Location
Health and Community Sciences , St Luke’s Campus, Exeter
The University of Exeter’s Department of Health and Community Sciences is inviting applications for a PhD studentship fully-funded by the Association of the Study of Medical Education (ASME) to commence on 25 September 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter. For eligible students the studentship will cover Home tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £18,622 for 3 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study. In certain circumstances, the supervisory team would be willing to consider an applicant that wishes to be based remote from Exeter, provided they can travel to the UK and Australia for data collection.
Project Description
The prescribing of medicines by healthcare professionals often results in errors. If we could improve prescribing practices, then we could reduce prescribing errors and improve patient safety. However, prescribing practices are hard to change because they involve complex processes in busy healthcare work environments and involve teams of healthcare professionals. We have demonstrated previously that feedback conversations about prescribing can reduce errors but unfortunately it has proved hard to prioritise and sustain these conversations in practice. These feedback conversations often refer to ‘materials’ used in prescribing practice such as prescriptions, drug charts, electronic medical records and patient instructions. Therefore, through this project, we want to change prescribing processes by adjusting ‘materials’ in order to enhance opportunities for feedback conversations about prescribing.
The research will involve three phases: 1) to identify which materials are used in prescribing processes, comparing the UK and Australia; 2) to find out how these materials are used in practice by tracing them through patient journeys during different types of hospital stay; and, 3) to work with our stakeholder group to design new materials that embed feedback conversations in everyday prescribing practices. The PhD student will be supported by four supervisors, based in the UK and Australia, who are experienced researchers, doctoral supervisors and active clinicians (in education, pharmacy and medicine). The data collection will be conducted in both the UK and Australia, so it will be important that the successful candidate is prepared to spend time in Australia and excited by the possibilities of this international collaboration, which will compare two different health systems. Whilst in Australia, the research student will be hosted and supported by Dr Christy Noble at The University of Queensland, who will meet regularly with the student and ensure they are connected to relevant stakeholders (e.g. healthcare professionals) and collaborators. Ultimately the research will have been successful if the new materials are adopted and sustained, leading to better prescribing feedback conversations and fewer prescribing errors.
The research student will have regular supervision meetings with supervisory team members, comprising monthly full team supervision meetings (online to accommodate geography and time zones) and additional online and face-to-face meetings as needed. The student will join the Department of Health & Community Sciences at the University of Exeter Medical School. The University of Exeter has excellent facilities for doctoral students, including extensive library resources, training opportunities via the Doctoral College , a range of seminar series, and state of the art recreational facilities. They will also have access to training and support provided by the medical school and through the Peninsula Applied Research Collaboration . The latter offers a suite of training opportunities that will be open to the student, including opportunities to attend postgraduate taught modules in clinical education and health research, for example literature reviewing and qualitative research, and clinics to access expertise on literature reviewing, statistics, qualitative methods, and patient and public involvement and engagement in research. There will be opportunities for the student to present and receive feedback on their work, including through research groups at Exeter, Deakin, Queensland and Ulster. The student will also have access to arrange of formal and informal support services via the University of Exeter’s Wellbeing services .
This award provides annual funding to cover Home tuition fees and a tax-free stipend. For students who pay Home tuition fees the award will cover the tuition fees in full, plus at least £18,622 per year tax-free stipend. Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply, but should note that the award will only provide payment for part of the international tuition fee and no stipend.
International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.
The conditions for eligibility of Home fees status are complex and you will need to seek advice if you have moved to or from the UK (or Republic of Ireland) within the past 3 years or have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Entry requirements
Applicants for this studentship will typically have obtained, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of social or biomedical science. Experience of research or practice in a healthcare environment would be an advantage.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the required level as per our guidance at https://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research/apply/english/
For more information or to apply click here - Award details | Funding and scholarships for students | University of Exeter
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