Physician Assistant

Job overview

Responsible for:

Responsibilities include taking patient medical and psychiatric histories, conducting physical  examinations where appropriate and able to formulate a mental state examination,  contributing to diagnostic reasoning, and formulating initial management plans which can be  reviewed with their supervising medic as appropriate.  Supporting clinical staff in physical  health assessment and decision-making processes as well as communicating with partner  agencies e.g. GP surgeries and other specialist areas/general health hospitals.  Through a collaborative and person-centred approach, the PA plays a key role in improving  access to care, supporting early intervention, and enhancing the integration of physical and  mental health services within the community.

Main duties of the job

The Physician Assistant (PA) in Community Mental Health is a trained healthcare professional who works under the supervision of a medic as part of a multidisciplinary clinical team. The PA supports the senior medical team and is a key member of the multidisciplinary team for the delivery of accessible, high-quality care to individuals experiencing a wide range of mental health conditions, including those with complex or long-term needs. While trained as a generalist with broad medical knowledge, the PA may develop specialist skills within mental health care to meet the specific needs of the community and work independently in those areas of competence.

It is expected initially that they will work with patients who have already been seen by medics in the team and develop the necessary experience and skills towards new assessments with guidance and decision making by a senior doctor.

The PA is expected to carry out face-to-face, telephone, or online consultations both urgent  and routine.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES  The Physician Assistant has the following key responsibilities   Clinical  1. Participate in assessment, treatment and preventative healthcare services in the IMHT as delegated and agreed by the supervising Consultant/Team Lead.  2. Provide direct clinical care to patients using established clinical guidelines.  3. Consult and refer patients to physicians, medical specialists and other health professionals as indicated.  4. Interview patients, take psychiatric and medical histories, perform physical examinations, mental state examination, analyse, diagnose and explain medical and psychiatric problems during consultations.   5. Recommend and explain appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment.  6. Request and interpret results of laboratory investigations when necessary.  7. Instruct and educate patients in preventative health care.  8. Conduct telephone consultations using highly effective communication skills to clearly explain clinical information, investigation results, and their implications in a patient-centred and accessible manner, while responding appropriately to both routine and emergency psychiatric presentations.  9. Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all required paperwork for legal and administrative purposes.  10. Participate in quality improvement  11. Work collaboratively with non-medical staff to carry out the identified work with a patient as appropriate as well as other teams involved in patient care at MPFT.  12. Communicate when necessary, with colleagues in Primary Care and hospital specialists in order to discuss or refer specific patients, plan and co-ordinate activities or exchange information in order to improve the quality of patient care.  13. Undertake clinical responsibilities as required by the IMHT/MPFT within scope of practice  14. Support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of the organisation with GP CS approval  15. Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultations

Non Clinical  16. Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.  17. Identify and be proactive in own training needs and development and as agreed with IMHT and MPFT mandatory training as well values and culture of the organisation.  18. Participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through incidents and near miss events.  19. Contribute to a patient safety culture through the reporting and investigation of significant events and patient safety incidents and to undertake proactive measures to improve patient safety  20. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings as required.  21. Engage in ongoing professional development, reflective practice, and quality improvement activities, incorporating learning into clinical practice and contributing to