The Interim Board of The College of Medical Associate Professionals (CMAPS) wishes to update you on our progress and address the recent announcement regarding the dissolution of the Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).

This recent development marks a significant shift in the physician associate (PA) profession, and we would like to take the opportunity to assure all members of CMAPs of our commitment to representing its members’ professional interests. This includes advocacy and representation of the individual professions as part of our unified college.

Progress Update

The Interim Board have been communicating and engaging with stakeholders, including national bodies and medical royal colleges, and look forward to working with them on MAP-related and other important clinical and public health issues.

CMAPS is led by previous elected members of the FPA executive board, on an interim temporary basis. As part of CMAPs, we are able to deliver on our election promises within the College of Medical Associate Professionals (CMAPs), as the professional home and body for PAs, AAs, and SCPs.

With the FPA’s dissolution, PAs will soon lack dedicated professional representation. We want to commit to our members that CMAPS stands ready to step into this role.

CMAPs is currently in the final stages of ratifying our governance structure, ensuring the highest level of organisational standards are in place and that our governance is future-ready.

The team at CMAPs are establishing the framework of corporate hierarchy that will lay the foundations of our professional body, with three Offices; of PAs, of AAs and of SCPs. This process is essential and requires legal consultation to ensure rigor. We look forward to updating you on this and seeking your insights in due course.

The Relationship between CMAPS and UMAPs

We have received several enquiries from members regarding the relationship between CMAPs and United Medical Associate Professionals (UMAPs), and we would like to take this opportunity to offer our members clarity.

CMAPs is the professional membership organisation for MAPs. Activities within its remit include:

• professional guidance and advancing standards
• educational and continuing professional development opportunities
• advocacy work
• research initiatives
• creating a vibrant professional community

UMAPs will be the only trade union specifically for MAPs. Activities within their remit include:

• workplace representation
• employment and contractual rights
• enabling legal representation through their partner, Medical Defence Shield (MDS)

It is important to note that they operate independently, each as a separate entity.

The alignment between the two organisations is being proposed to take place transparently through Congress, a forum where the governing councils of both CMAPs and UMAPs meet to discuss matters of shared interest. Together, CMAPs and UMAPs will form a modern, responsive structure that guarantees both the advancement of professional standards and the protection of members’ rights. Collaboration ensures the ongoing, safe, and organised deployment of MAPs for the benefit of patients and the wider healthcare system.

Addressing the Past

We recognise the exceptional efforts of the Acting Interim Leadership at the FPA during this challenging period. Their dedication has been instrumental in navigating the complexities of the FPA’s dissolution and we remain committed to offering support to the FPA team throughout this process.

We have been asked, for some time now, why we chose to resign from our elected positions.

With the release of The King’s Fund Review, specifically highlighting the culture within the RCP and behaviour and language of some of its Council members, it has now become public knowledge of the conditions that staff, including ourselves and previous colleagues at times, were subject to. This, amongst other reasons, had a significant bearing on our resignations from the FPA board.

Within this environment, we felt unable to deliver the mandates asked of us by FPA members and felt that the only option to ensure that PAs could be adequately represented, and supported, was to create a new home in an enabling environment.

All of us at CMAPs hope that the review will lead to positive change within the RCP, so that we can once again work together productively for the benefit of patients and the public.

Our Gratitude

For those members who have already supported the development of CMAPs by becoming a founding member, we welcome you to our new professional home. We look forward to meeting you all over the coming months, at the CMAPs & UMAPs Conference, and experiencing this journey with you.

Warmest regards,

Officers of the Interim Board
Alice Fitzpatrick BSc (Hons), PgDip, CMAP(PA)
Jack Hill BSc (Hons), MSc CMAP(PA)
Mobashar Rashid BSc (Hons), PgDip, CMAP(PA)
Pauline Weir BSc (Hons), PgDip, CMAP(PA)