A Day in the life of a GP physician associate
In my GP surgery the PAs work as part of the duty team. This means we deal with the urgent, on the day requests. I work a mixture of remote and on-site.
When I work remotely my day is made up of telephone triage of patients with acute conditions. If they need to be seen I organise for them to either be seen by a colleague on-site if it’s urgent or I book them in to see me when I am next at the surgery.
When working on site I try to come in before 9am. I do this so I can have a bit of time to sit and drink my cup of tea and have some quiet time where I listen to gospel music and pray. I’m really introverted so my quiet time before starting work really helps to set me up for the day.
From 9 till 11 I call my patients and book anyone in that I need too. From 11-12.30 I see those that need to be seen face to face. After this I usually finish of any admin work I have for the morning (referrals or requesting medications/ sick notes) and then take my lunch.
From 2 till 3 I go through my assigned docman (electronic admin) and blood results. My afternoon clinic is much like the morning and starts from 3-6. In terms of supervision I usually find my supervisor in between my patients if it is urgent or I find them at the end of clinic to discuss.
As well as seeing patients, as a PA I deal with a lot of the admin that we receive in GP. This is mostly letters from the hospital requesting medication changes or sometimes further referrals. We get online queries and requests too from our patients. This can be anything from health concerns to requesting medication or sick notes.
Sometimes this requires me calling these patients too. I enjoy my role and I’m looking forward to getting involved in new things. I’m currently going to take on a new role working with learning disability and mental health care homes which sounds interesting.
My top tips if you’re considering primary care - pick your role carefully. It’s important to have adequate support and supervision from both the GP and other staff in the surgery - Your role is what you make it.
GP is fun and I love building a relationship with my patients. But, it can sometimes get overwhelming with the workload, particularly the admin tasks. Some people do a split role between GP and hospital and that can break up some of the monotony that can happen. The beauty is you can take your career wherever you want to!