PhD candidate 'Integrated preparedness and response to public health emergencies at Radboudumc'

We are offering a 4-year full time position for a PhD candidate within the context of the HORIZON EU funded research project RAPIDE (Regular and unplanned care adaptive dashboard for cross–border emergencies). Will you join our ambitious team?

The doctoral research is on the following topic: How can we maintain access to care for all patients and citizens during cross border health emergencies?

During cross-border health emergencies, such as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, health and care services are rapidly overwhelmed by high numbers of patients requiring care, putting pressure on the entire healthcare system. In this international consortium consisting of 13 partners from seven European countries, we aim to tackle this problem.

One of the aims of RAPIDE is to define, develop and validate a hybrid model of care that supports the shift from hospital-based to community-based primary care during such health emergencies. The ultimate goal is to allow regular care to continue during health emergencies. This will be done in small scale validation studies in Living Labs environments together with all relevant stakeholder and patients across different countries. These validation studies serve as essential testing grounds for the methodologies, tools, and data in different healthcare settings in different countries.

The main supervisor (1st promoter) will be Prof. dr Aura Timen; co-supervision and daily guidance will be provided by dr. Anita Huis and dr. Tessa van Loenen (Radboud University Medical Center). A fourth member of the supervising team will be appointed later.

You have a crucial role in setting up, executing and evaluating the hybrid model of care. In this, you work together with the consortium partners from Italy, Malta, Slovenia and the Netherlands, with guidance from of the supervising team. The tasks include:

• Developing the research protocol.
• Preparing the (pre-registration) study documents (incl. application for ethical clearance).
• Coordinating with the other consortium partners and assisting them in conducting the country specific validation study.
• Conducting the validation study (recruiting participants and collecting data in the Netherlands).
• Analysing and reporting the data from the four study countries.
• Active participation in various international research discussions.
• Close collaboration with researchers and clinicians in the international consortium.
• Reporting results in scientific publications resulting in doctoral thesis.

For this position, ELG (Eerstelijnsgeneeskunde, Department of Primary and Community Care) of the Radboudumc, Nijmegen is looking for a PhD candidate with:

• A medical degree (MD) or completed master’s degree within health or bio-medical sciences.
• Experience in conducting qualitative and participatory research.
• Knowledge of the field of primary health care is an advantage.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in both Dutch and English.
• An enthusiastic and proactive attitude, excellent social skills and an autonomous work ethic.
• Affinity with interdisciplinary research and able to communicate with experts from different disciplines.

The planned start date is January 1st, 2024. The position concerns temporary employment of 32-36 hours per week for up to 4 years. The initial employment is for 12 months. Following a positive evaluation this term will be extended by a maximum of 35 months, which should result in obtaining a PhD. The salary depends on education. Scale 10 will be offered to MSc medical graduates; those holding degrees in other disciplines will be offered scale 10A.

Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. And there is more. Our secondary terms of employment are impressive. These are fully tailored to you thanks to our Employment Conditions Selection Model. At Radboud university medical center, you will be given trust, and you will take the responsibility to handle everything together. We provide annual courses, both professional and personal.

• A gross monthly salary between € 2.789 and € 3.536 (scale 10A) or between € 3.230 and € 5.088 (scale 10) based on full-time employment.
• From 1 November 2023 the wages will increase by 4%.
• An annual vacation allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• If you work irregular hours, you will receive an allowance.
• As a full-time employee (36 hours per week), you are entitled to approximately 168 vacation hours (over 23 days) per year.
• Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. You pay the rest of the premium with your gross salary.
• Discount on your supplementary health insurance. You can make use of two collective health insurance policies: UMC Health Insurance and CZ Collective. They offer many extras to stay vital and healthy, such as a prevention budget, workshops, and apps.

In addition to our terms of employment, we also offer employees various other attractive facilities, such as childcare and sports facilities. Want to learn more? Take a look at the Cao UMC.

You will be a member of an interdisciplinary research group Integrated preparedness and response which is embedded in the department of Primary and Community Care at Radboud University Medical Center.

Any questions? Please contact dr. Anita Huis PhD, Senior Researcher. Use the Apply button to submit your application.