Physician Associate Graduate Preceptorship

LLR Training Hub is working in collaboration with NHS England to support practices who choose to recruit a Physician Associate. Those practices who recruit newly qualified PAs in to post can access funding of £5,000 for their first preceptorship year of employment, funded by NHS England. 

For an application form to apply for funding, please contact us at llrtraining.hub@nhs.net.  Please read the criteria below prior to applying.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for funding, you will need to meet the following criteria as set out by NHS England:

• The preceptorship programme will be undertaken for a minimum of 1 year [whole time equivalent] and must entail a minimum of 50% [or 6 months’ full time equivalent in any rotation of placements] being spent in Primary Care.
   
• Open to all PAs commencing a programme in the first twelve months of practice after first gaining registration on the national register or taking up their first post in primary care since gaining registration. This would also include the transition of PAs from secondary care with a maximum of 3 years’ experience. 
   
• The weekly timetable must include at least 1 dedicated session for education.
   
• PA preceptees must have a named primary care clinical supervisor who has undertaken NHS England approved clinical supervision training. 
• The preceptee must have access to a trained mentor for the duration of the preceptorship. The mentor should be external to the employing practice or Primary Care Network (PCN). 
   
• If being employed by a PCN, PAs must work in no more than 2 practices for the first 6 months of their preceptorship year.
   
•  The preceptee must have a suitable induction period, an induction meeting with their supervisor, a mid-point and an end of programme review with their supervisor.
   
• The programme must use suitable supportive records of the preceptor’s progress. 
   
•  The preceptee must take part in the employer's annual appraisal system. 
   
• Practices must offer an approved structured development plan with clear objectives, goals and a shared understanding around how the practice will support the preceptee to gain the clinical experience and skills required. This could be from a local HEI or equivalent, which will include alumni activity. 
   
• The preceptorship programme will set out expected outcomes for the preceptee in the form of competence acquisition or a brief curriculum which may be locally derived but based on established national guidance. 
   
• The preceptorship programme must enable the post–holder to engage in multi-professional learning activities with protected time to ensure this. 
   
• Where the post-holder’s objectives include a further course of study, this should usually be funded from the support payment. This could be up to the cost of a postgraduate certificate qualification if appropriate for the preceptor and the service context; this funding should be used flexibly to meet the needs of the preceptor. 
   
• Individual post-holders will be expected to complete and maintain all of the requirements of the UK PA Managed Voluntary Register [PAMVR] or subsequent register. 
   
• At the start of employment, newly qualified PAs in primary care should have 30-minute patient consultation time allocation with a debrief after each patient. This should be reviewed between 3-6 months and the consultation time adjusted as appropriate.  
   
• Employers must consider a rota with a maximum of eight patient-facing clinical sessions a week for the first 6 months of the preceptorship programme.