KESS 2 MPhil Studentship in Social Sciences: Physician Associates: preparedness and support for the role

Closing date: 25 February 2019

Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships 2 (KESS2) is a pan-Wales higher-level skills initiative led by Bangor University on behalf of the Higher Education sector in Wales.

It is part-funded by the Welsh Government 's European Social Fund (ESF) West Wales and the Valley's programme, by partners from the West Wales and the Valleys area of Wales, and by Cardiff University.

Introduced as a mechanism to ease workforce pressures, the Physician Associate (PA) role is relatively new in Wales, with numbers expected to increase. Working under the direction of a consultant or GP, PAs support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients.

To date there has  been little study of PAs in Wales. It is therefore timely to undertake a robust evaluation of the role, documenting PA's experience, exploring how well the training prepared them for practice and the impact of their role in terms of their contribution to service provision.

The student undertaking this study will be supported to develop academic and people-skills including, collecting, managing and analysing data, and employing techniques from both social sciences and business studies. Upon completion of the MPhil, the student will be well-placed for a future career in academic research or in public sector evaluation.

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