Information for PAs and AAs completing an employer reference form

Do I need to complete an employer reference form?

If you have worked in a patient-facing healthcare role or as a PA/AA educator in the last five years, you’ll need to complete an employer reference form covering your most recent three months of employment. We ask for this information as part of our checks on your fitness to practise prior to registration, and sometimes to check on your knowledge and skills if your PA National Exam pass is over two years old.

We need references covering your most recent three months of employment. If you have/had more than one healthcare employer during this three-month period, we will need references from each employer.

There are two different employer reference forms. You should choose the relevant one for your role:

• APA5 - Employer reference for clinical PA/AA roles
• APA17 - Employer reference for other patient-facing healthcare roles or PA/AA educator roles.

For clinical PA or AA roles, you must use the clinical APA5 version of the form and arrange for this to be completed by your supervising clinician, who should be a GMC-registered doctor. For other patient-facing healthcare roles (not clinical PA/AA work), use the alternative APA17 version of the form and ask your line manager to complete it.

Please see the guidance below for information about how to complete your form.

If you have not worked in a patient-facing healthcare role or as a PA/AA educator within the last five years, you do not need to complete a reference form.

What information do I need to provide on the reference form?

Details you’ll need to provide (section 1 of the form):

• Your personal details
• Information about your employer, job title and period of employment
• Tell us if you work in any other location (or have done so in the last three months), where the supervisor completing sections 2 and 3 would not be able to comment on your practice.

Details we need your supervising clinician/line manager to provide (section 2 and 3 of the form):

• Confirmation of the capacity in which you were/are working.
• A declaration to confirm there are no known fitness to practise issues during your employment.
• Supervising clinician/line manager details so we can verify the information provided. 

How do I complete the form?

You can complete the employer reference form in the following way:

• Use Adobe software where you can add electronic signature or upload a photo of your signature.
• Print, add a handwritten signature, then scan the form
• If you are unable to do the above, you can add a typed signature if needed but further checks will need to be made.

You will need to complete section one and then share the form with your supervising clinician or line manager so they can complete the remaining sections and return to you after completion.

Once they have completed these sections, you’ll need to save a copy of the form and either:

• Upload it as part of your GMC Online application. This is only possible if you are a newly-qualified PA or if you were on the FPA managed voluntary register or the RCoA voluntary register. In these cases there will be a section of the application with the upload function visible to you.
  
• Send it to us by email. If you don’t see the option to upload the form when you apply, we’ll request this when we begin assessing your application. Please wait to send this until we request this, so we can provide you with the correct email address.

Please note that the form is only valid for three months from the date of the signature, if it’s not in date when we receive it, we may ask for the form to be recompleted.

Do I need to complete more than one employer reference form?

If you work in more than one location, with a different supervising clinician (or you have done within the three months prior to applying for registration), we will need you to complete an additional form to cover that practice.

We will ask you to confirm this on your form so that we know to expect more than one form from you. You should also tell us about all your separate healthcare employers on your work details section of the online application form.

What if I’m not currently working?

If you’re currently unemployed or on a career break, we still need an employer reference as part of your registration application if you have worked in a patient-facing healthcare role or in a health educator role within the last five years. This should cover the most recent three months of employment. For example, if you stopped work on 30 September 2024, your reference form needs to cover the period 1 July to 30 September 2024.

If you’ve not worked in a patient-facing healthcare role or in a health educator role in the last five years you do not need to provide a reference. However, we may ask for further information or evidence as part of your application. If that’s the case, we will let you know.

What if I work as both a PA/AA educator and in a patient-facing healthcare role?

If you combine a role in education with clinical practice as a PA or AA, you need to complete a separate form for each role.

What do you mean by a patient-facing healthcare role?

Patient-facing roles in healthcare involve direct interaction and engagement with patients, providing care, support, or services that directly impact their well-being. You do not need to provide a reference form for an administration healthcare support role or a laboratory role where you are not directly involved in the care of patients.

Do I need to provide an Employer Reference for work undertaken as part of my course of study as a PA/AA?

No, you do not need to provide reference forms for any roles you undertook as part of your course of study to become a PA/AA, such as placements or clinical attachments that were overseen by your course provider.

I’m having issues getting my supervising clinician to complete the form, what should I do?

If you are having issues getting this form completed, you should speak to a HR representative at the organisation in which you were employed.