Reducing caesarean section rate: the role of health care providers’ organizational cultures in influencing birth outcomes

The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University working in partnership with Poole NHS Foundation Trust is offering a Matched-Funded PhD Studentship. To apply for this Studentship you must be a midwife registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and eligible to practice (UK).

The successful candidate will spend two days per week working as a midwife at Poole NHS Foundation Trust and 3 days per week working on the PhD research study. The Studentship is for 4 years, which will begin in September 2016. You will be supported by an annual £14,000 stipend and an additional sum to support training and development costs during the Studentship.

Focusing on the birth environment within an acute hospital setting this PhD studentship will examine how the shared assumptions, habits and beliefs of midwives and other health professionals, as well as the structures in which they work (e.g., shift patterns, staffing levels) shape professional decision-making and advice to women about their birth choices. It will draw on ethnographic methods, including interviews and long-term observation of health professionals in the context of their daily work, in order to gain in-depth insights into the ways in which organizational cultures impact the ways in which birth risks, possibilities and options are evaluated and communicated.

This is an exciting opportunity and will enable an aspiring individual to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across the University and Poole NHS Foundation Trust. You will work with supervisors drawn from both academic and clinical institutions in a tri-partite arrangement, and will have access to a wide range of resources to support the project. Formal training in research skills, such as interviewing and observation, will be provided through Bournemouth University’s Centre for Qualitative Research and the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit, with personal development through academic supervisors. You will be part of a large body of doctoral students in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, with access to Postgraduate lectures and support sessions.

Interviews will be held at Poole NHS Foundation Trust in June.
How to apply: Applications are made via our website using the Apply Online button below. If you have an enquiry about this project please contact us via the Email NOW button below, however your application will only be processed once you have submitted an application form as opposed to emailing your CV to us.

Candidates for funded PhD studentship must demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 3 years.
All candidates must satisfy the University’s minimum doctoral entry criteria for studentships of an honours degree at Upper Second Class (2.1) and/or an appropriate Master’s degree. An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (or equivalent) is essential for candidates for whom English is not their first language.

In addition to satisfying basic entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful and timely completion.