Analysis: What next in the controversy surrounding medical associates?

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All eyes in medicine are on medical associate professions following patient safety fears, protest votes over ‘scope creep’ and a dispute about upcoming GMC registration. Ellie Philpotts considers where the impassioned debate will lead next.

As a doctor, you get acquainted with a lot of cycles. Not only the Krebs cycle (that remains forever in the lecture theatre) or the circadian rhythm (a much bigger fixture of your consultations) - there’s also the cycle where one group of healthcare workers becomes the talk of the hour. Whether this is justified or not is another story.