The Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) has announced the results of its elections for president and vice president.
Jamie Saunders, a practising physician associate (PA) in haematology at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, has been elected as president.
Jamie commented: “It is an absolute honour and a privilege to have been elected as the next president of the FPA. I will endeavour to represent the voice of PAs in everything that I and the FPA strive to achieve. There is a long up-hill road that we face as a profession; our main priority as PAs is to provide patients with appropriate, timely and evidence-based medical care. We are such a diverse profession, and I want to see that grow through everything we do. We are moving at a rapid pace and I intend to keep that momentum going.”
Three candidates stood for FPA president and Jamie won with 436 votes. He will succeed the current FPA president, Kate Straughton, and will begin his 3-year term on 1 August 2022.
Chandran Louis, a practising PA in urology at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a PA lecturer at St George's University of London, has been elected as vice president.
Chandran commented: “My main aim during the next 4 years is to work with the current members, stakeholders and groups to create opportunities for PAs to work at their full potential. The first stepping stone to this is ensuring that regulation happens as soon as possible. It’s also vitally important to protect our professional identity within the workplace and I want to ensure the profession continues to grow in the right direction. I would like to further drive forward the work that’s already in development with royal colleges and societies, including career frameworks to ensure PAs are developing both on a personal and national level.”
Three candidates stood for FPA vice president and Chandran won with 396 votes. He will succeed the current FPA vice president, Michelle Chapman, and will begin his 4-year term on 1 August 2022.
The elections were managed by Civica Election Services and a total of 796 votes were cast by qualified FPA members.
The RCP established the Faculty of Physician Associates in 2015 in conjunction with the UK Association of Physician Associates (UKAPA), Health Education England (HEE) and other medical royal colleges. It aims to support the professional development of physician associates and thereby enhance patient safety, by providing access to educational and professional development resources and high-quality administration from the RCP.