Healthcare professionals work in an ever-changing environment. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly illustrated how vital adaptability is for healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals have to continuously and (pro)actively adapt to a variety of changes, e.g. new therapeutic options, the addition of artificial intelligence to healthcare and changing societal demands. This requires an evidence-informed education to prepare them for these challenges. Education that is able to adapt to the various learning needs of healthcare professionals in training.

The PhD position that we offer, provides the opportunity to delve into this challenge. Together with a team of world-renowned supervisors from the School of Health Professions Education (SHE) you will get the freedom to explore this topic in several research projects leading to peer-reviewed publications in international journals. Studies can be qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods. Examples of specific themes that could be relevant to explore as part of this topic are: adaptive expertise, personalized education, uncertainty, co-regulation, resilience, pandemic preparedness, and simulation.

We are looking for a critical and inquisitive person who is passionate about research and interested in education and healthcare. This position offers considerable freedom to shape the specific direction of the research. Therefore, you need to be able to both work in a team and be self-directed. Having an analytical mind and good written and oral communication skills is important. The position is offered to candidates with an MSc degree in the field of Medicine or Health Sciences, Educational Sciences, Psychology or a related discipline.

We are especially interested in someone who can connect viewpoints from various perspectives (e.g., healthcare professionals and educators) and (scientific) disciplines (e.g., medicine, education, psychology) and is eager to develop own research ideas. Someone with creativity, independence and decisiveness would be a good fit for this project. Furthermore, proficiency in the English language is required, both in (scientific) writing and speaking. Ability to speak and write Dutch is an advantage. Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods will be highly advantageous.

If you recognize yourself in the above description, we are keen to meet you and discuss the possibilities of this project.

We offer a PhD position for 4 years 1,0FTE (1+3) or 5 years 0,8FTE (1+4). The first year will be a probation period, after a positive assessment the position will be extended.

Your salary would be € 2.541,- gross per month in the first year up to € 3.247,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD-candidate salary scale (with full-time appointment). An 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance is also provided.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM.

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 22,000 students and about 5,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.
For more information, visit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl

School of Health Professions Education (SHE) - Department of Educational Development & Research

School of Health Professions Education (SHE)
The Maastricht School of Health Professions Education (SHE) is a graduate school for
education, research and innovation in health professions education. SHE provides high
quality multidisciplinary research and teaching and helps to innovate educational
programmes. By providing the basics, SHE educates future leaders and opens the door
for better healthcare in the future.

Department of Educational Development & Research
The Department of Educational Development and Research supports the development and innovation of bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate training programmes within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University. The department was born in 1977, a year after Maastricht University was established. From the start, the department has supported the design and innovation of problem-based learning (PBL) at Maastricht University and investigated this learning approach to gain a better understanding about its working ingredients.