drpatrickmackle.bsky.social
Doctor concerned by UK Physician Associate (PA) role.
(@PatrickMackle4 on “X”)
197 posts
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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Yes.
There have been extensive concerns.
These concerns led to the issue of formal guidance in October 2023 to occupants of the PA role on how to introduce themselves to ensure patients knew their role was not that of a doctor.
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Thank you.
I’d agree that no prior degree can substitute for Medical school and a degree in Medicine.
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Yes, obfuscation to direct questions. One said he was a ‘physician’ I asked for clarification & it took a little coaxing to get to PA.
He’d just proved dangerous lack of knowledge regarding difference between NJ & NG tubes.
2nd said ‘it doesn’t matter, I know what I’m doing’ & really didn’t.
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
comment in response to
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Yes.
There have been extensive concerns.
These concerns led to the issue of formal guidance in October 2023 to occupants of the PA role on how to introduce themselves to ensure patients knew their role was not that of a doctor.
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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As an ex nurse, if I’ve got a health concern I’ll see someone who knows more than me, a Dr.
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I don’t understand why PAs themselves are not protesting against the BMA & the govt about their role & jurisdiction.
I would - and have been - mortified when asked to perform tasks which are outside my remit & for which I am NOT qualified & had insufficient training for.
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IMHO individual PAs are well meaning people who have been misled.
The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
This is very
much a policy and system issue, and not an individual PA issue.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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I am sure the PA I saw was actually a vet! He knew more about reindeer than he did about me!
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This is the first step toward privatization. Wait a few years and you'll hear them yelling "The system isn't working" without ever acknowledging they were the ones who broke it.
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I’ve been urging all my friends and work colleagues to ask any person giving them medical advice/treatment if they’re a qualified doctor, real Drs never mind, PAs are a lot less keen. I tell them ‘Accept no substitute, your life may depend upon it.’
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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Unfortunately becoming like the US system with NPPs (non-physician providers). The business of healthcare has become about profit margin. Quite a pity.
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
comment in response to
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
comment in response to
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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I used to believe items the NHS staff said or issued.
Now I automatically disbelieve all of it – I think this is dangerous.
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However this came about - poor briefing, etc. the important thing IMHO is the statement was an introductory remark to @BBCBreakfast story.
For me it would have given a much better understanding if the framing had given a sense of a role that had only recently arrived in the NHS at any scale.
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Noone in government would see a PA, they would see a Dr
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Especially as patients seem to have no voice in this. Thank you.
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And I was College tutor three times, a Regional Advisor in Anaesthetics and a Fellowship examiner for the Royal College of Anaesthesia. And a Trust appraiser. Nailed assessment.......
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During my many years as consultant in the NHS, I was constantly responsible for the supervision of multiple trainees at any one time. I assessed and then trusted their extensive training. Didn't trust PAs or AAs unless they were in the room. Lots of attitude, little knowledge.
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The PA role is under trained for the tasks it is deployed to meet.
Patients, ordinary PAs, grass roots doctors and public have all been misled.
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Totally agree.
Very concerned about the rise of PAs in the NHS.
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I noted the Beeb's lack of fact-based reporting & journalistic integrity before I hit my 13th birthday (a very long time ago).
If anyone hasn't caught up yet, they'll believe anything they're told - we should challenge, but won't change minds in general.
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Doctors supervising the PA role take on liability for their actions/ inactions.
This is a fundamental change in liability.
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50% of diagnoses are made on the history alone. Examination takes it up to 75% and tests the rest. And as a reminder, a rare diagnosis can only be made if you already know about it. The PA’s skill set doesn’t cover that