About the programme

Our MSc in Physician Associate Studies is a two year, intensive professional Masters programme, developed to meet the requirements of the National Competence and Curriculum Framework for Physician Associates.

Taught by practising clinicians and healthcare professionals, you will be trained to diagnose and treat according to the medical model – similarly to medics and allied health professionals – so you will be well prepared to compliment general practice but also work independently with appropriate support.

Your learning is centred around problem based learning led by expert clinicians. This is supplemented by clinical skills, where you will hone your communication and physical examination skills, and procedural skills at our hospital sites.

You will be completely immersed in medicine and be exposed to patients very early in your programme in a diverse variety of placements – starting in week 3 of the course. These placements compliment your learning at the new £28million health campus at the University of Hull, and teaching facilities within our teaching hospital sites.

In your second year, you will also undertake a quality/service improvement project. Experience of carrying out this type of project is highly sought after in the NHS. Your project provides you with the opportunity to apply the research and critical appraisal skills you have developed throughout your course to recommend approaches to improve quality within a healthcare setting.

On successful completion of this programme you will be eligible to sit the National Licensing Examination, administered by the Faculty of Physician Associates, in order to gain entry into the profession and begin practice. The national exam costs are not included in the MSc course fees.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) If you are a prospective student or offer holder for 2020, please read our information for applicants.

Modules

Introductory Medicine for Physician Associates This module has been specifically designed to introduce and prepare you for your first experiences of clinical practice. In particular, it will emphasise the role, identity and what it means to be a Physician Associate. It will also consider the expectations, demands and challenges of being a new healthcare professional in the NHS, working alongside doctors within a multi-professional team. Early clinical experience in a healthcare setting is a fundamental feature of this programme and this will commence in this first module, supported by clinical and educational supervisors.

Clinical Science and Practice I During this module you will increase your knowledge and develop skills and achieve basic competencies in a range of generalist patient presentations that Physician Associates will frequently encounter in clinical practice. The knowledge, skills and competencies you develop will be complemented by clinical placements in General Practice and General Hospital Medicine. In this way, the module will build on the basic skill-set acquired in the Introductory Medicine for Physician Associates module – establishing a foundation of core competencies before exploring a broader range of more specialist presentations in subsequent modules.

Foundations of Pharmacology for Health Care Professionals In this module you will have the opportunity to learn, discuss and critically analyse key pharmacological topics, such as the general principles of drug action, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and adverse drug reactions which underpin the drug development process.

Therapeutics for Health Care Professionals The use of drugs underpins modern medical practice. In this module you will explore the use of drugs in cardiovascular, cancer, gastrointestinal, renal, liver, rheumatological, and endocrine disease as well as exploring areas of uncertainty around the prescription of medicines. Your training will be delivered by practising clinicians and research scientists teaching in tandem.

Clinical Science and Practice II This module will focus on medical and surgical specialities and will enable you to acquire knowledge and develop a standardised range of clinical skills to enable you to effectively assess and manage a range of more specialist clinical presentations. This will be complemented by clinical placements in mental health, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery and community medicine. This will be integrated with an extended longitudinal clinical placement in General Practice. During this module you will also gain a specific understanding of the research methods used in health and social care.

Clinical Science and Practice III This module will focus on acute care and you will learn how to assess and manage a range of emergency presentations, supported by clinical placements in emergency medicine, acute admissions, critical care, urgent care and minor injuries. You will continue to develop your research skills during this module, applying principles of evidence-based healthcare. This module will also include a clinical placement ‘elective’ which you will choose in consultation with staff within the School. The elective placement is a great opportunity to return to a favourite clinical specialism, gain experience in an area to help your career, or try something different.