4 PhD Scholarships, University College Dublin, Ireland (2017)

Four fully funded MSc/PhD Scholarships are being offered on the 'Collective Leadership and Safety Cultures' programme in the UCD Health Systems Research Group. The Health Systems team is an expanding, dynamic, inter-disciplinary group of researchers working across a broad range of health and social sciences disciplines. Our research approach is underpinned by rich contextual analysis, interdisciplinary approaches and co-design with healthcare professionals, patients and the public.

We are currently recruiting for 4 MSc/PhD positions on the Health Research Board (HRB) funded ‘Collective Leadership and Safety Cultures’ (Co-Lead) research programme to allow full-time research towards a Structured PhD.

Co-Lead is a 5-year programme that will research the impact of an emerging model of leadership (collective leadership) on team performance and on healthcare safety. We are designing and implementing collective leadership interventions for different team types and testing the impact of these interventions on staff performance and patient safety. The overall aim is to support quality and safety cultures through the development of a new model of leadership that is associated with effective team performance.

Scholarships:

Four MSc by Research/PhD positions are available in the following areas:

1. Implementation Science
Objective: to study the implementation and scale-up of the co-designed collective leadership intervention from an implementation science perspective. The student will work closely with the partner healthcare teams in the Ireland East Hospital Group.

2. Patient Safety Measurement
Objective: to adapt, develop and validate instruments to measure the key elements of patient safety at the individual, team and organisational level. The student will work closely with the Quality Improvement Division in the Health Service Executive.

3. Statistical Modelling
Objective: to develop a statistical model that explores the relationship between collective leadership and work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The successful candidate will employ advanced statistical techniques, including structural equation modelling, to understand the relationship between collective leadership in teams and the measured outcomes of the programme.

4. Public and Patient Involvement (PPI)
Objective: to explore different approaches to involving patients and the public in co-designing interventions to improve teamwork and quality in healthcare. The research team is working with patients and the public in the planning, design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination. The scale and complexity of the programme provides opportunities to experiment and develop new approaches and models for PPI.

Programme Structure:

The structured PhD degree is a doctoral training programme with the core component of advancement of knowledge through original research and integrated support for professional development. The programme is student-centred and the qualification is designed to enhance, improve and directly engage the student in relevant research skills. In addition, it will offer the student disciplinary, generic and transferable skills, tailored to suit the experience of the student and reflect the disciplinary requirements.

Scholarship Funds:

The Scholarships include fees and an annual stipend of €16,000. Scholarships are available for up to 4 years (full-time) and students will enrol in the College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems (University College Dublin) Structured PhD programme. PhD by publication is an option within this programme. The start date for the Scholarships is September 2017.

Entry Requirements:

Scholarship applicants should hold, or expect to receive, a first class or a good upper second class Honours degree (or equivalent) in an area relevant to the proposed field of research. Where an applicant does not meet this requirement (e.g. they hold a lower second class undergraduate degree), they are eligible to apply if they hold, or expect to receive, a Masters degree (in an area relevant to the proposed PhD) before starting their studentship. Scholarships awarded based on predicted grades will be conditional upon final results.

Further details:
http://academicpositions.eu