Location: Altnagelvin Area Hospital
Contract and hours: Temporary contracts until 31 August 2025 / Saturdays and/or Sundays shifts only
Training will take place on 10th March (virtual online session)
What is encompass?
Encompass is a single digital record for secondary care in Northern Ireland. The encompass programme uses software from a company called Epic who are a world leader in health information systems. South-Eastern Trust went live with encompass in November 2023, Belfast Trust went live in June 2024, Northern Trust went live on 7th November 2024 with Western and Southern going live 8 May 2025
What is the role of Physician Associates?
The WHSCT are looking to bring in Physician Associates to support us in preparation for our Encompass go live on 8th May 2025.
Training/Supervision of Physician Associate
To facilitate the training and development of a Physician Associate, they will be overseen by a Medical Information Officer (MIO). MIOs are a combination of Consultants and SAS doctors who have allocated time for Encompass-related duties. Before beginning their role, Physician Associates will receive training, and once they start working within the Trust, they will remain under the supervision of the MIOs.
Who can be a Physician Associate for Encompass?
A Physician Associate must be enrolled at Ulster University School of Medicine and be on their 2nd year of Post Graduate Diploma or MSc/MPAS in Physician Associate Studies or equivalent
Must be willing to work Saturdays and Sundays until 31 August 2025 in Altnagelvin Hospital Londonderry.
Main duties of a Physician Associate
- Physician Associates to retain a focus on their medical studies, and ensure that contribution to chart abstraction does not impact upon same.
- Engage with WHSCT-delivered chart abstraction training.
- Respect the confidentiality of all patient information, including not accessing patients known personally to the Physician Associate or discussion of clinical information with anyone other than supervising medical staff.
- Use access to WHSCT ICT resources only for the purposes of chart abstraction.
- Accurate abstraction of clinical information from legacy information sources to the encompass system and recording of same on the abstraction trackers.
- Seek and follow direction from medical staff supervising chart abstraction sessions, especially if unclear on best practice.
- Proactive follow-up and correction of any errors in abstraction that become apparent.
- Accurate completion and timely submission of timesheets.
