MedReach: Online Continuing Professional Development for Critical Care Nurses in LMICs

SCEBE-19-028

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports nurses to maintain and enhance confidence in theory and practice, build networks of support and develop and maintain efficacy of professional competencies/skills. Ultimately, CPD is intended to improve quality of care and patients’ health status due to changes in healthcare provider practice.

However, Critical Care Nurses in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) face multiple barriers to accessing expert quality, contemporary and relevant education programs, despite CPD being a requirement. Barriers include but are not limited to; lack of financial support, time away from demanding work and home schedules; travel cost to events which are often outside their country and prohibitive; non-availability of access to speakers and researchers from outside their country.

MedReach (a start up company based in Glasgow) aims to overcome these barriers by gathering a faculty of the worlds best known Critical Care Nursing professionals to deliver webinars and online teaching programs and practical skill tutorials, that can be accessed for free or at cost to nurses in all LMICs globally. Current collaborators include Professor Ged Williams, Founding Chair of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses.

This novel and unique approach to critical care nursing education in LMICs, coupled with the unprecedented nature of taking this to a "global classroom" in critical care, raises many elements requiring rigorous theoretical planning, execution and evaluation. In particular barriers and challenges exist in relation to creating appropriate content and approaches to delivery, technical challenges, language and cultural challenges, and constraints off evaluating impact on individuals in consideration of social, economic and policy parameters.

This Studentship will inform the optimal design and delivery of online Critical Care Nursing CPD in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), by:
(1) Developing a better theoretical and practical understanding of the requirements and constraints faced to globalise on-line learning;
(2) Applying this knowledge to inform creation and robust evaluation of content in situ in collaboration with global stakeholders, world experts in Critical Care Nursing and the MedReach Platform;
(3) In 3 phases of research:

1. Scoping Study: with global stakeholders (facilitated by MedReach) to generate requirements for the optimal design and delivery of Critical Care Nursing CPD in LMICs informed by frameworks of best practice in co-design, iteration, and efficacious evaluation methodologies for considerations of (1) design (2) marketing (3) rollout and (4)evaluation. The collective data will be consolidated to form a Framework to inform and guide the optimal design and delivery of Critical Care Nursing CPD in LMICs, which will be evaluated in Phase 2.

2. Evaluation: The student will work with MedReach and Global experts in Critical Care Nursing to create and evaluate pilot content informed by the Phase 1 guidance. A series of studies will evaluate the impact and processes and practice of delivery and use of the content in-situ in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), utilising the MedReach platform and their global expert partners in Critical Care education. The evaluation will take into consider wider social, economic and policy related parameters of use and impact.

3. The collective data will be triangulated to form a Theoretical Framework to guide the efficacious design, evaluation, adoption and utilisation of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), supporting future design and evaluation fo such approaches, and transferring and mobilising collective knowledge across stakeholders.
This body of work will help to inform future providers and help pave the way for more efficacious delivery of high quality, cheaper, clinical content to all parts of the world.

How to Apply
This project is available as a 3 years full-time PhD study programme.

Applicants will normally hold a UK honours degree 2:1 (or equivalent); or a Masters degree in a subject relevant to the research project. Equivalent professional qualifications and any appropriate research experience may be considered. A minimum English language level of IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent) with no element below 6.0 is required. Some research disciplines may require higher levels.

Candidates are encouraged to contact the research supervisors for the project before applying. Applicants should complete the online GCU Research Application Form, stating the Project Title and Reference Number (listed above).

Please also attach to the online application, copies of academic qualifications (including IELTS if required), 2 references and any other relevant documentation.

Please send any enquiries regarding your application to: [Email Address Removed] Applicants shortlisted for the PhD project will be contacted for an interview.

For more information on How to apply and the online application form please go to
https://www.gcu.ac.uk/research/postgraduateresearchstudy/applicationprocess/