Moving from secondary to primary care, I am currently based at the Middlewood Partnership, a PCN (primary care network) situated within the East Cheshire area. I am autonomous in my work, adapting to the different types of pressures primary care can bring, and it is in doing so that I have found I have been able to make great progression, both personally and professionally. A typical week would include reviewing patients as part of an on-call urgent on the day team, base sessions where I would see an array of different more longer-term issues, proactive chronic disease management that consists of patients with respiratory and cardiovascular backgrounds, reception support to assist with clinical triage, cancer care reviews, as well as much more. Within this I would arrange investigations such as blood tests and scans, interpret them, and write referrals for further care should it be appropriate. I am also starting to take lead with our cardiovascular chronic disease management, arranging and leading meetings with the wider team to improve our patient care.

Having graduated in the PA study programme, I went on to employment within the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Based primarily on the Northwest Ventilation Unit, I was able to undertake an array of tasks and shoulder a degree of responsibility in taking care of patients, assisting as well as being supervised by the medical team. These included, but were not restricted to: clerking, history taking, coming up with differential diagnoses, management plans, follow ups, and day to day tasks. I was also occasionally rotated onto different wards to assist with staffing, these were the general respiratory wards, the Cystic Fibrosis ward, and also the Pulmonary Oncology Unit. I also saw patients in clinics, as well as taking part in audits, projects and peer teaching for my fellow PAs and junior doctors. One particular audit I had completed was on quality standards and holistic care in the long term ventilation service, which I presented to the team that consisted of consultants, nurses and physiotherapists. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was relocated to the acute COVID wards, which proved a great and unique challenge, both physically and mentally.

As a trial’s assistant in the haematology and oncology department, I was entrusted with various sponsored clinical trials from companies such as GSK and Gilead, to ensure all data from patients undertaking them were captured in a timely and efficient manner. The trials we looked over covered cancers such as lymphoid and myeloid leukemias. We had to ensure the appropriate data was obtained to reflect the specific cycle of the patient’s treatment, as well as any adverse and serious adverse effects that took place. These were then discussed with the Principal Investigators, who determined the likelihood that they were caused by the treatment. Different sponsors required data to be captured on different platforms, both paper format and virtually using various databases. I would respond to phone calls and queries from participants, nurses, doctors and sponsors alike. There would also be scheduled visits from the clinical trial monitors from the different sponsors, who came to ensure that all data was up to date and accurate. On top of that I was involved in developing databases of patient visits, treatment scans and scheduled treatment, completing and cleaning data queries, taking part in sponsor audits, MDT meetings alongside medical staff, and finally partaking in international investigator meetings. These meetings were a highlight as it allowed for a great deal of learning and networking, the biggest of which was being invited to attend the American Society of Haemotology (ASH) conference that was held in Florida over 5 days.

While working alongside the admin team, I am trusted to handle patient files under the data protection act in order to sort into appropriate sections, scan, upload and organise onto the computer database. This allows the files to be seen on the network in a more convenient manner by doctors, nurses, and other members of staff.

While working as a voluntary carer in my local nursing home, I assisted the staff in providing general care for the residence. This involved helping in dressing, portering, making and feeding breakfast and lunch, and anything else the residents requested. Being able to help and interact with the elderly allowed me to see first-hand an entirely new aspect of life, as well as feel a large sense of empathy.

As part of the ground staff, I assisted the team in the maintenance and well-being of the endowed schools, involving jobs such painting, waste disposal, construction, transport and general manual labour. My time here enabled me to appreciate getting stuck into a variety of jobs new to me and undertake them with a degree of professionalism.

As a general aid, I assisted in taking stock of the itinerary, washing, cleaning, clearing tables and manning the shop window selling coffee, ice cream and other items of food. While at the same time improving my French, I was able gain a friendly rapport with regular customers and with the staff.