We often get asked about how much experience a PA needs before they can work for us as a medical service provider.

As per FPA guidelines we also do offer student roles - please see our jobs board.

This does vary on the individual but generally speaking at least 6 months in the chosen hospital specialty.

As a Physician Associate for primary care this is one year+ employment before you are considered ready and experienced enough to meet both ours and any clients expectations.

The most important concept to understand is that locuming is not a training environment, it is service provision.

In primary care unlike in hospital you have a lot of autonomy, its an intense working environment and the systems for referral can be complex. No PA should be even considering this type of work before they are ready i.e. Meet the minimum time requirements and have had a full and indepth appraisal of your clinical skills and knowledge. (required for the MVR/GMC). To work in this environment too soon has the potential to cause damage to the reputation of yourself and the profession as a whole.

We have had PAs who have met the minimum requirements and because of poor clinical or professional decisions relating to inexperience are no longer employed. If you rush into this type of work too soon it can have significant implications on your career.

I However if you are ready and meet the quality control criteria it can be very rewarding in terms of reimbursement and progressing your career and CV.

For example Joseph our Primary Care Director has now worked in >35 GP practices and 5 WICs!

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For further information please apply to a vacancy and come to our online chat to discuss further.

Even if you can’t quite Locum yet you can see what the NHS criteria is for this type of work.
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