Physician associates: Doctors express anger over RCP extraordinary general meeting
BMJ 2024; 384 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q670 (Published 15 March 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;384:q670Linked Opinion
David Oliver: Senior medical leaders have mishandled doctors’ concerns over physician and anaesthesia associates
- Abi Rimmer
- The BMJ
Doctors have expressed concerns over the way a meeting at the Royal College of Physicians to discuss issues related to physician associates was conducted.
On 13 March the college held an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to discuss growing concerns among its members and fellows about physician associates (PAs). The college has hosted the Faculty of Physician Associates, the professional membership body for the UK’s PAs, since 2015.
During the meeting RCP president Sarah Clarke chaired a debate on five motions (box 1) covering PAs’ scope of practice, accountability, evaluation, impact on training opportunities, and pace and scale of rollout. RCP fellows have until Wednesday 20 March to vote in a ballot on the motions.
Motions debated at RCP extraordinary general meeting10
1. Scope of practice
Physician associates are not doctors. They should not be regarded as replacements for doctors, and they should never replace a doctor on a rota. They are valued healthcare professionals who participate in patient care in addition to the rest of the wider multidisciplinary team.
2. Accountability
This EGM notes the current legal restrictions on who can prescribe medication or request ionising radiation and reminds all medically qualified membership categories of the college that they remain responsible for any such decisions by others that they may be asked to endorse.
3. Evaluation
This EGM calls on the RCP to contribute actively to generating an evidence base and evaluation framework around the introduction of PAs, addressing (for example) clinical outcomes, cost effectiveness, safety, the patient experience, staff wellbeing and interrelationships, and implications for the healthcare workforce. …
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