Rachel Atherton

Alumni member, Rachel, qualified with a diploma in Physician Associate (PA) Studies from the University of Central Lancashire as one of the first graduates on the programme which started in 2016. During this time of study, Rachel undertook clinical placements across primary and secondary care in the North West of England, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, to Blackburn, East Lancashire. Prior to this, Rachel was awarded her Master of Biological Sciences (MBiol) degree at the University of Liverpool with first class honours in 2014. At the University of Liverpool, she studied within the School of Tropical Medicine, her dissertation projects involved topics such as lymphatic filariasis and pathogenic salmonella enterica.

Rachel joined the team here as a Lecturer on the Master's in Physician Associate Practice in January 2024. She teaches across a range of subjects and retains her interests in surgery. Rachel is keen to nurture and develop the Physician Associate (PA) profession though delivering high quality education and support to students as they progress on their exciting journey into clinical practice.

Post qualification from the PA course, Rachel started her preceptorship year at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC). Here she worked alongside medical practitioners on the surgical assessment unit and undertook various rotations within the surgical speciality, including vascular and colorectal surgery. Rachel has since relocated to Morecambe Bay and started working as Physician Associate in Colorectal surgery at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHTR). Within this role, she joined the Education Lead team who assisted in creating learning and development opportunities for both qualified PAs and student PAs. Her work included organisational planning of monthly regional teaching and ad-hoc simulation-based learning.

Qualifications