PhD Scholarship: Palliative Care in the Emergency Department research
PhD Scholarship: Palliative Care in the Emergency Department research
The Project:
Hospital Emergency Departments (ED) face significant pressures and the challenge of providing quality care to high numbers of patients. In particular, patients with advanced cancer are known to frequently present to ED for worsening symptoms, treatment-related complications and need for additional support. As such, both patients and health care providers regard the ED as a safety net when other parts of the system prove unresponsive. Creative alternatives to ED presentation for advanced cancer patients are needed to improve patient experiences and use of resources.
This PhD builds upon previous work to explore novel ways of identifying patients with cancer at increased risk of ED presentation. This will include, but not be limited to, using established hospital and clinical datasets, to consider the development of a tool of risk stratification. The candidate will be supported to further this project to develop potential interventional responses for palliative care patients in the emergency department. The development of epidemiological data analytical skills will be an important outcome for this PhD candidate.
Enhancing the emergency care of patients with advanced cancer is an area of work that has the potential for profound improvement of the experiences of people with cancer, of their families, their treating health professionals as well as having implications for the costs of health care provision.
The Scholarship:
This PhD provides an exciting opportunity to work alongside other researchers and clinicians within a clinically embedded palliative research care unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in collaboration with other clinical partners as part of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
The successful candidate will be enrolled through the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne and be supervised by Professor Jennifer Philip, Associate Professor Brian Le in collaboration with Professor Vijaya Sundararajan (LaTrobe University). The candidate would also be supported by an established project team with interests in developing palliative care in the emergency department.
A competitive three year scholarship is available to the successful applicant to support their candidature. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply and will be interviewed.
Amount awarded:
The scholarship is $30,000 per year for 3 years.
Eligibility/Selection Criteria:
- An Honours degree in a health-related field such as Psychology, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health
- Candidate must be competitive for an RTP scholarship or equivalent
- Experience with quantitative datasets, or population-based research is desirable
- Ability to work independently
- Good written and oral communication skills
- Good project management skills
Please contact Professor Jennifer Philip or Nora Hanafi if have any questions and/or to express your interest in the PhD project and scholarship.
Nora Hanafi
Research Programs Coordinator
Melbourne Medical School | Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Professor Jennifer Philip
Chair of Palliative Medicine
University of Melbourne