PhD Studentship: Feedback conversations that improve prescribing practices: a sociomaterial study in the UK and Australia – PhD (Funded)

The University of Exeter’s Department of Health & Community Sciences is inviting applications for a PhD studentship funded by the Association of the Study of Medical Education to commence on 21 September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.  For eligible students the studentship will cover Home tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £21,805 (26/27 rates) for 3 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study.  The supervisory team may be willing to consider an applicant that wishes to be based remote from Exeter, if they can travel within UK and Australia for data collection.

The prescribing of medicines by healthcare professionals often results in errors.  If we could improve prescribing practices, then we could reduce prescribing errors and improve patient safety.  However, prescribing practices are hard to change because they involve complex processes in busy healthcare work environments and involve teams of healthcare professionals. Feedback conversations about prescribing can reduce errors but have proved hard to prioritise and sustain in practice.  These feedback conversations often refer to ‘materials’ used in prescribing practice such as prescriptions, drug charts, electronic medical records and patient instructions. The aim of this project is to change prescribing processes by adjusting ‘materials’ to enhance opportunities for feedback conversations. 

The research will involve two phases, using mixed methods and co-design approaches:

1. Trace the materials used in prescribing processes through patient journeys during different types of hospital stay, comparing the UK and Australia;
2. Work with stakeholders to design new materials that embed feedback conversations in everyday prescribing practices.

The PhD student will be supported by supervisors, based in the UK and Australia, who are experienced researchers, doctoral supervisors and clinicians. Data collection will be conducted in both the UK and Australia, so it will be important that the successful candidate is prepared to spend time in Australia and excited by the possibilities of this international collaboration and comparison of health systems.  Ultimately the research will have been successful if the new materials are adopted and sustained, leading to better prescribing feedback conversations and fewer prescribing errors.

The research student will have regular supervision meetings with supervisory team members, some in person and some online to accommodate the international supervisory team.  The student will join the Department of Health & Community Sciences at the University of Exeter Medical School. The University of Exeter has excellent facilities for doctoral students, including extensive library resources, training opportunities via the Doctoral College, a range of seminar series, and state of the art recreational facilities.  They will also have access to training and support provided by the medical school and through the Applied Research Collaboration South West. The latter offers a suite of training opportunities, including opportunities to attend postgraduate taught modules in clinical education and health research, for example literature reviewing and qualitative research. There will be opportunities for the student to present and receive feedback on their work. The student will also have access to arrange of formal and informal support services via the University of Exeter’s Wellbeing services.

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