The Stomach, the Port and the Apprenticeship
Walk through Liverpool this month and expect to find visual art. The Liverpool Biennial theme is the body and how it connects with the world. We look at the latest medical apprenticeship standard the Wirral University Teaching Hospital helped develop.
Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest festival of contemporary visual art. It has transformed the city for over two decades and the 11th Edition, this month, is called the Stomach and the Port. Curated by Manuela Moscoso, this year’s Biennial presents a dynamic programme of free exhibitions, performances and fringe events over 12 weeks. The festival explores the body, hence the stomach reference in the title. The latest apprenticeship standard that Wirral University Teaching Hospital has helped develop, provides opportunities for talented future healthcare professionals.
The new standard is a Physician Associate. This apprenticeship will develop your skills to work alongside registered doctors and provide medical care as an integral part of a wider healthcare team. You’ll become a ‘dependent practitioner’. This means that you must work with a dedicated medical supervisor, but you can work autonomously with appropriate support. You are most likely to be working in GP surgeries, accident and emergency departments, care homes and hospitals.
Physician Associates are medically trained to provide all aspects of health care to patients. This includes consultation, assessment, treatment and management of their health care. As part of the Physician Associate role you’ll be: taking medical histories; performing physical examinations; requesting and interpreting investigations; diagnosing and managing patients. You’ll also learn an extensive range of specialised procedural skills.
Physician Associates practice medicine in a collaborative and supportive working relationships with their medical supervisors. There is always a registered doctor who can discuss cases, give advice and attend to patients if necessary. Physician Associates increase access to quality care for patients. They bring new talent to the NHS and add to the skill mix within healthcare teams. As a Physician Associate you may work in specialist fields of medicine, but will be trained initially to provide you with general medical knowledge and skills.
The Physician Associate Apprenticeship is a Level 7 (degree level) apprenticeship that takes up to 36 months to complete.
The Apprenticeship Support by Be More Team provides impartial information and advice on apprenticeships across the Liverpool City Region.
