PhD Studentship in Family-Staff Communication in the ICU

Project overview:

This is a unique opportunity to pursue a doctoral study on the communication between families of critically ill patients and staff in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). You will be studying under the supervision of Jeff Bezemer (professor of communication), Jonathan Smith (professor of psychology) and Tim Bonnici (consultant intensive care physician). Adopting a longitudinal ethnographic and experiential approach, you will (1) observe family-staff encounters on the ICU throughout the course of a patient’s ICU admission, exploring the nature of the communication which affect the outcome, e.g., how conversations are handled, how identities are constructed, how decisions are made; and (2) interview families and staff to examine how they experience their evolving relationship, exploring how particular individuals are making sense of the communications and relationships they are having. The output of the research will be rich, thick descriptions of telling cases that render visible the complexities of communication and developing a language of description around recurring themes in the conversations and accounts of family and staff, facilitating metacommunication (e.g. factors that are perceived to inhibit or promote effective communication). This will support ICU clinicians to understand and improve communication with families. 

Eligibility: 

Applications are invited from candidates with:

1. A relevant postgraduate degree in the social sciences (e.g. sociolinguistics, psychology, sociology), completed or due to be completed before 1 October 2024.
2. A passion for conducting qualitative research
3. Experience in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and/or (linguistic) ethnography.
4. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
5. The psychological resilience required to conduct fieldwork around sensitive topics in a high-stakes environment and be witness to stories of stress, grief, anxiety, and depression.
6. Preparedness to work during out-of-office hours and live within commutable distance from Euston Station, London to conduct fieldwork 

Desirables include:

1. Research experience in the areas of clinical communication and/or lived experience of health and illness.
2. Demonstrable affinity with clinical care and familiarity with intensive care and/or hospital settings.
3. Experience of applying for research ethics approval from the UK Health Research Authority. 

Funding details:

• Starts 1 October 2024
• 3-year scholarship
• Funding covers full tuition fees plus stipend - £19,237 per annum (UKRI rate)
• Funding does not cover visa requirements 

How to apply: 

Applicants should apply through the UCL jobs portal and submit a cover letter in which they present evidence against each of the criteria listed above. More details about the project will be sent out to shortlisted candidates. 

For informal enquiries please email Professor Jeff Bezemer via j.bezemer@ucl.ac.uk  

Application deadline: 15 May 2024