Orthopaedic Physician Associate

Job overview

This is a fixed term post to cover maternity leave for 12 months. The role sits within with Trauma and Orthopaedic team and involves providing expert assistance to the Consultant and Specialist Trainees in the provision of a high quality, patient centred service. The role will largely be based in our elective service at Guy’s but may include some Trauma support across both sites.

The Physician Associate role involves working alongside the medical and nursing teams, in the orthopaedic ward areas managing patients with orthopaedic related issues and existing management plans. The post-holder will build on their skills in clerking, assessing and examining patients gained through their physician associate training. They will be required present to more senior members of the team, initiate and interpret relevant investigations, and escalate any deviation from existing management plans appropriately.

There will be a focus on acquiring skills and knowledge in the relevant speciality field (trauma or elective orthopaedics).

They will be supervised by a designated consultant and will also have an individual named supervisor to overview their career development. It is expected that the Physician Associates will become involved in the activities of the Department, including coordinating patients on pre and post-operative pathways, reviewing patients admitted to the ward/s and providing subsequent management of cases in conjunction with the rest of the team.

Main duties of the job

Ward based

• Ensure every patient under the care of their subspecialty team is seen on a daily basis.
• Prompt escalation of unwell patients along appropriate channels
• Document daily reviews/ward rounds
• Request appropriate diagnostic studies and perform these studies if required as part of their core clinical skills
• Complete a VTE assessment
• Ensure electronic discharge summaries are up to date

Theatres

• Assist in the operating theatre

Outpatient

• Support consultant led outpatient clinics and have the opportunity to see patients under the direct supervision of a consultant and develop a joint management plan
• · Review post-operative wounds on request and escalate appropriately if any concerns

Departmental

• Attend the MDT meetings of their respective subspecialty team.  Ensure the outcomes of the MDT are documented and management plans communicated the relevant teams
• Collect monthly morbidity and mortality data for their subspecialty team and present this data at the monthly audit meeting

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Ward based

• Ensure every patient under the care of their subspecialty team is seen on a daily basis. This may include supporting a ward round or reviewing pre or post-op patients on an approved local pathway with an existing post-operative management plan or a plan documented in the trauma MDT. We recommend that each patient is reviewed by a doctor of any level at least once every 48 hours
• Prompt escalation of unwell patients along appropriate channels
• Discussion of any new symptoms with the ward doctor and escalation along approved channels with the team. We consider inpatients under our care as differentiated patients
• Escalation to senior colleagues if a deviation from management plan is required
• Document daily reviews/ward rounds in a prompt, clear and reproducible manner
• Maintain patient lists and ensure these are updated on a daily basis
• Handover outstanding tasks and investigations at the end of each shift
• Take medical histories and perform physical examinations
• Request appropriate diagnostic studies and perform these studies if required as part of their core clinical skills E.g. Venepuncture, Blood culture, Cannulation, Arterial blood gas sampling, Catheterisation and NG tube insertion.
• Interpret any requested diagnostic studies such as radiograph reports, blood test results, ECG and urinalysis. Escalation to senior colleagues of any abnormal results
• All newly admitted patients and patients admitted for elective surgery will require clerking. When available, PAs should assist the medical team in clerking patients
• Understand what medications the patients are on. Be able to identify and escalate prescribing discrepancies and lack of VTE to the appropriate team
• Complete a VTE assessment. Prescribing the pharmacological or mechanical thromboprophylaxis is not expected but clearly document with whom and when the need for a prescription was discussed.
• Ensure electronic discharge summaries are up to date

Theatres

• Assist in the operating theatre

Outpatient

• Support consultant led outpatient clinics and have the opportunity to see patients under the direct supervision of a consultant and develop a joint management plan
• Review post-operative wounds on request and escalate appropriately if any concerns

Departmental

• Attend the MDT meetings of their respective subspecialty team. Along with other team members, ensure the outcomes of the MDT are documented and management plans communicated the relevant teams
• Collect monthly morbidity and mortality data for their subspecialty team and present this data at the monthly audit meeting