PGDip in Physician Associate Studies

at University of Manchester

Course unit details

The course is non-modular, providing you with an opportunity to develop and consolidate skills throughout each year of the course.

Taught content is delivered in blocks of study of increasing complexity alongside the two longitudinal themes of Personal and Professional Development (PPD) and Consultation Skills (CS), with assessment periods at the end of each year. Each taught block feeds seamlessly into the next and all components of the programme are compulsory.

You have the option of spending an elective period in a speciality of your choosing.
 

Course content for Year 1
 

The first year of the course begins with a four-month period of intensive study where you will develop your understanding of the essential basic and clinical sciences that facilitate safe and effective practice.
 

After this 16-week taught block, you will rotate through a series of medical and surgical placements, each incorporating a short period of university-based teaching.
 

The curriculum is built around a core content of common clinical situations that are then organised according to their relative complexity. The content of each taught block is delivered using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach through the study of clinical cases/scenarios.
 

Each case integrates elements of the taught content and you will learn about and reflect upon the related biomedical, behavioural and population sciences appropriate to the case.
 

PBL is supported by small group teaching, lectures and workshops to form a truly integrated curriculum with very high levels of contact time.
 

Course content for Year 2
 

The second year of the course provides more advanced specialist instruction in the core medical and clinical sciences alongside a comprehensive programme of clinical reasoning to prepare you to sit your national postgraduate examinations.
 

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
 

Title

• Physician Associate - Quality and Evidence
• Quality and Evidence Project

Academic entry qualification overview
 

• Applicants should hold or be predicted an Upper Second class degree (2:1). This may include the life sciences (e.g. biomedical science, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, healthcare science) or allied health professions (e.g. pharmacy, audiology, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy).
• Although we encourage applications from other healthcare professionals, we do not accept applications from candidates with medical degrees or those who have previously studied for, but not completed, a medical or healthcare degree.
• All applicants should hold GCSE qualifications in Maths and English at grade B or equivalent. Applicants with equivalent or non-standard qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
   

English language
 

International students must demonstrate English proficiency through a secure and approved testing system.
 

We ask for English language proof if you are from non-majority English speaking countries (a list of majority English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Home Office, can be found here).
 

Specifically, we require a minimum of:

• IELTS - 7.0 overall (with 6.5 in all components)

• TOEFL: 100 overall (with 24 in each component)

• MSc (full-time)
  
  UK students (per annum): £9,250
  
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £20,250
   
• PGDip (full-time)
  
  UK students (per annum): £9,000
  
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £20,000

The physician associate role was first developed in the United States during the 1960s, and the profession has grown considerably in the last ten years to the point where there are now over 95,000 registered physician associates in the US.

Physician associates first joined the NHS workforce over ten years ago and are now employed throughout the UK in increasing numbers.

The government has set regional targets to increase the number of physician associates working in the sector and there is considerable demand for newly qualified physician associates within the NHS. Some physician associates also undertake work in the private sector.