauma and orthopaedics team. "The training offered me a different kind of skill set and the opportunity to remain in general medicine rather than having to specialise," he says.
Originally a biomedical science graduate from Sheffield, Ogidi says that the role, which is still an unregistered profession, is being developed from scratch. "We're gradually beginning to understand how PAs can be useful," he says. "No one was sure initially how we would fit in, but I've been assigned a mentor and I'm now working with every consultant in the department."
The idea is to train students in general medicine covering a broad spectrum of healthcare so that they can take on some of the non-specialised functions of a doctor. As experience is gained, they can take increasing responsibility at the discretion of a supervising doctor or surgeon, although as yet they have no powers to prescribe medicines.
"The role is an extension of what physicians do, but always as part of a team," says Joel Grey, course leader at St George's. "The attraction for physicians is that assistants are a permanent member of a team, unlike a junior doctor who might move on after a few months just after they've been trained up. It will suit people who want to be part of a team but have no desire to captain the ship."
Newly fledged assistants can expect to start on around £24,000 but salaries rise with experience and could reach £45,000. The career is not, alas, a short cut to a fully fledged doctor's career. Although physician assistant training encompasses many of the elements that doctors study, those wishing to upgrade will need to apply from scratch for a full-length course at medical school.