However, some PCPAs who were not totally satisfied with their scope of practice said that at times they had felt that some of the nurses did not value the PCPA as well as they should. This related to PCPAs not having the ability to block off time to complete set tasks and to have to accept less attractive jobs from a range of other members of the practice: The nurses treat me as if I am a step down from them and fob off the unpleasant jobs on me (#12) They treat us as lackeys sometimes (#14) We are not getting time to do our set tasks we block out time the – can’t – nurses realise how busy we are (#12) don’t The current position reported by all the PCPAs was that the registered nurses in their practices liked the PCPA addition to the practice. One of the clinics had handed over the entire recall system to the PCPA. Individual PCPAs who reported specific innovations in their practices which had resulted from their new role included: Helping with Cornerstone accreditation Doing pre-assess/triage for more doctors Combing new patient notes identifying illness/recalls and things that need doing before a consultation Revamped the recall system Before school check administration Helping doctors with skin clinic Freeing up nurses have allowed them to do a diabetes clinic for a full day. The roles which would normally have been done by a registered nurse and which were now being done by the PCPA are listed below. PCPA reported skills and tasks: Recalls 12 – Dressings(basic) 10 – Giving results 7 – Restocking 7 – Pre-assessment 7 – Assisting with minor surgery 6 – Recordings/observations 6 – Autoclaving 5 – Pregnancy tests/urine tests 5 – Dashboard - 5 Venepuncture 3 – Visual acuity 3 – New patient reviews 3 – ECG 3 – Chaperoning 2 – Answering the nurse phone 2 – Chasing results 2 – Interpreting 1 – Health and safety - 1 Receptionists The PCPAs also reported that the receptionists were currently positive about the role. As the majority of PCPAs had been in reception or administration in the practice before the demonstration programme, they currently had allocated time slots as
However, some PCPAs who were not totally satisfied with their scope of practice said that at times they had felt that some of the nurses did not value the PCPA as well as they should. This related to PCPAs not having the ability to block off time to complete set tasks and to have to accept less attractive jobs from a range of other members of the practice: The nurses treat me as if I am a step down from them and fob off the unpleasant jobs on me (#12) They treat us as lackeys sometimes (#14) We are not getting time to do our set tasks – we can’t block out time – the nurses don’t realise how busy we are (#12) The current position reported by all the PCPAs was that the registered nurses in their practices liked the PCPA addition to the practice. One of the clinics had handed over the entire recall system to the PCPA. Individual PCPAs who reported specific innovations in their practices which had resulted from their new role included: Helping with Cornerstone accreditation Doing pre-assess/triage for more doctors Combing new patient notes identifying illness/recalls and things that need doing before a consultation Revamped the recall system Before school check administration Helping doctors with skin clinic Freeing up nurses have allowed them to do a diabetes clinic for a full day. The roles which would normally have been done by a registered nurse and which were now being done by the PCPA are listed below. PCPA reported skills and tasks: Recalls – 12 Dressings(basic) – 10 Giving results – 7 Restocking – 7 Pre-assessment – 7 Assisting with minor surgery – 6 Recordings/observations – 6 Autoclaving – 5 Pregnancy tests/urine tests – 5 Dashboard - 5 Venepuncture – 3 Visual acuity – 3 New patient reviews – 3 ECG – 3 Chaperoning – 2 Answering the nurse phone – 2 Chasing results – 2 Interpreting – 1 Health and safety - 1 Receptionists The PCPAs also reported that the receptionists were currently positive about the role. As the majority of PCPAs had been in reception or administration in the practice before the demonstration programme, they currently had allocated time slots as
final-evaluation-primary-care-practice-assistant-demonstration.docx