Be part of a growing NHS workforce as a medical associate professional

The NHS has seen the emergence of new professional roles working within multi-professional teams as part of the continuing drive to provide safe, accessible and high-quality care for patients. 

Be part of this highly-skilled workforce. Become a medical associate professional. 

You'll be part of a growing workforce

Being a medical associate professional means being an essential part of the NHS workforce. Training opportunities are growing across the country so the chance of you kickstarting or progressing your NHS career in the medical associate professions is increasing rapidly. 

You'll be highly skilled

You'll receive world-class undergraduate or postgraduate training at some of the top universities across the UK. Your training will mean having the skills you need to support your team and deliver high-quality care for patients.

You'll be rewarded

There’s more than one reason why a career in the NHS is rewarding. Not only will you enjoy a competitive salary, you’ll also get a generous pension and exclusive health service discounts too. And to help you enjoy a healthy work/life balance, you’ll work a flexible 37.5 hour week with 27 days holidays a year plus public holidays.

You'll also know that you are making a difference every day.

Guide

Get information on careers in the medical associate professions straight to your inbox

We'll send you advice and tips on starting your NHS career including how to get work experience and applying for training and jobs.

Let's go

  • The three medical associate professions are:

    • Physician associates
    • Surgical care practitioners
    • Anaesthesia associate (previously known as physician assistants (anaesthesia))

    Find out more about each of the roles.

  • Yes, it depends on the role you are interested in, but is certainly possible if you have the right qualifications and background.

    Read how Sara who went from being a nurse to a surgical care practitioner and Antoinette who was a nurse and now works as an anaesthesia associate.

  • It really depends on the role. If you want to be:

    • a surgical care practitioner, you usually need to have a first degree in a healthcare profession such as nursing or one of the allied health professions, such as operating department practice. 
    • a physican associate, you'll need a need a bioscience-related or healthcare first degree to study at a postgraduate level. There are also undergraduate programmes and these courses require A-levels or equivalent for entry. 
    • an anaesthesia associate, you'll need to be a registered health care practitioner with three years experience or graduate with a biomedical science or biological science degree.

Real-life stories

Hear from our passionate team and find out what being a medical associate professional is really like.

Make a comment or report a problem with this page

Help us improve

This form is for you to tell us about something that could be improved about the website or if there's anything wrong, incorrect or inaccurate with what you see. 

If you have a query about a career in the NHS, please visit our contact us page and call or email us.