MSc Physician Associate

Introduction

Train to become a physician associate and gain the clinical skills vital to the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients in primary and secondary care. Physician associates are part of a rapidly growing medical profession in the UK. If you have a first degree in life or health sciences, our MSc Physician Associate will equip you to fill an important clinical role. We’ll train you to diagnose illnesses, develop treatment and management plans, perform procedures and deliver patient education, counselling and health promotion. You’ll be able to take a patient’s history, perform physical examinations and procedures and request and interpret diagnostic test results. This is an intensive and challenging two-year postgraduate course offering significant rewards.

At ARU, your postgraduate study will be divided equally between theory and practice, following the medical model of teaching, learning and assessment. In your first year of this Masters degree course you’ll study on ARU’s Chelmsford campus in the School of Medicine. Alongside lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and simulated skills work, you’ll also go on primary care placements in GP surgeries. You’ll learn to become a caring, capable, knowledgeable and research-aware physician associate, with high-level clinical and communication skills. As the availability of work placements in the UK health service is limited, our MSc Physician Associate is open to UK applicants only.

How you'll be assessed

We use a range of assessment methods to check your progress during your studies and then to make sure that you meet the required standards to register for practice as a physician associate.

Careers

When you graduate, you’ll be ready for nomination to the Physician Associate national certification exam. This is a professional entry exam and is external to ARU. Only students who graduate from recognised UK courses are eligible for nomination. ARU is a recognised provider and by graduating from our course, you’ll be eligible for nomination. Once you have passed the professional entry exam (national exam at the Faculty of Physician Associates – Royal College of Physicians), you’ll be able to register as a physician associate and practice in the UK. Physician associates fill an emerging and increasingly important role in the UK. They provide continuity of care in medical specialities and general practice and are a stable member of the team who does not rotate. There are increasing opportunities for physician associates to work in the NHS primary and acute healthcare service sector across the East of England. Graduate physician associates are frequently appointed to roles in general practice, emergency medicine, cardiology, surgery and other specialties.

Students should have a first degree in life sciences (such as human biology, biochemistry, medical science or allied health degree) with at least a 2:1 classification or an equivalent qualification.