Faculty of Physician Associates

The Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is the professional membership body for physician associates (PAs) in the United Kingdom. Established in 2015, it is responsible for setting PA standards, running the accreditation examinations, managing of the Physician Associate Managed Voluntary Register (PAMVR), and is a faculty of the RCP.

Its predecessor organisation was the UK Association of Physician Assistants (UKAPA) which was created in 2005. The UKAPA voted to change the name of their profession to physician associates in 2013 after the Department of Health and Social Care advised that being called assistants could prevent regulation.

The president of the organisation, elected in 2022, was Jamie Saunders who works in haematology at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and its vice-president was Chandran Louis who works in urology at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Saunders and Louis both resigned in June 2024. The RCP approved the membership of the president of the FPA to its governing council in 2018 with full voting rights. After an RCP EGM in 2024 on physician associates, it was announced that the FPA would become independent of the RCP within a year.