Response

Editor – As you have correctly identified, the risk of ‘alternative, less stringent, models of training’ is very real. The absence, at present, of any accreditation standards or external review processes for PA programmes, or even the lack of the basics of mandatory educational standards for PA programmes could very well undermine the overall progress of the profession to date. This is especially true now, given that there are three new programmes coming online in the next 6 months and several more under consideration for the next year.

Further, while it is my hope that the registration, along with programme accreditation standards by the Health and Care Professions Council, are forthcoming, they are neither a certainty nor anywhere on the near horizon. As an interim solution, I along with experienced American and British PA educators from the UK and Ireland Universities Board for Physician Associate Education are currently finalising a ‘best practice’ document which can serve as a template (although with voluntary compliance) for those universities considering a PA programme.

• © 2014 Royal College of Physicians