Emergency Medicine Physician Associate
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it.Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’.Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS.We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
The post-holder will hold a science related degree prior to graduating from an accredited Physician Associate training programme. The post-holder will have a minimum of two years’ experience in Emergency Medicine. He/she will work under the direction of the consultant Emergency Physicians, working collaboratively with other members of the clinical team within the Trust’s policies and clinical guidelines.The job will principally be directed towards clinical and medical support in all areas of the Emergency Department.
The post-holder is expected:
- To manage patients in the Emergency Department under the supervision of the ED consultant
- To manage patients in all areas of the Emergency Department within their scope of practice
- To exercise a high degree of personal and professional autonomy when assessing, managing, and planning care for a variety of emergency presentations
- To develop extensive specialist knowledge and experience in emergency medicine
- To contribute to achieving and maintaining targets and standards for treatment in Emergency Medicine
- To support our work related to The Royal College of Emergency Medicine audit and quality improvement
Main duties of the job
To manage a caseload of emergency department patients, exercising a high level of professional judgment and expertise when delivering clinical care, under the supervision of the Emergency Department Consultant. This will include taking medical histories, undertaking physical examinations, diagnosing, forming management plans, and explaining conditions during consultations.
- To contribute to supporting colleagues to meet the national performance targets and indicators.
- To communicate with GPs and other health professionals the outcome of ED attendances in a timely fashion
- To contribute to the development of efficient pathways of care in accordance with current best practice and national guidelines
- To fully document all aspects of patient care, and complete all required paperwork.
- Order and interpret diagnostic tests
- Discriminate between normal and abnormal findings to recognise early stages of health issues
- Establish differential diagnoses, making appropriate treatment plans and initiating emergency treatment where necessary
- Instruct and counsel patients regarding their health and wellbeing
- Refer and converse with the appropriate specialist teams in regard to patient management.
- Perform diagnostic, therapeutic procedures and clinical skills relevant to Emergency Medicine under appropriate supervision.
- Work to deliver national guidelines and objectives for emergency medicine
Working for our organisation
Emergency Medicine sits within the Acute and General Medicine Directorate at the Trust, which also includes the following services: Acute Assessment Unit, Ageing and Health, Respiratory Medicine and Sleep Services, Clinical Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology, and Stroke Services.
The Emergency Department is located on the St Thomas’ Hospital site, delivering a 24/7 service of high quality care to a variety of patient groups. Emergency medicine is a consultant led and delivered service, supported by training and non-training StR, ST1/2, Clinical Fellows and FY1/2 grade doctors.There is an active multi-disciplinary teaching and education programme, monthly morbidity/mortality and clinical effectiveness meetings, which all staff are encouraged to attend.
To support the existing staff, we have decide to expand our well-developed Physician Associate Team, to support the medical and nursing teams.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To manage a caseload of emergency department patients, exercising a high level of professional judgment and expertise when delivering clinical care, under the supervision of the Emergency Department Consultant. This will include taking medical histories, undertaking physical examinations, diagnosing, forming management plans, and explaining conditions during consultations.
In addition, the following are core components:
- To contribute to supporting colleagues to meet the national performance targets and indicators
- To communicate with GPs and other health professionals the outcome of ED attendances in a timely fashion
- To contribute to the development of efficient pathways of care in accordance with current best practice and national guidelines
- To fully document all aspects of patient care, and complete all required paperwork
- Order and interpret diagnostic tests
- Discriminate between normal and abnormal findings to recognise early stages of health issues
- Establish differential diagnoses, making appropriate treatment plans and initiating emergency treatment where necessary
- Instruct and counsel patients regarding their health and wellbeing
- Refer and converse with the appropriate specialist teams in regard to patient management
- Perform diagnostic, therapeutic procedures and clinical skills relevant to Emergency Medicine under appropriate supervision
- Work to deliver national guidelines and objectives for emergency medicine
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria- BA/BSc Degree prior to undertaking PA program
- Graduate of an accredited Physician Associate training programme
- Evidence of post registration learning & development
- Registered on MVR
- Certified CPR, ALS & PALS
Experience
Essential criteria- Minimum two years experience in emergency medicine
- Ability to organise and prioritise workload effectively
- Ability to exercise sound judgements when faced with conflicting pressures
- Ability to implement and interpret policies and procedures
- Awareness of current developments and initiatives in emergency medicine services.
- Ability to assess patients and formulate/execute clinical management plans.
- Experience of conducting clinical audit
- Assist in the educational development of Physician Associate students through student shadowing and/or teaching
- Ability to manage and lead a working group
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Knowledge of medical procedures and terminology
- Commitment to CME and professional development
- Ability to support Drs in decision making
- Advanced organisational skills
- IT literate
- Previous evidence of study in Emergency Medicine
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service.We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
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