Physician Associate
At a glance
- Band
- Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed-term
- Pattern
- Full-time
- Posted
- 17/09/2026
- Closes
- 08/10/2026
Sponsorship verdict
Candidates needing sponsorship are encouraged to apply.
HiveMind found a sponsorship-friendly statement in the source advert welcoming applicants who require a visa. Always confirm on the source before applying.
“Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.”Quoted verbatim from the source advert
Role summary
This Physician Associate role involves delivering high-quality patient care by monitoring both physical and mental health needs. You will conduct clinical assessments, manage caseloads of service users with complex mental health needs, and perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The role supports the multidisciplinary team, contributes to service development, and requires ongoing professional development under consultant supervision. It is a fixed-term, full-time position.
Essential criteria
- Undergraduate degree in a life science and/or a significant background in healthcare.
- PG Dip in Physician Associate Studies from a recognised UK training programme and evidence of successful completion of the UK National PA exam (or equivalent) or an MSc Degree (or equivalent) in Physician Associate Studies or Medical Sciences
- Registration with the General Medical Council
- Pass in Physician Associate Registration Assessment
- Evidence of ongoing CPD
- Knowledge & Experience
- Able to work with the clinical team to manage a caseload of service users with complex mental health needs
- Comprehensive knowledge of interventions specific to service area
- Knowledge of national and local guidance for the role of a Physician Associate
- Awareness of Trust policies and service specification
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working within a mental health environment
- Lived experience of mental health issues
- Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills with staff, service users, families, carers and professionals
- Able to establish links with other services and professionals
- Communicate and receive very sensitive, complex condition related information to service users, carers & relatives, using a high degree of empathy and reassurance and address any barriers to understanding.
- Able to effectively manage risk
- To have a good knowledge of service objectives
- Ability to assess and interpret complex needs for service users and taking appropriate action.
- To be able to provide highly specialised advice concerning the care or treatment of service users
- Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Able to manage and delegate tasks
- Participate in service development
- Able to participate in clinical discussions in the team
- Leading on the planning of care programmes, case conferences and multidisciplinary teams or activities
- Able to undertake audit activity
- Ability to work using own initiative to manage own workload.
- To help develop training sessions for staff, students, doctors in training, professionals and agencies
- Awareness of service operational policy
- Understand team dynamics
- Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Able to use Trust IT systems to enter service user information, case notes, risk.
- Able to produce documents and reports using Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Communicate to service users and professionals using letters and templates
- Physically fit to undertake duties related to service area - there is a frequent requirement to exert light physical effort for several long periods during a shift
- Awareness of Prevention Management of Violence & Aggression (PMVA) interventions
- Knowledge of administration of injections and venepuncture
- Abilities
- Frequent concentration required to undertake clinical assessments (history taking, physical examination, mental state examination) including assessment of complex patients such as those presenting with both physical and mental health issues
- Prolonged concentration where the PA carries out clinics
- Able to prioritise work and meet deadlines
- Planning and organising diary
- Able to manage distressing or emotional situations involving staff and service users as they arise
- To participate in relevant staff support sessions
- Awareness of policies relevant to workplace, i.e. lone working (frequent)
- Based in a locality and able to travel to other locations as part of clinical role (frequent)
- Competent skills in use of PC for daily administrative tasks (frequent)
- Exposure to hazards, including those of working on acute mental health wards (frequent)
- Exposure to body fluids, faeces, vomit, smells, foul linen (occasional)
- Approach & Values
- Demonstrate support for the values and beliefs of the Division and those of the Trust
- Demonstrate an understanding of the practices of Human Rights in the delivery of this role
- Team working
- Ability to help shape and embed an inclusive culture
- Punctual and flexible across hours of work when required
- Undergraduate degree in a life science and/or a significant background in healthcare.
- PG Dip in Physician Associate Studies from a recognised UK training programme and evidence of successful completion of the UK National PA exam (or equivalent) or an MSc Degree (or equivalent) in Physician Associate Studies or Medical Sciences
- Registration with the General Medical Council
- Pass in Physician Associate Registration Assessment
- Evidence of ongoing CPD
- Knowledge & Experience
- Able to work with the clinical team to manage a caseload of service users with complex mental health needs
- Comprehensive knowledge of interventions specific to service area
- Knowledge of national and local guidance for the role of a Physician Associate
- Awareness of Trust policies and
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 7 at £46,148 – £52,809 a year, across England.
This advert: £49,387 – £56,515 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 0d ago · Closes in 22d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Physician Associate
The closing date is 08 October 2026
Job summary
The Physician Associate or Physician Assistant (PA) will be accountable for ensuring that high quality patient care is always delivered, where they can be a source of continuity for service users by monitoring physical as well as mental health requirements.
The PA will support the effective functioning of the multidisciplinary team and wider service developments through developing knowledge of assessing and managing mental disorders, undertaking quality improvement (QI) work such as clinical audit, gaining knowledge about psychotropic medication and taking a lead role in the physical health of service users.
The PA will have regular supervision (for both clinical and professional supervision) from a designated Consultant, with regular meetings to support on-going development within the role, as well as attending regular continued professional development (CPD) sessions.
Main duties of the job
To provide clinical assessments of new referrals & reviews of existing service users under the care of the service the PA works for. To use medical & psychiatric history taking, physical examination, mental state examination, problem solving and clinical decision-making skills in carrying out this work. To formulate differential diagnoses and management plans with
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