Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring physician associates to work under a named registered medical practitioner.

Both in training, and subsequently qualified practice, physician associates (PAs) must work with a dedicated medical supervisor which will be a consultant, general practitioner, or other senior medical personnel.

Training to become a PA involves supervised practice with real patients in clinical attachments. The dedicated medical supervisor is responsible for the supervision and management of a student’s educational progress throughout the clinical placements of the course. However, any professional in a placement location who is competent to do so may train, supervise, and assess a PA student in a particular skill, procedure, or competence. This includes practising PAs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.