University of Birmingham
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.

Overall student satisfaction
72 /100
20 total respondents
The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

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


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

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.

Accredited by the Royal Society of Biology for the purpose of meeting, in part, the academic and experience requirement of membership and Chartered Biologist (CBiol).

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.

Current jobs

Required skill level of job after 15 months

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

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)
    • 6.5
    • Undergraduate Degrees

Applicants whose first language is not English are required to provide evidence of English proficiency, such as IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 7.0 in any band. Please note that the British Physician Associate programme does not qualify you to work in the USA.
Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Physician Associate Studies (Postgraduate), PgDip, if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

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

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
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Where is this programme taught

Main Site
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