PhD Studentship (MED1530)

Joan Browne* Legacy Scholarship in Medical Education

The Medical Education Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham are delighted to offer a fully-funded PhD studentship for three years for a high-calibre, enthusiastic researcher looking to embark on a career in the field of Medical Education.

The new Lincoln Medical School, a collaborative venture between the Universities of Nottingham and Lincoln, is about to welcome its first cohort of 95 medical students starting in September 2019 on both the 5 and 6 year University of Nottingham BMedSci & BMBS medicine course.

This opens up the opportunity to explore a number of important questions regarding the medical education and experience of this relatively unique cohort of students and delivery of a new course.   We already have access to a large data set regarding admissions and selection processes for the new courses alongside equivalent data for the larger Nottingham cohort.

Given the expertise of supervisors within the Medical Education Centre, potential candidates will be supported to carry out quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method research.

Some specific areas of interest include exploration of student entry background on performance (both academic and professional) in early years and later assessments; factors influencing differential attainment; the impact of the hidden curriculum on inclusive medical education; impact of different styles of education while at medical school (for example dissection-based anatomical examination compared with pro-section-based studies). Other topics suggested by prospective applicants are also welcomed.  

The Medical Education Centre is situated at the Medical School, QMC site.  The centre is led by the Dean of Medical Education, Professor Gill Doody.  There are currently five other PhD students studying in the Medical Education Centre.  There are two Vice-Deans (Professor Alistair Warren and Professor Gill Pinner) who lead the Lincoln Medical School.

The centre is also supported by a numbers of course directors, Stevie Agius an Assistant Professor in Medical Education, who has expertise in qualitative research methods and Mohsen Tavakol an Associate Professor, with expertise in quantitative methods.

Prospective applicants should have gained a good 2:1 or first class BSc (Hons) degree, and preferably also a Masters degree, in a relevant social science subject (psychology, sociology, education or other).

The successful applicant will receive an annual stipend of £15,009 (2018/19 rates) over 3 years as well as full payment of all tuition fees. Eligibility for full funding (fees and stipend) is restricted to Home and eligible EU students.

All applicants must submit;

A current CV, names and contact details of two academic referees and a brief description of their intended project (max 500 words) to Naisa.boehk@nottingham.ac.uk by 31st May 2019. Late applications will not be accepted.

Interviews will be held in late June in Nottingham.

Informal enquiries can be made to Gillian.doody@nottingham.ac.uk Dean of Medical Education, Gillian.pinner@nottingham.ac.uk Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs (Lincoln) or Stevie.agius@nottingham.ac.uk Assistant Professor in Medical Education. Applications sent directly to these addresses will not be considered.

*Joan Browne was a former head teacher who lived in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. She left a £1.2 million legacy gift to the University when she died in 2014.  Her family describe her as a highly intelligent, mischievous, forthright, almost eccentric character who loved a great adventure.  This has now established a bursary to support travel and other costs for medical students on placements in Lincolnshire and created this Joan Browne Scholarships to support high calibre PhD students.

Closing Date: 31 May 2019
Category: Studentships