Promoting the Physician Assistant profession in the UK since 2005
Survival Guide
Study Tips
- Organisation – use a diary!
- Maintain work / life balance
- Know when to ask for help
- Work in teams
Placement Survival Guide
Don’t expect to be able to run a marathon before you can crawl – build yourself some strong foundations and the rest will come to you.
Take:
- Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine/General Practice
- Stethoscope
- Penlight
- Black pen
- Notebook
- DOPS forms ready to be signed
Clothing:
- Comfortable shoes – especially on wards!
- Dress smart
Be prepared:
- To answer the inevitable – “What is a Physician Assistant”?
Download "What is a PA?" (PDF)
Capitilise on your placement:
- Write objectives, learning outcomes & further work after learning a skill
- Print out test results REMEMBER TO ANONAMISE – create a table about components of the test, why we test, what it means if its too high or low
- Carry out written reflective practice as part of your portfolio
- Be observed clerking patients and examining – ask for feedback!
- Present patients on ward round
- Ask to observe – Echos, Exercise ECG’s, USS, pleural tap, lumbar puncture – anything!
- Spend time with OT’s and Nurses
- Attend all available courses e.g. ILS, Child Protection, Catheterisation, Cannulation and Venopucture, ABG
- Take the time to assess a critically ill patient – go round with Critical care team if possible.
Above all:
