Career Development Needs of Physician Associates in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction The physician associate (PA) profession is relatively new to the United Kingdom (UK) with the first UK-trained PAs graduating in 2008. Unlike other UK health professions, there is currently no well-established career framework after graduating as a PA. This pragmatic research aimed primarily to provide useful information for the future development of a PA career framework that will best support the career development needs of the PA profession. Methods The current study used qualitative 1:1 interviews to understand senior PAs' aspirations, postgraduate education, career progression, development opportunities, and perceptions for a career framework. Where are they now? What are they doing? What are their expectations for the future? What subsequent changes do senior PAs think a career framework might bring to the profession? Results Most PAs support a career framework and the opportunity to highlight and facilitate the PA's unique ability to transfer specialties; both generalist and specialized PA experience should be recognized. All participants supported a postgraduate standardization of PA practice citing patient safety and equal opportunities for the PA workforce. Furthermore, although the PA profession was introduced to the UK with lateral rather than vertical progression, the current study demonstrates the existence of hierarchical roles within the PA workforce. Discussion A postqualification framework is needed in the UK, one that supports the current flexibility of the PA workforce.