Physician Associate Studies MSc

Course overview

Physician associates are healthcare professionals who support doctors, alongside other members of the multi-disciplinary team, in the diagnosis and management of patients. Qualified physician associates work in a patient facing role under the supervision of a named senior doctor in primary, secondary and community care settings. Their generalist medical training and defined scope of practice allows physician associates to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to provide high quality and compassionate care to patients, meaning they have a key and valuable role to play in the future of the NHS workforce.

The MSc in Physician Associate Studies is an intensive and challenging but highly rewarding two-year course that requires commitment, discipline and organisation to manage the demands of academic studies alongside clinical placements. Students are supported in developing their learning style to meet the demands of the course and to prepare them to become a lifelong learner.

Our course has been carefully developed to meet the requirements of the General Medical Council (GMC) pre-qualification education framework. Over the course of the two years, you’ll be taught the clinical skills and knowledge, and supported to develop the professional values and behaviours, expected of a qualified physician associate. On qualification you’ll be required to pass the Physician Associate Registration Assessment to register with the GMC and work as a qualified physician associate.

Why study at Leeds?

MSc Physician Associate Studies sits within the Leeds Institute of Medical Education in the School of Medicine. This means you’ll be taught by academics, clinicians and clinical educators who have a range of professional backgrounds and a wealth of experience, and whose teaching is underpinned by the latest clinical and pedagogical research. Whilst taught sessions are designed specifically for the needs of physician associate students to support you in developing your professional identity and understanding of core competencies, you’ll have opportunities to learn alongside students from other courses within the school. We feel that this is highly beneficial in preparing you for a role where teamworking, communication and other interpersonal skills are of vital importance in providing care that is founded on the NHS Constitutional Values.

You’ll gain experience from a range of placements within Yorkshire and Humber, including major teaching hospitals, district general hospitals, general practices and mental health trusts. This will provide you with the opportunity to encounter patients from diverse backgrounds and allow you to develop your understanding of the role of a physician associate in different healthcare settings, helping to inform your future career direction.

As well as training you to work as a newly qualified physician associate, the course at Leeds will also support you to develop your academic writing and critical thinking skills. In the final year of the course, you’ll design and undertake a quality improvement project before completing a dissertation. This will prepare you for a career where there are opportunities to progress in research and lead on quality improvement, as well as enhancing your employability.

Student support and wellbeing is extremely important to us, and you’ll receive close support from your Academic Personal Tutor throughout the course of your studies as well as benefitting from the community spirit and peer-to-peer support that we strongly encourage. In addition, you’ll have access to a dedicated School of Medicine Student Support team, who have a wealth of experience in working with students undertaking clinical courses.

Specialist facilities

• Clinical skills teaching for our physician associate students is delivered by the School’s designated Skills and Simulation Team, based on Level 9 of the Worsley Building on the University campus. This centre provides excellent clinical skills training facilities, including simulation and state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment, and allows you to access independent learning opportunities and one-to-one clinical supervision. The centre also provides a safe learning environment for our students to combine teaching with the hands-on practical application of clinical skills.

• Anatomy is one of the first and most important core subjects studied by physician associate students when they begin their studies.  Its importance cannot be overstated because the study of anatomy helps lay the foundations for much of the future learning.  The University of Leeds is very proud to be able to support the learning of anatomy through a range of different methodologies including prosection-based teaching and digital technology enhanced learning. We firmly believe that this provides students with the most authentic and efficient learning experience.

Accreditation

From December 2024, the General Medical Council will be responsible for accrediting courses that lead to a qualification conferring eligibility for graduates to sit the Physician Associate Registration Assessment and register to work as a qualified physician associate in the UK. The University of Leeds has been fully engaged with all quality assurance activities in preparation for accreditation, as well as holding membership with the Physician Associate Schools Council.

For more information about how GMC regulation of physician associates and how this applies to physician associate students and educators, please visit the Student and educators guide.

Course details

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

Year 1

The first year of the MSc is mainly based on campus in the Worsley Building where a systems-based approach is taken to curriculum delivery. You’ll also spend one day a week on placement in primary care, allowing you to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical scenarios and learn from experienced clinicians. During this year you’ll gain an understanding of the role of the physician associate in healthcare, learn the clinical knowledge and skills required of a PA and develop an understanding of the professional values and behaviours expected of a physician associate student.

You will complete three modules:

Classroom to Clinic 1 (45 credits): This module will introduce you to the clinical skills and knowledge required of a physician associate using a systems-based approach. You’ll learn how to take a history, examine patients and perform practical clinical procedures in a simulated environment in our purpose-built Skills and Simulation Suite. Weekly Case Based Discussions will provide the opportunity to learn how to assess and manage core and critical clinical conditions, and how this relates to underlying pathophysiology. This learning is complemented with clinical anatomy teaching, allowing students to develop an understanding of how human anatomy relates to body function in health and illness. As this module progresses, you’ll develop your clinical reasoning skills and understand how to approach key clinical presentations to form a differential diagnosis with the support of a supervisor. Learning on campus is applied and consolidated on placement under the supervision of experienced clinicians, reinforcing how the knowledge and skills you’re developing are of relevance to your future practice as a physician associate. Clinical pharmacology and the role of the physician associate in safe medication management is also a core theme which runs throughout this module.

Personal and Professional Development 1 (15 credits): This module will introduce you to the role of the physician associate in healthcare, with a focus on primary and community care. You’ll learn about the roles and responsibilities of different healthcare professionals in providing high quality person-centred care, whilst developing your own professional identity through interactions with qualified physician associates. You’ll be taught about the professional standards expected of physician associates, as outlined by the GMC in Good Medical Practice, and how these apply to you and can be achieved as a student. You’ll be introduced to the role of the physician associate in population health and learn how physician associates can support health promotion and illness prevention through their interactions with patients and other professionals and organisations. Over the course of the module, you’ll be taught the basic concepts and principles of medical ethics; your legal and ethical responsibilities as a student and qualified physician associate; and how to apply ethical reasoning to clinical scenarios.

Criticality in Healthcare (15 credits): This module will introduce you to the principles of clinical research, evidence-based medicine and quality improvement, and how they apply to the role of a physician associate. You’ll be taught about the importance and complexity of patient safety and how you can promote a culture of safety. You’ll develop your critical thinking and academic writing skills and learn how to critically appraise relevant research and use the results to inform your own clinical practice.

Year 2

The second year builds on the knowledge and skills developed in the first year, but with a bigger focus on placement experience and application of learning. You’ll undertake block rotational placements, mainly in secondary care, interspersed with campus weeks during which scheduled sessions will prepare you for the upcoming rotation and provide peer-to-peer and academic support.

You’ll be supported to develop your practice to meet the competencies expected of a newly qualified physician associate and to prepare you for success in the Physician Associate Registration Assessment. This will enable you to register with the GMC. You’ll also use the academic writing skills and the understanding of quality improvement in healthcare you developed in Year 1, to design and undertake your own quality improvement project over the year.

You will complete three modules:

Classroom to Clinic 2 (45 credits): This module is designed to build on what you have learnt in Campus to Clinic 1 to develop your ability to assess and manage core and critical clinical conditions and presentations relating to a broad range of areas of clinical practice under supervision. You’ll rotate through a number of specialty placement blocks in secondary care, primary care and mental health trusts, each with clearly defined aims and objectives which you’ll be supported to achieve by experienced clinical and educational supervisors. These rotations are interspersed with campus-based weeks during which you’ll receive face-to-face teaching in preparation for the next block and interprofessional education workshops with students from other healthcare professions.

By the end of this module, under appropriate levels of supervision, you’ll be able to:

• demonstrate the knowledge, clinical reasoning and judgment needed to formulate differential diagnoses and in clinical decision-making

• understand the physician associate role in safe medication management

• recognise the acutely deteriorating patient and the need to escalate, participating in acute interventions and the delivery of resuscitation

• assess and manage patients in a range of healthcare settings, including management of long-term conditions

• deal with complexity and uncertainty.

Personal and Professional Development 2 (15 credits): In this module you’ll be supported to develop your professional identity, values and behaviours. You’ll learn more about the role of the physician associate in different clinical settings and develop your skills as an educator in the teaching and training of less experienced colleagues and other healthcare professionals. You’ll learn how to approach and manage more complex and ethically challenging clinical scenarios with support and supervision. Towards the end of this module the focus will be on preparation for practice and support in transitioning to a qualified physician associate.

Quality Improvement in Clinical Practice (45 credits): This module gives students the opportunity to design and undertake their own quality improvement project in clinical practice. Students will be supported through each step of the process through taught sessions, workshops and individual supervision to allow them to implement an intervention resulting in a real impact on the quality of patient care.

Learning and teaching

This course will be delivered using a blended learning approach, combining interactive lectures, tutorials, case-based discussions and skills sessions with Self-Directed Learning (SDL) to facilitate deeper learning, allowing for a range of student learning preferences and preparing students to become lifelong learners.

Clinical placements are an important opportunity to get practical experience in a variety of specialties and settings, and the chance to interact with a diverse range of patients. They’re designed to help equip you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours you’ll need as a newly qualified PA. You will be supported throughout by dedicated and experienced clinical and educational supervisors.

In addition to taught sessions and clinical placements, you’ll have access to a range of e-learning resources, the Health Sciences Library and Skills@Library to support you whilst you study.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

A range of formative and summative assessments are used to test your knowledge, understanding and clinical competence. These include written assignments, presentations, end of year exams, and a portfolio for personal and professional development. Assessments have been designed to ensure that they are fair, inclusive, authentic and can determine that student have met the capabilities required of a newly qualified physician associate. Methods of assessment are selected which are appropriate for the capability being assessed and which develop key transferrable skills that are relevant to the role of a physician associate, such as teamworking, communication and critical thinking.

End of year exams are designed to reflect the Physician Association Registration Assessment and include written exams and OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations). The written exams assess core knowledge and understanding of the material taught in that year (and previously) through multiple choice questions.

OSCEs assess core clinical skills and their application in the clinical specialties relevant to that examination and are held in both years of study. They typically involve 14 or more clinical stations that require you to demonstrate a specific skill or consult with a patient. These patients are trained actors and their views on your behaviour also feed into the assessment. To pass, candidates are required to achieve the overall pass mark and pass a minimum number of stations. Both the OSCE and written exams have criterion-based pass marks set by examiners.

Applying

Entry requirements

Our standard entry requirement is a Bachelor degree with a minimum 2:1 (hons) in a biomedical science, health-related science or equivalent qualification. For example - but not limited to - Anatomical Science, Applied Medical Science, Biomedical Science, Biochemistry, Medical Genetics, Anatomy and Human Biology, Healthcare Science (E.g. Cardiac Physiology), Nursing, and Allied Health Professions such as Radiography, and Paramedic Studies.

If you hold a 2.2 (hons) in a biomedical science or health related science you may still be able to apply if you have a substantial amount of clinical healthcare experience and/or relevant continuing professional development (CPD). We encourage applications from candidates already working in healthcare and can demonstrate/evidence (usually through CPD activities) the ability to study at Masters Level. This should be within the last 5 years. To help us determine whether you meet these requirements you should ensure it is included in your UCAS supporting statement.

• Human anatomy and physiology is key to providing a foundation of learning for this course. Degrees such as Public Health, Speech and Language Therapy and Psychology will be reviewed for suitable levels of human anatomy and physiology content.
• We will consider alternative academic qualifications on a case-by-case basis and - where necessary - ask for additional details of course and module content to review for suitable physiology content.

If in doubt, please email the Admissions Team to discuss the suitability of your degree and alternative options of study.

Ideally, you should have recent experience of volunteering or employment in a healthcare setting/environment. However, we are also looking for transferable skills from other similar activities, such as voluntary work or paid employment.

Candidates should have completed any prior study and be able to meet conditions of offer by 31 August 2025.

Health and Disclosure and Barring Service Screening

As part of the student offer for our clinical programmes, an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate is required for students to undertake clinical placements as part of their studies within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. The certification process is undertaken on entry to the programme and any offer made to study is conditional on meeting this requirement.

The Enhanced DBS certificate can only include background checks for time in the UK. Students who have been resident outside the UK will require a criminal record check from each relevant country.

The University of Leeds is obliged to refuse admission to applicants for certain courses, which are regulated by national or statutory bodies, where an Enhanced DBS certificate or International Criminality check reveals prior criminal behaviour giving rise to concern for the protection of the public. Clinical placements cannot be attended by those who fail to comply with the clearance processes.

Additionally, any offer of a place to study Physician Associate Studies is conditional upon a satisfactory confidential occupational health assessment, which will include a health questionnaire, and if necessary further telephone consultation and/or an appointment with an occupational health clinician. Screening for serious communicable disease, (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and a review of immunisation status and needs, which includes COVID-19, will also be arranged before beginning your studies.

For students and applicants to the Faculty of Medicine and Health, please visit our dedicated webpage for more information about Occupational Health.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via UCAS rather than the CRM system used for other School of Medicine postgraduate programmes.

The institution code for the University of Leeds is L23. The closing date will be aligned to the UCAS January deadline and can be found on the UCAS website. It should be noted that this programme does not accept applications for deferred entry.

Values-based recruitment is carried out across our vocational programmes. Candidates who apply to more than one vocational course in the School of Medicine will only be considered for one course. Please note that if a candidate demonstrates motivation and insight for another non-School of Medicine vocational course (e.g. nursing or dentistry) they will be rejected without further consideration.

Where possible, candidates who apply for multiple programmes within the School of Medicine will be informed that they must choose one course only.

The School of Medicine does not normally participate in the UCAS Extra scheme for entry onto the MSc Physician Associate Studies. The programme is not open to international applicants.

Please see the latest School of Medicine Admissions Appeals and Complaints Procedure.

Application & Selection Process

Offers are made on the basis of the ranked interview score and performance and the merit and ability of each candidate to meet the academic and non- academic criteria for the course. The decision is not made on achieved or predicted grades or work experience.

Applications for 2025 entry should be made via UCAS by their January deadline date.

• If you are a recent graduate (less than one year) an academic reference must be supplied at the point of application. This should confirm your academic performance.

• If you are entering with a 2.2 the reference MUST include information about your relevant healthcare related work experience and support your experience in a health related field.

• If you graduated with a 2.1 but more than one year ago, the reference may be from an employer or other appropriate professional

• Your reference should be provided on a headed document with either a stamp from the institution or an electronic signature. Please note we are unable to accept references from a personal email address (e.g. @gmail, @hotmail etc). The reference must be dated within the last 6 months and in a pdf format (not on a Word document).

A successful application passes through several stages before we can make an offer:

Stage 1

All applications received on time are reviewed looking at degree relevance and other academic evidence. The UCAS personal statement for each candidate will be screened for:

• Insight into motivation for the physician associate profession and the course
• Insight and understanding about the role of the physician associate in modern healthcare
• Where suitable, relevant healthcare experience

Stage 2

As part of the application process for the MSc Physician Associate Studies course at the University of Leeds we invite all applicants to complete a further online information form (the Additional Information Form). The link to the form will be sent to applicants once they have submitted their application on completion of Stage 1. Applicants will be provided with several days to complete it.

Please be aware that we do not accept late submissions of Additional Information Form under any circumstances and failure to complete the form means that the applicant will not be considered for shortlisting for interview.

We would like applicants to consider their answers to the Additional Information Form carefully. Answers will be scored using predetermined descriptors and these scores, along with previous qualifications and the information of your UCAS form, will be used to shortlist applicants for interview.

The questions have been selected to allow applicants to demonstrate their motivation and insight into the profession along with some of the attributes we think are important in a Physician Associate. We hope that this process allows applicants to inform us about why they want to be a Physician Associate and why they want to study at the University of Leeds.

Candidates should be able to expand on their answers at interview.

The questions cover topics such as

• Previous experience in a role relevant to the work of a Physician Associate (including non-clinical experience) and how they have helped you making the decision to join this profession.
• Working in a clinical environment can be difficult. Applicants would be expected to consider if they have encountered a difficult situation.
• Hobbies and Interests. What do you as the applicant do outside of work or study and what impact does this have on their work/life balance?

Stage 3

We anticipate inviting around 90 candidates to interview. Using a face to face multiple mini interview format, the MMI process allows us to further assess candidates non- academic qualities. There are currently six interview stations, each interviewer will award marks according to a pre-determined standardised scale. From this a ranked score for each candidate. Those who do not rank high enough will be rejected from the process.

Stage 4

Those with the overall highest marks are offered places.

Offers are made on the basis of the ranked interview score and performance and the merit and ability of each candidate to meet the academic and non- academic criteria for the course.

Unfortunately, because of the nature and volume of applications and interviews, we are unable to provide specific individual feedback.

Admissions policy

School of Medicine Taught Postgraduate Policy 2024

This course is taught by

School of Medicine

Contact us

School of Medicine Postgraduate Admissions

Email: pa-admissions@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Fees

UK: £25,000 (Total)

This programme is eligible for applicants to apply for the Postgraduate Master's Loan

All accepted applicants will receive a monthly paid bursary of 2.5K per year of study (5k in total for 2 years).

Read more about paying fees and charges.

Additional cost information

You’ll need to purchase equipment such as white lab coats and stethoscopes. You’ll also have to meet some travel costs whilst on placement. Placements will be throughout the Yorkshire region for both primary and secondary care placements, which have been approved and authorised by the School of Medicine.

To be registered as a Physician Associate on the GMC register you’ll need to pass the Physician Associate Registration Assessment after you’ve gained the Physician Associate Studies course qualification. This exam is not part of this course and the cost of the exam is not included in your course fees. Find out more at the Faculty of Physician Associates website.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government.  Find out more at Masters funding overview.

All accepted applicants will receive a monthly paid bursary of 2.5K per year of study (5k in total for 2 years).

Studying in the School of Medicine at Leeds is an amazing opportunity, but we know that the cost can be difficult for many people to meet. If you are keen to join us, a range of funding opportunities are available.

Career opportunities

After qualifying as a physician associate you can expect to begin work as a Band 6 or 7. You’ll be part of an emerging UK profession, supported by the NHS and the Department of Health and featuring in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, and will follow a career path with proven success in the United States.

As a graduate physician associate, you’ll help to increase the numbers of the medical workforce and improve access to quality care for patients. You’ll act in an enabling role, helping to reduce the healthcare team’s workload. You’ll bring new talent to the NHS and add to the skill mix within the teams.

While trainee doctors and surgeons rotate through different specialties, physician associates offer continuity of care for patients as well as institutional memory for the team in which they work. Physician associates are key to ensuring service provision is maintained when other members of the team are attending training, clinic or theatre.

More information about the profession and up to date information regarding regulation by the GMC can be found via the Faculty of Physician Associates.