Nabeel Farooq

It is my desire and commitment to pursue a career within primary care as diagnosing and managing patients presenting to the GP with a variety of chronic health conditions, helps implement the medical knowledge I have gained from completing the PA programme. I also believe it is equally important to maintain excellent relationships with patient's, by building a strong rapport in which I believe is one of the many key skills I hold. I also believe it is an important attribute to always ask for help in certain situations, where I have had the clinical experience in establishing professional working relationships within a multi-disciplinary team.

I have also gained considerable experience in performing a variety of procedural skills during my time working at different practices, in which I also hold substantial evidence as part of my portfolio, an example of the competencies I have completed within primary care include the following:

-Monitoring of basic observations (manual blood pressure monitoring, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturations, temperature)

-Venous blood samples.

-Knowledge of diabetes management and monitoring of blood glucose levels in diabetes clinics.

-Performing peak flow and spirometry assessments and knowledge of treatments in patient's presenting to the respiratory clinic with underlying asthma/COPD diagnosis.

-Warfarin therapy (INR).

-Urine sample/dipstick.

-Physical examinations.

-Telephone Triage.

-Interpreting laboratory results.

I have also gained wide-spread experience in performing a variety of physical examinations, in which I also hold evidence as part of my portfolio. Examples of this include performing a full cardiovascular/respiratory examination on a patient; gaining patient consent to take a full medical history, presenting to the general practice with symptoms of a tight chest and non-productive cough, where I performed the full examination under the supervision of the doctor where I made the diagnosis of pneumonia. I managed this patient against the CURB-65 criteria, where I prescribed the patient a 5-day course of antibiotics (Amoxicillin) to help alleviate the patient’s symptoms of presenting complaints and clear the chest infection.

From my extensive experience working within GP, I have also gained knowledge of supporting doctors in clinical decision making, in which I also hold evidence within my portfolio. An example of this, most recently within a primary care setting was with a doctor I was supervising, where a patient presented with the core symptoms of depression including persistent low mood and sadness every day over the previous two weeks. From this history, a diagnosis of severe depression was made. The doctor also performed a suicide risk assessment for this patient where the score was categorised as low. A clinical decision was made for the patient to contact 'First Response' immediately to safeguard the patient before prescribing any medications for depression and therefore I supported the doctor’s decision in this instance, to follow up this patient later on in the day to ensure that the patient had been in contact with 'First Response' for mental health counselling, in which I provided feedback to the doctor whom then prescribed the patient a course of anti-depressant medication, (SSRI) sertraline.

From these experiences I have highlighted within my application, I believe within my role as a Physician Associate I can continue to work alongside doctors and other allied healthcare professionals to provide quality medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team. 

I have also gained first-hand knowledge in the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality and always maintaining the respect and dignity of patients. I also understand the importance and significance of implementing and keeping up to date with relevant data protection legislation including information governance.

I have recently completed an audit and quality improvement project at a GP within Bradford 'The Ridge Medical Practice’, where my QIPP was titled 'Clinic Appointment reminders and their effect on attendance rates of HbA1c clinics in patients newly diagnosed with diabetes in a primary care setting during the last QOF year between 2019-2020. Throughout this process I collated an audit consisting of 181 patients in total and presented my report produced in a format suitable for publication in the journal 'Diabetic Medicine’.

I believe I have outlined my capabilities in being able to successfully manage and treat a variety of chronic health conditions within clinical practice. I will also be able to triage patients, carry out telephone consultations, make referrals and review and act on laboratory results.

I have gained a vast amount of clinical experience working as a Physician Associate during my time spent on placements at various primary and secondary care locations throughout my training as a PA. I have accumulated a total of 1600 hours as part of my portfolio at the following practices:

-The Ridge Medical Practice 

-Lingwell Croft Surgery

-Bingley Medical Practice

-Bradford Royal Infirmary

-Dewsbury and District Hospital

Furthermore, I have gained extensive clinical experience of working within various specialities at each of these trusts which contributes to the total of 1600 hours of PA work I have accumulated as part of my portfolio. The specialities I have worked in within these practices include the following:

-Community Medicine

-General Surgery

-Acute & Emergency Medicine

-Mental Health

-Paediatrics

-Obstetrics & Gynaecology

-Elderly Care

-Cardiology

-Gastroenterology

-Neurology

-Dermatology

-Ear, Nose & Throat

I believe I that I hold the key attributes needed to become a competent, professional, and successful representative of the Physician Associate role within general practice. From my experience working within clinical practice, I have been able to develop excellent communication skills with patients, where I understand that showing empathy and respect to patient’s goes a long way in building a strong patient rapport. I have also developed good problem solving skills throughout the PA programme, further establishing my knowledge in medicine coupled with the practical aspects of working as a PA within clinical practice, which has given me the confidence and self-belief when making a diagnosis. I also believe I have shown good organisational and team working skills as part of my role, as I understand the process of taking medical histories in a coherent and logical manner, analysing test results, and formulating management plans. Where working coherently as part of a multi-disciplinary team is vital in being able to provide an excellent level of patient care.

Within my portfolio I have also shown evidence of innovation within my role by performing numerous teaching sessions to doctors within the practices I have previously worked as a PA. An example of this is was when I delivered a GP case presentation from a patient that I saw within primary care with a diagnosis of Varicella Zoster Virus Infection, in this particular case I outlined the patient’s presenting complaint’s (four day history of painful, watery red eye), differential diagnosis (conjunctivitis, contact dermatitis), investigation and examination findings (vesicular lesion’s on the forehead, Hutchinson’s sign positive) and the management plan for this patient (7 day course of anti-viral medication Aciclovir and same day referral to ophthalmology for further tests). From the feedback I gained, it was mentioned that performing teaching sessions such as this, demonstrated a high level of knowledge expected of a PA and this was reflected in the grading for this presentation, as I was marked as excellent throughout.

I have also had numerous professional development reviews as part of my portfolio, throughout my clinical practice rotations working as a PA. I have been continually graded excellent from my clinical supervisors, who consist of GP’s and doctors in each of the trust’s I have worked for many of the assessment criteria which I believe shows my progression, competency, and confidence within the PA role. Furthermore, showcasing my ability of working within these different specialities and how I can work coherently, effectively and efficiently within a multi-disciplinary team.

-Awarded the degree of Masters (MSc) Physician Associate Studies course from The University Of Bradford on 4th December 2021.

-Awarded the degree of Bachelors (BSc) Biomedical Sciences With Physiology/Pharmacology in July 2015.