www.medicalindependent.ie
(http://www.medicalindependent.ie/74829/new_rcsi_physician_associate_programme_attracts_appro
ximately_50_applicants)
New RCSI physician associate programme attracts approximately
50 applicants
Catherine Reilly | 05 Nov 2015
The new physician associate (PA) programme at the RCSI, which is due to commence in
January, has attracted around 50 applicants. Prof David Kuhns, RCSI Director of PA
Studies, told the Medical Independent (MI) that most applicants were Irish and included
people from paramedic, nursing, physiology and science backgrounds.
The course entrants are being finalised and “things are looking good for the 16 we were
hoping for”, Prof Kuhns told MI. “When I talk to these folks, I hear the enthusiasm, and to me
that is reassuring,” he added.
While originally marketed as a postgraduate diploma, with a Master’s option, Prof Kuhns
said the intention is that the course will now be a Master’s degree. He said incoming
students have solid degrees, are highly motivated and cognisant of the risk inherent in the
fact that the PA role is not yet established in Ireland.
“Despite the success that we are having in the US and certainly in the UK, there are no
guarantees… Nonetheless, we are hearing from the private sector that they are interested in
hiring our graduates in a couple of years from now, so that is reassuring.”
Currently, the RCSI is leading a pilot project at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, where four PAs
from the US and Canada are working in the surgical directorate.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) issued a directive to members not to
co-operate with the new grade, pending reassurances around nurse career pathways.
However, Prof Kuhns told MI he understood the PAs’ “functionality on the wards has not
been affected” by this.
He also confirmed that the RCSI is keen for discussions with the relevant bodies around
regulation of PAs. “We are looking at probably talking to CORU to see if we can get
regulated through them,” he said. “We want to be regulated. We want to have an identity
that says, clearly, ‘this is who we are as PAs’.”
Prof Kuhns underlined that PAs often take on routine medical tasks and enhance rather than
detract from doctor training. “We have building enthusiasm from other surgeons in the area
who are hearing about this and saying, ‘how do I get one of those?’... I think things are
moving in a positive direction.”