Most striking thing about this survey is that amongst those consultants working regularly with Anaesthesia Associates only 56% of them are confident in their abilities. That's a very concerning statistic.

There can't be that many in-house lawyers working at/for the GMC.

Here's the original post mumsnet.com/talk/general_h…

In law, as in common language, there is only one medical profession: THE medical profession. “The medical professions” is a new term of the GMC’s invention: using the plural i.e. multiple medical professions implies an equivalence to THE medical profession and therefore doctors.

Campaigners urge GMC to stop referring to AAs and PAs as ‘medical professionals’ doctors.net.uk/news/campaigne…

The full letter can be read on our blog here bit.ly/medicalprofess…

Credit and thanks to Scuderia Panda who inspired and wrote the letter with support from @londonanaesth and the AU team

Who can be inhuman enough to think that holding a patients hand isn't in your 'job description as a medical student'? In my experience, nurses and other doctors hold patients hands if they are obviously scared, and the reassurance that this simple act conveys is much appreciated

Royal college of Physicians tearing itself apart as rift between senior leadership and the members grows wider.

The results of the survey are insightful. More respondents find PAs limit their work and take away from trainees' opportunities than help. The only way they could have spun the numbers to look remotely positive was by combining positive and neutral categories. A shambles.

PAs benefit the workforce because they don't have to work nights and weekends like the rest of it.

Wait, say that one again....

Thanks to Janet Eastham who yet again with her excellent investigative reporting has found evidence of massive scale replacement of doctors with Physician Associates, something we have been reassured time and time again isn’t happening.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/1…

There has been lots of discussion about Scope of Practice recently.

I spent several months trying to understand concepts of scope and regulation for a piece of funded research.

So here is a bit about what I learnt.
1/

NHS patients to be seen by 'doctors on the cheap'

Usual suspects saying the usual things.

But this one is ten years old.

independent.co.uk/life-style/hea…

My rapid-response to the BMJ piece by Sarah Clarke that claims in its title that there is a role for Physician Associates, then goes on to say there is still ambiguity around what role for patients actually is.

Role? What role?

bmj.com/content/384/bm…

Am sure I'm not the only medic tonight wishing that their college was Royal College of Anaesthetists 😔

#RCPEGM

There is a role for Associates. But RCP President confirms '... we recognise that there is still some ambiguity around their scope of practice and about their role for patients.'.

So there is a role. We just don't know what it is yet.

bmj.com/content/384/bm…

This thread nicely summarises the wrong that has been done to our trainees by the introduction of Associates. Undermining them, undercutting them and giving them a professional identity crisis. What sort of an employer would do this to its valued staff?

The issues around Associates are getting more and more scrutiny as the general public becomes increasingly aware of them.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/d…

The BBC Health News news story posted by Gem O’Reilly claiming medical leaders backed the rise in PAs has had its headline changed - presumably it was inaccurate. As the story for how this happens starts to unfold, worth keeping an eye on the original version at web.archive.org/web/2024030502…