Welcome to our dedicated area for everything COVID-19 related.

We know that many of you have questions and concerns. We will do our best to keep you informed as things develop, but for the most up-to-date clinical advice and guidance, please continue to check NHS EnglandPublic Health WalesDepartment of Health (Northern Ireland), and information from the Scottish government.

We will aim update these pages with new information when they come available.

Please do contact us if you have any questions, that are not answered on these pages. You can email us at [email protected]

Resources

As we are all aware, these are uncertain, difficult times with no real assurances about the future. It is affecting every aspect of our lives, with challenging times at home; restrictions in our activities; impacts on our studies and placements; and significantly increased stress and worry at work not only for our patients but also for families and for ourselves. 

Some top tips that are regularly discussed are:

  • Keep connected to family and friends via phone or video.
  • Make sure that your news comes from trusted sources and consider a break from social media if it is making you feel more anxious.
  • Above all, make sure you look after yourselves – sleep, rest and take time to enjoy things where you can. You may be working longer hours, or in an unfamiliar environment, or getting used to new ways of learning online, and it is important that you recuperate in order to be able to provide the most impact and support when you are at work or study.

You will find some helpful resources below, however, these are being developed all the time, so if you have anything new you would like to add, please email us at  [email protected]


RCP's mental health and wellbeing resource

This online resource aims to shine a spotlight on the mental health and wellbeing of physicians by opening up the conversation about mental health issues and their impact. 

This  mental health and wellbeing resource  has been created to help you recognise the warning signs in yourself and others, as well as know about the steps you can take to stay well and seek the right support when you need it. It also shines a spotlight on what the RCP is doing to influence and improve the healthcare system in which we work.

You can access this resource here .


Health Education England

Click here for more information https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/coronavirus/


NHS Employers

Support available for NHS Staff:  https://www.nhsemployers.org/covid19/health-safety-and-wellbeing/support-available-for-nhs-staff

National discounts for NHS workers:  https://www.nhsemployers.org/news/2020/05/national-discounts-for-nhs-workers

Free access to wellbeing apps for all NHS staff:  https://www.nhsemployers.org/news/2020/03/free-access-to-wellbeing-apps-for-all-nhs-staff

 

Please note that the FPA are no longer accepting applications for the Assistant Practitioner role.  We will continue to hold the Special Register for those who have been appointed to this role to date; however, as the Physician Associate National Examinations are now running as scheduled, we will not be adding any newly appointed assistant practitioners to the register going forward. 

 

Our established COVID-19 special temporary register is for graduate student PAs who have completed their university programmes, but have yet to pass the PA national exam and the model role descriptions for graduate student PAs to support their entry into the workforce can be found below.

Provisions for graduate PA students - Assistant Practitioner (AP) role (Band 5 AfC)

It has been agreed that graduate student PAs who have completed exit examinations, but have either not yet undertaken or are waiting to re-take their PA national examinations, may be considered for an assistant practitioner role - AfC band 5. 

This role will be offered on a fixed term contract basis to support the NHS workforce during this challenging time and will be subject to a very defined job description and scope of practice, found below.

Those graduate PA students who are employed in this role will be placed on a COVID-19 temporary tracking register once confirmation of employment has been received from their employer.  The COVID-19 temporary tracking register will be held and managed by the FPA.

Remember, employers can utilise the AP role too, especially where they may have offered a graduate student a PA role on the basis of passing the national exam. The AP role enables their employment till they are able to sit and pass.

Oona Y-C Lee PA-R,Birmingham

  Oona Y-C Lee, (PHD, PA-R) Birmingham During the COVID-19 pandemic, I continue to work as a physician associate (PA) in both general practice and local Primary Care Network (PCN)... more

Obianuju Nwokolo PA-R, Aberdeen

Obianuju Nwokolo PA-R, Aberdeen I had just completed my 6 months internship in acute/emergency medicine and moved in to general practice at the beginning of March just before the lock... more

Amanda Prince PA-R, Wirral

Amanda PA-R, Wirral I am a PA working in Primary Care. I have started my PA career working across 2 GP primary care hubs dealing with suspected COVID-19 Patients. The patients have been... more

Houdini HT Wu (PhD, PA-R) Birmingham

Houdini HT Wu (PHD, PA-R) Birmingham I am a clinical scientist at the Public Health England (PHE), Birmingham Laboratory and a physician associate at the Coventry Road Medical Centre,... more

ED Department in North West London

Frontline Physician Associate’s experiences in Emergency Department (ED) in North West London   With the recent COVID situation, everyone was working outside of their... more

Bilal Chaudhry PA-R

Haematology/Oncology, Northampton General Hospital I am a Physician Associate working in Haematology at Northampton General Hospital. Having worked closely with cancer patients during... more

Daniel Meehan PA-R, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

Daniel Meehan PA-R Emergency Medicine, Coleraine, Northern Ireland I have been working in my usual jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, splitting my time between the Emergency Department and... more

Brian Dzikiti PA-R, Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals

I am a newly qualified PA, and my first job is on a COVID ward. When I began studying two years ago, I did not imagine that I would qualify during a pandemic. However, it’s been great... more

Laura Pilling PA-R, Liverpool

I am a PA working in respiratory medicine. During the coronavirus pandemic I am working across both primary and secondary care as part of a community respiratory team who manage patients... more

Diane O’Meara PA-C/R, Leicester

My pre-COVID work involved primarily seeing gastroenterology patients in clinic, chasing and actioning results, writing to GPs and patients and answering queries from patients who phone... more

Cenk Alhan PA-R, Liverpool

I am a PA working in respiratory medicine and currently based within Knowsley Community Service. I support the team during the COVID-19 crisis by... more