Physicians Associate

Job overview

The Ear, Nose and Throat department at NUH would like to appoint a Physician Associate. Whilst this is the first PA post in ENT, NUH has an expanding PA workforce in medical and surgical specialties. The PA will work on our ENT base ward, in the ENT emergency clinic and in Surgical Triage Unit, working closely with our ENT multi-disciplinary team including doctors, head and neck nurse specialists, clinical nurse practitioners, nurses, speech and language therapists and audiologists.

This is a really exciting opportunity for a newly qualified PA or for an experienced PA wishing to make their mark in a new specialty.

The Physician Associate will undergo a period of training, supervision, and accreditation for activities relevant to the department. It is envisaged that the PA may be able to run clinics in parallel with a consultant and/or SpR.

The successful candidate will have scheduled sessions for consultant/registrar mentorship as well as joining scheduled teaching sessions as part of their ongoing development. There will be opportunities and support for involvement in service development / improvement.

It is envisaged that the role will develop flexibly over time in accordance with the post-holder’s clinical interests and in line with the needs of the service. The role may include some out of hours working (evenings and weekends) alongside junior doctors to ensure ENT patients get the care they need 24/7.

Main duties of the job

Contribute to patient care in the specialty, exercising a high level of professional judgement and expertise when delivering care.

Perform diagnostic / therapeutic procedures, subject to training and experience / competence.

Support and contribute to timely discharge planning including completing discharge summaries and support optimising bed capacity.

Develop ENT specific competencies across a range of procedures

Working for our organisation

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is the country’s fourth largest acute teaching trust. It was established on 1 April 2006 following the merger of Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre.

Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) at Nottingham University Hospitals encompasses 4 main sub-specialties – Otology, Rhinology, Head and Neck and Paediatrics. The PA will primarily be based on the ENT base ward at QMC, in the ENT emergency clinic and Surgical Triage Unit (STU). The PA will work closely with the ENT multi-disciplinary team including doctors, head and neck nurse specialists, clinical nurse practitioners, nurses, Speech and Language therapists and Audiologists to facilitate outstanding patient care in all aspects of the ENT patient pathway.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Contribute to patient care in the specialty, exercising a high level of professional judgement and expertise when delivering care. This will include:

Taking medical histories

Undertaking physical examinations

Ordering appropriate investigations (within permitted legal and agreed local scope of practice)

Interpreting investigation findings

Making a differential diagnosis

Making recommendations as to appropriate treatment

Fully documenting all aspects of patient care and completing all associated paperwork according to Trust and local policies and procedures.

Perform diagnostic / therapeutic procedures, subject to training and experience / competence. This may include:

• Venepuncture
• Cannulation
• Arterial Blood gases
• Arterial line insertion
• Injections
• ECG
• Urethral catheterisation (male and female)
• Naso-gastric tube insertion

Talk to patients and relatives / carers with regard to the patient’s condition and treatment

Contribute to the development of efficient pathways of care in accordance with current best practice and national guidelines.

Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all required paperwork according to Trust and local policies and procedures.

Support and contribute to timely discharge planning including completing discharge summaries and support optimising bed capacity.

Report all clinical incidents in accordance with the Trust’s reporting procedures for untoward events using the electronic reporting system (DATIX).

Develop ENT specific competencies across a range of procedures which might include:

• ENT examination
• Neck examination
• Microsuction
• Flexible nasoendoscopy
• Nasal Cautery
• LA Nasal fracture manipulation.
• Anterior nasal packing
• Quinsy aspiration
• Manipulation of fractured noses
• Tracheostomy change
• Flexible Laryngoscopy
• Crico-thyroidotomy

Support the assessment of patients admitted to the specialty and the assessment of inpatients on the wards, taking responsibility for a recognised patient caseload

Deliver supervised out-patient

Communicate with GPs, and other healthcare professionals, the outcome of clinical appointments in a timely

Keep up to date with current guidelines and maintain best practice

Support the development of the NUH Physician Associate Programme.

Be accountable for care given and comply with the Fitness to Practice and Code of Conduct standard as established by the UK Managed Voluntary register for Physician Associates.

Maintain membership in good standing of the PA Managed Voluntary Register (or such other register as may replace it)

Work at all times within the regulatory / legal constraints of the PA role and within the policies and procedures of the

Attend appropriate teaching sessions in order to improve knowledge and practice

Take an active role in departmental audit, quality improvement and other information management projects as agreed with designated

Where appropriate, teach and train junior doctors and medical students rotating into the specialty