The FPA annual virtual conference 2022 – poster competition and award winners
The Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) annual virtual conference took place on 1– 2 December 2022. Over 1,200 delegates joined the FPA online community and heard from over 40 expert speakers who covered over 20 topics. All content was tailored to the needs of physician associates making #FPAConf22 a learning experience as unique as the profession itself.
#FPAConf22 wouldn’t have been achieved without the support and expertise of the fantastic range of speakers who gave up their time and who were committed to supporting PAs on their journey. The FPA extends its thanks to all speakers and conference chairs who contributed to making #FPAConf22 the most successful FPA conference yet.
The conference is also an opportunity to commend and celebrate the achievements of PAs in the FPA poster competition and FPA awards.
FPA poster competition
The FPA poster competition is an opportunity for qualified and student FPA members who have contributed clinical research to help improve patient outcomes to have this showcased. Members were invited to submit abstracts for review. Successful shortlisted submissions were then invited to submit a final poster. We’re pleased to display here the overall winner and highly commended submissions.
Overall winner
Suren Yogamoorthy – PA, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust
What was the title of your submission?
Does cardiac MRI offer diagnostic and therapeutic benefit over Echo in patients with heart failure?
What was the topic/theme of your poster?
My poster was based on my MSc dissertation project that was carried out in a district general hospital over a 12-month period. This study aimed to retrospectively assess and compare the diagnostic yield of two imaging modalities – echocardiogram (Echo) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), to evaluate the additive impact of CMR on the diagnosis and management of heart failure.
Multi-imaging modality approaches are emerging and often utilised in clinical practice depending on their strengths and limitations. Currently, there is a paucity of comparative trials on optimal imaging techniques for the diagnosis of heart failure. I believe that this primary research could be beneficial for further prospective studies in this area.
How do you feel about winning and what are your future plans?
This is my second time participating in the FPA poster competition, and I was very excited and pleased to win this time. It feels very rewarding after all the hard work I’ve put in to complete my MSc alongside my full-time career as a PA. I attribute this to my passion for cardiology, and I feel motivated to expand this study and hopefully publish it future. I would like to thank the FPA team for allowing me to share my research and for all their hard work toward supporting and developing the PA role.
Highly commended submissions
Ria Agarwal – lead PA, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Faculty for advanced clinical practice/PA, Sothall Medical Centre
Julie Hoskin – primary care workforce and PA preceptorship scheme lead in Sheffield Place and workforce development lead for the Faculty for Advanced Clinical Practice
Daniel Garcia – PA-R
What was the title of your submission?
A mixed methods study exploring supervisors’ perceptions and utilisation of Physician Associates in today’s general practice.
What was the topic/theme of your poster?
Given that PAs are increasingly established in this region in primary care, we wanted to explore how GP supervisors have found working with PAs, including any advantages or disadvantages perceived by them, as well as exploring what the PAs in primary care offer. We felt gathering data on this area, whilst small scale, would be interesting given our current climate of postponed regulation limiting us from working to our full capability, and the increased patient demand we see daily in practice.
We were also keen to gather data from those with first-hand experience of working with a PA, given the surplus of negativity we, unfortunately, face at times from those that haven't always worked with us directly. We are delighted that our findings are positive and show that PAs are well-regarded on the whole.
How do you feel about being highly commended and what are your future plans?
We appreciate being awarded highly commended, which wasn't anticipated. One of the authors (Dan Garcia) started this work during his time as a PA ambassador (although has had to complete it in his own time), which we feel also demonstrates the value of the ambassador role in this region. We are keen to publish these findings and our recommendations in the near future, ideally, this can inform policy and make some positive changes happen.
Ramesha Javed – PA and Dr Heena Khan
What was the title of your poster submission?
The effects of air pollution on lung cancer in non-smokers: a systematic literature review
What was the topic/theme of your poster?
Our poster outlines a summary of my MSc dissertation project, highlighting the significant effects of air pollution on lung cancer in non-smokers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths per year. It is the third most diagnosed cancer worldwide. Lung cancer cases in non-smokers have been rising over the years, making it a clinically interesting topic.
How do you feel about being highly commended and what are your future plans?
We feel honoured that our poster gained recognition from the FPA. It was great to see our work celebrated at the FPA virtual conference. We plan to publish our literature review and hope the findings can lead to prevention strategies adopted within a national policy to reduce overall air pollution levels and have a positive impact on public health.
Emma Page – PA, North Bristol Care Home Interface Project
What was the title of your poster submission?
Advance care planning in care homes: a multidisciplinary approach
What was the topic/theme of your poster?
The topic of my submission was a presentation of outcomes from an initial 6-month phase of a pilot project which aimed to deliver systematic Advance Care Planning to care home residents through comprehensive geriatric assessments by a multi-disciplinary team, including the development of an ACP competency framework. The themes included advance care planning, frailty, MDT working and competency framework.
How do you feel about being highly commended and what are your future plans?
We are very proud to have been highly commended for this piece. We are eager to promote the success of the project, in particular the multidisciplinary approach to improving access to specialist input for people living with frailty in care homes. The data presented was from the initial 6 months of a 1-year pilot project. Since submission data collection has continued, and we have included the updated outcomes as part of a full project evaluation and application to secure future funding.
FPA awards
The FPA annual awards recognise and celebrate the commitment and achievements of PAs and PA supervisors. There are categories to the awards: PA of the year, PA supervisor of the year and the PA contribution award. The FPA awards at #FPAConf22 received more nominations than ever before – a real testament to the excellent work being shown throughout the profession. Congratulations to all nominees and winners whose nominations all showed the level of outstanding work taking place.
PA of the year
Winner: Ben Minogue – PA in plastic surgery at Manchester University Hospitals
Ben’s nomination described how he has made himself indispensable to the consistency of inpatient trauma care through the COVID-19 pandemic and how he is an excellent comminutor with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
Speaking about winning his award, Ben said, ‘I am honoured and delighted to have received this national award. There are many outstanding PAs in medical and surgical teams across the country, who also deserve such recognition. The burns and plastics team at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust are brilliant, and I am proud to work with them. Their encouragement and support of the PA role have been critical and are hugely appreciated. I’m also thrilled to have won this award alongside the PA operation team at MFT, who has been a great support at every step of the journey from being a student through to recruitment and professional development.
PA supervisor of the year
Winner: Dr Kate Armitage – acute medicine physician/PA lead, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
Kate’s nomination shared by PAs explained how her positive attitude to the PA role is outstanding and how she continues to create awareness of the impact PAs bring. Thank you from me and all other PAs watching now for being such a strong advocate for who we are and what we do.
Speaking about her award, Dr Armitage said, ‘I feel very privileged to have been nominated for this award. Since I started working with PAs, they have acted as their ambassadors by always demonstrating competence, professionalism and enthusiasm. I get a huge return on any investment I make in them, and they are my breath of fresh air in a busy workplace. I am honoured to have had my work recognised in this way.’
The PA contribution award
Winners: PA operation team for medical education – Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The team: Marylyn Dickinson, associate director of medical education and non-clinical lead for PAs, Dr Cara Hendry, consultant cardiologist and clinical lead for PAs, Chelsey Clarke, lead PA/PA in acute medicine, Rachelle Walker, PA operational manager, Jismy Vellakunathu Kunjachan, senior administrator for PAs and PA students and Stephanie Fox, senior administrator for PAs and PA students.
The team is dedicated to overseeing all PA students on placements, promoting the PA role to all workforce education committees, delivering regional CPD days and a whole lot more to help support the PA profession in their area. Speaking about winning their award they commented, ‘We are absolutely delighted to be awarded the PA Contribution Award from the FPA and over the moon to have a double celebration as one of our PAs, Ben Minogue has been awarded the PA of the Year Award. We are so proud of our PAs and the care they give to our patients, and we are dedicated to supporting their role, development and welfare as well as that of our PA students. We are also keen to work across the North West and the UK to share good practice and promote the benefits of employing PAs’.
