Physician Associate Studies (Postgraduate) PgDip
University of Birmingham
Key Course Facts
Student Reviews
Below you can see course specific reviews for 20 graduates of Physician Associate Studies (Postgraduate) PgDip at University of Birmingham for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry.
This particular course
Salary
Salary of Graduates in molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry
Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.
15 months after graduation | 3 years after graduation | 5 years after graduation | |
---|---|---|---|
Median salary | £29000 | £25000 | £31000 |
25-75 percentile range | £24000 - £30000 | £21500 - £31000 | £25000 - £38500 |
All molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry courses of University of Birmingham
Salary of all UK Graduates of molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry
15 months after graduation | 3 years after graduation | 5 years after graduation | |
---|---|---|---|
Median salary | £25986 | £23450 | £28950 |
25-75 percentile range | £21993 - £30000 | £18456 - £28917 | £22344 - £35829 |
All molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry courses in the UK
Course Description
What is a Physician Associate?
Physician Associate is a rapidly growing healthcare role in the UK, working alongside doctors in hospitals and in GP surgeries. Physician Associates support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. They are trained to perform a number of roles including: taking medical histories, performing examinations, analysing test results, and diagnosing illnesses under the direct supervision of a doctor.
The development of the profession has been led by the Department of Health and has involved the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of General Practitioners as well as the profession itself through the former UK Association of Physician Associates (UKAPA) which is now the Faculty of Physician Associates at the Royal College of Physicians. Successful completion of the programme will qualify you to practise as a Physician Associate in the UK.
We also run a flexible MSc Physician Associate programme for those who already have their Postgraduate Diploma from a UK or Irish institution.
The course
The course leaders regard integration of theory and practice as fundamental to clinical learning.
•This course is two, full time, calendar years in duration, each lasting approximately 48 weeks, plus an additional month. You can expect to be studying 50 hours per week.
•Theory is learned mostly through case/problem based learning and you will experience medicine in both hospital and community attachments.
•The rich ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the 5.5 million strong West Midlands population offers unrivalled opportunities for clinical learning, with placements seeking to optimise this.
•Right from the beginning, you will have contact with patients, as during the first term, students are placed for up to five days of clinical experience within a General Practice in either the West Midlands or beyond.
•This is followed by a fourteen-week hospital attachment in the second term, and a further few days of General Practice in the third term Students will use the cases collected during the second term as the basis of their learning within the third term.
•The second year continues the problem-based learning approach and integrates further learning and placements in Acute and Emergency Medicine, Child Health General Practice, Mental Health, Reproductive Health and Surgery.
•Throughout the course, you will receive teaching in a variety of forms, including lectures, seminars, tutorials, group work, and bedside demonstrations.
•Simulation is fundamental to this course, using simulated patients (who will teach you communication and examination skills, including gynaecological and urological examination). Simulation aims both to prepare you for the clinical world and to train you in a safe, non-threatening environment.
•Progression exams are undertaken at the nine months mark, and again at twenty-three months into the course. Students are required to pass both sets of examinations prior to entry into the National Assessment.
•Assessment types will include Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) paper(s), Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), Case Write-Ups, Presentations and Professional Behaviour sign-offs.
Regulation
All students will be registered with the Faculty of Physician Associates at the Royal College of Physicians. Graduates currently join a Managed Voluntary Register.
Applications
All applications for the postgraduate diploma programme must be made through UCAS before the deadline stated below.
Jobs & Career Perspectives
15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.
This particular course
Current jobs
This particular course
Required skill level of job after 15 months
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Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)
Example below based on all graduates of Physician Associate Studies (Postgraduate) PgDip at University of Birmingham
20% | Sports and fitness occupations |
20% | Elementary occupations |
10% | Artistic, literary and media occupations |
10% | Teaching Professionals |
10% | Sales occupations |
10% | Skilled trades occupations |
10% | Web and Multimedia Design Professionals |
Grading & Study Time
Grading Distribution
Students of the course received the following grades
Entry Requirements / Admissions
UCAS Tariff of Accepted Students for this course
This particular course
Requirements for international students / English requirements
IELTS academic test score (similar tests may be accepted as well)
-
- 6.5
- Graduate Degrees
- (no subscore less than 6.0)
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- 6.5
- Undergraduate Degrees
Costs
Average student cost of living in the UK
Rent | £518 |
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home) | £50 |
Supermarket shopping | £81 |
Clothing | £35 |
Eating out | £33 |
Alcohol | £27 |
Takeaways / food deliveries | £30 |
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food) | £24 |
Holidays and weekend trips | £78 |
Transport within city | £17 |
Self-care / sports | £20 |
Stationary / books | £13 |
Mobile phone / internet | £13 |
Cable TV / streaming | £7 |
Insurance | £51 |
Other | £95 |
Average student cost of living | £1092 |
London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.
How to apply
Application deadline:
January 1, 2025
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Possible Entry Points:
- year 1 (Default entry point)
University Rankings
Positions of University of Birmingham in top UK and global rankings.
See all 35 university rankings of University of Birmingham
About University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a research university based in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. The university’s aim is to be at the cutting edge of educational delivery, and to have their curriculum be continually reshaped by new revelations in research. The main campus is situated a reasonable three miles away from Birmingham city centre, which doesn’t take long to get to via bus if the student decides they’d like to spend some of their free time there.
List of 469 Bachelor and Master Courses from University of Birmingham - Course Catalogue
Student composition of University of Birmingham
-
Total number of students enrolled at University of Birmingham by level Academic year 2021/22 - Full-time equivalent student enrollments published by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on February 2022
- undergraduates:
- 24385
- postgraduates:
- 9185
- Total:
- 33570
-
Number of students enrolled in courses of subject “Physician Associate Studies”: Academic year - Full-time equivalent student enrollments published by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on February 2022
Where is this programme taught
Similar courses
Program | University | Student satisfaction | Unemployed | Dropout | Tuition (UK) | Tuition (International) | UCAS Tariff | City | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physician Associate Studies MSc / PGDip PgDip | Bournemouth University | - | - | - | £10500 | £18250 | - | Poole | On campus Full-time | |
Physician Associate Studies (PGDip) PgDip | The University of Manchester | - | - | - | - | - | - | Manchester | On campus Full-time | |
Physician Associate Studies PgDip | University of Surrey | - | - | - | - | - | - | Guildford | On campus Full-time | |
Physician Associate Studies PgDip | University of Surrey | - | - | - | - | - | - | Guildford | On campus Full-time | |
Physician Associate Studies (Postgraduate) PgDip | University of Birmingham | - | - | - | - | - | - | Birmingham | On campus Full-time | |
Physician Associate Studies MSc | The University of Manchester | - | - | - | - | - | - | Manchester | On campus Full-time |