Advanced Clinical Practitioner. Meet the Primary Care Workforce: Jamie Crosswell

Meet Jamie Crosswell, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) working at Whitstable Medical Practice. He talks us through his experience working in Primary Care, why he wanted to train to become an ACP and his PhD plans for the future!
Transcript:
I’m Jamie Crosswell and I am a Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) in the Frailty Team and a Chartered Physiotherapist at Whitstable Medical Practice.
What is your career journey?
I first did a Sports Rehabilitation Degree in 2002 and went on to do a Master’s in Physiotherapy. I then worked as a Physiotherapist Assistant in a Respiratory team. In 2012, I completed an additional prescribing course and in 2014 I did a conversion course to become an Independent Prescriber. I have worked as an ACP in Palliative Care and now I work in the Frailty Team here at Estuary View.
What motivated you to work in Primary Care?
I had predominantly worked in Community Care, with much of my experience dealing with long-term conditions. As I developed I naturally progressed into Primary Care. Now, I work at the forefront of Primary Care and I am that first point of contact.
There is something different every day, you never know what you'll come across and that is quite different to Secondary Care. Primary Care is a slightly different challenge, but it does keep you on your toes!
Why did you want to become an ACP?
I started as a Band 3 Physio Assistant and I have always had that drive to want to learn more and better myself, but also help patients; the more I can do the more I can help the patient. I have worked with colleagues who were prescribers and saw the benefits of those added skills. My experience as a physiotherapist by background or within specialist teams means that I have always worked autonomously. Even when you first qualify as a physio, you have to do an assessment, make a diagnosis and follow that through, so being an ACP involves similar responsibilities.
What does your role entail?
At the Practice, I am one of 3 ACPs in the Frailty team, however Whitstable Medical practice have about 18 ACPs in various roles overall; the Frailty Team are here to support the GPs, we do home visits with involves a holistic assessment, a mixture of medical and social issues including medicine reviews and advance care planning. We also do the weekly ward rounds at the care homes and with that we closely feedback to the GP for anything that may need their input. We do take some urgent phone calls from the care homes as well, however most of our referrals come from the GPs with patients who they feel need that extra input.
How does your role benefit the practice and patients?
From a practice point of view we offload a lot of work from the GP, complex and frail patients can be quite time-consuming, so it frees GPs up for their really busy surgeries. Being able to assess, diagnose and follow-up means that we are offering the patient the whole package.
What would you say to someone thinking of becoming an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP)?
I think becoming an ACP is something good to aspire to; it is fundamental to work quite autonomously, which is something some people may struggle with if over the years they've always had other people making the decisions. Being autonomous and a critical thinker will really help someone be a better ACP.
What are your career plans in the next 2-3 years?
I have always wanted to do a PhD. At the moment, it is just gaining more expertise in my field, frailty is a complex field and even subjects that seem basic on the surface can get complicated. For me, it is taking on more specific courses. However, maybe a PhD in the long run!
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