Public confused over physician associates working in NHS, research finds
Many people are deeply confused about the growing number of “physician associates” in the NHS and wrongly assume they are doctors, research suggests.
Around 4,000 physician associates work in the NHS in England. Ministers and health chiefs plan to increase the figure to 10,000 to help plug widespread gaps in the NHS workforce.
However, there is widespread confusion among the public about their role and relationship with fully trained medics, according to a survey commissioned by the British Medical Association (BMA).
A quarter of the representative sample of 2,009 people erroneously believed that a physician associate was a doctor, while a fifth made the same mistake about “physician assistants”.
Many respondents thought that a physician associate was more senior than a junior doctor, even though only the latter have a medical degree.
The expansion of physician associates has prompted a backlash by grassroots medics. They fear patients will be misled into thinking they have seen a doctor despite physician associates not having the same skills and training.
The government has moved to try to quell criticism of physician associates by legislating to ensure they are regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC).
Source: The Guardian, 13 December 2023