Physician associates (PAs) are healthcare professionals who work under the supervision of a doctor within multi-disciplinary teams. They are not doctors. PAs usually start out as health professionals or university graduates with biomedical science or life science degrees. They then complete two years of further education and training to gain a PA qualification. (GMC 2025)
What can a Physician Associate do?
PAs are trained to work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence to perform the following duties:
- taking medical histories from patients
- carrying out physical examinations
- seeing patients with undifferentiated diagnoses
- seeing patients with long-term chronic conditions
- formulating differential diagnoses and management plans
- carrying out diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
- developing and delivering appropriate treatment and management plans
- requesting and interpreting diagnostic studies
- providing health promotion and disease prevention advice for patients.
Currently PAs are not able to:
- prescribe medications
- administer and/or supply medicines under a patient group direction.
A patient group direction (PGD) is a written instruction for the supply and/or administration of medicines to groups of individuals who may not be individually identified before presenting for treatment. Read further information on PGDs.
Subject to locally determined governance arrangements, a PA may administer medicines under a patient specific direction. A patient specific direction (PSD) is a written instruction, signed by an authorised prescriber, for medicine(s) to be administered to a named person after the prescriber has assessed the patient. Read further guidance on PSDs.
Learn more about hoe the role of Physicial Associates fits within the NHS.
How do physician associates fit into the NHS workforce?
PAs are utilised as supplementary members of the multidisciplinary team in a wide range of clinical areas, and under the supervision of a named senior doctor. The specific tasks performed are dependent upon the clinical area worked in and can vary between hospitals.
PAs’ ability to practise independently and make independent decisions is enabled by collaboration and supportive working relationships with their supervising doctors, with whom they can discuss cases, seek advice and review patients.
PAs operate within the limits of their competence and a defined scope of practice, which is decided locally by the supervising consultant or GP and may change over time as their knowledge, skills and experience develops.
PAs bring a helpful skillset as additional members of staff supporting services. A significant aspect of the PA role is supporting with ward rounds, reading and writing in patient notes and communicating across the MDT supporting departmental productivity. Their ability to consult with certain patients enables more clinics to be offered, reducing waiting times and the likelihood of cancelled lists.
NHS England has a series of impact case studies looking at ways in which PAs can support services.
Further information regarding the core capabilities for PA can be found here: Core Capabilities Framework for Medical Associate Professions.