To be so hurt to have been replaced by a Physician's Associate?

[prawncocktailskips]

I'm a junior doctor who 'specialises' in psychiatry. Due to having a young family, entering training is not the right thing for me to do currently. For those who do not know much about the training pathways, these tend to involve moving around a lot, a fairly high out-of-hour burden, keeping a portfolio and revising for exams. I just can't make this work around my family, my husband's job (involves a lot of travel) and the childcare I have access to.

For the last few years, I've worked as a locum at my local psychiatric hospital. I've worked pretty much full time and gone well above my designated hours and work load. In particular, in addition to my usual responsibilities, I've taken on the physical health needs for a lot of patients and (I think!) made some real progress. This is something that can get overlooked in psychiatry.

I am perfectly happy with my pay but for context, I am not one of the mega-rich locum doctors the newspapers talk of. I earn around £23/hour and obviously have no sick pay or AL. Several times I've been approached about having a full time non-locum role for around £32k. I've always been really enthusiastic about this but there has never been the funding.

Anyway, I've recently been told that they don't need me anymore as they have a new physician's associate. I'm really sad and hurt. I've gone above and beyond for this job. I can't understand how there is funding for a PA who will earn more than I would have done and can't do a lot of what I can do. They won't be able to prescribe (I spend a lot of time prescribing and dealing with very heavy duty psychiatric medications) or detain patients (I perform emergency detentions under the MHA not infrequently). They won't have the same medical background I have to manage the physical health of the patients. I just can't really understand what they can do that I can't!

This isn't a problem unique to me. Lots of junior doctors locum not because they want lots of money (as the media might tell you) but because they can't make training work - or, in many cases, because there aren't enough training positions at all! Many of these positions are now being replaced by PAs. I know people who have left medicine because of it and now, I think I might have to too.

AIBU to be so hurt and sad and think it's just not fair?

Yes totally idiotic @mumsneedwine . You would think someone who claims to work in the NHS would be a bit better informed.

@MaraisCinnamon our unemployed MPs in training are clueless. And thrive on hate.

Quite @mumsneedwine . "Junior doctors or doctors in training as I prefer to call them" spectacularly showing in one sentence that she doesn't have a clue. Patronising idiot.

I feel very sad for the patients who are being taken over by this new role. The difference you would have made and now the care they will receive, it’s all very sad

I haven’t read the entire thread, but in case nobody has mentioned it yet: if you have regularly locumed for them for a few years, you have rights! They can’t just let you go. Call the BMA if you are a member or Acas if you are not.

And just to add: have they paid you holiday pay all these years? Regular locums are entitled to that. If not, make sure you are not getting robbed out of your wages!