Clinical supervision of physician associates; who, what and how is it done?

The physician associate (PA) role is gaining momentum as a healthcare professional who supports medical workload in primary care, yet there is a lack of clinical literature around how best to clinically supervise this new role. This seems especially pertinent amid the recent funding initiatives that encourage employment of PAs to aid the increasing demands in primary care, especially with the added stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for clinical supervisors to be aware of what their responsibilities are when employing and supervising a PA. Qualitative feedback from a cohort of primary care PAs in Sheffield alongside the authors’ own expertise have been collated to produce recommendations to supplement existing documentation from the Faculty of Physician Associates. The paper seeks to rapidly initiate a starting point in clinical literature around the breadth of considerations within PA supervision. These recommendations include, but are not limited to, a discussion at the onset of PA employment of mutual needs and a specified supervisory schedule, alongside named clinicians who generally address clinical and pastoral components periodically. This accompanies an induction into the practice and general clinical support that is initially more intensive but otherwise remains available when the PA feels it is required.