Nursing & Midwifery PhD Scholarship

Western Health is committed to providing Best Care to our community. Underpinning Western Health’s world-class clinical care is our commitment to research and education.

A key initiative of Western Health’s Strategic Directions 2021-2023 is to “build stronger connections between and amongst researchers, educators, clinical leaders and frontline staff, through multidisciplinary projects, learning and innovation”. This is achieved by fostering curiosity and supporting staff to lead and participate in research.

The Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery in conjunction with the Faculty of Health at Deakin University are delighted to offer a co-funded PhD scholarship to undertake dedicated nursing and/or midwifery research. The scholarship will consist of:

• a tax exempt stipend of $43,900 per annum (at 2022 rate). Standard scholarships are usually to the value of $28,900 per annum, so this is an excellent opportunity for a Western Health nurse or midwife,
• free tuition at Deakin University to study full time for 3 years to achieve your PhD.

Employment arrangements during the sabbatical:

During the 3 year period whilst the successful candidate undertakes full-time study to achieve their PhD, Western Health will:

• Maintain their substantive position for the 3 year period,
• Temporarily vary their hours to 8 hours a fortnight and put them on our Pool. This will give the candidate flexibility to be able to work an additional shift each week/fortnight to supplement the stipend. If the candidate cannot work a shift in a given fortnight due to study commitments, Western Health will give them paid leave (utilising the candidate’s accumulated leave entitlements) or unpaid leave for that pay period.
• The classification used for Pool will be assessed on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the candidate’s experience and skills.
• If the candidate decides that they’d like to return to their substantive position prior to completion of their PhD (earlier than the expected 3 years), then they’d need to inform us in writing giving us 4 weeks notice. We will then put arrangements in place to allow that to occur.
• There will be an expectation that the successful candidate will return to their substantive position after the 3 year sabbatical period. If their intentions change during this period, they will be required to inform us in writing providing a 4 week notice period.

Terms of grant

The successful candidate must be eligible to apply for candidature through Deakin University School of Nursing and Midwifery. The successful candidate will work with staff in the Western Health Deakin University partnership.

All research must comply with Western Health and Deakin University’s Research ethics and governance policies, and with the National Health and Medical Research Council statement. Ethics approval must be gained before the commencement of any research.

Support

Nurses and midwives interested in this opportunity are strongly encouraged to seek support and advice from the Chair of Nursing, Professor Bodil Rasmussen or the Chair of Midwifery, Professor Linda Sweet. They will assist in confirming eligibility, and in preparing a research proposal.

Application guidelines

Applicants must complete the Western Health and Deakin University PhD Scholarship 2023 application form and provide the required supporting documents.

The following criteria will be used to assess applications:

Submission

Applications must be submitted by email to WHDeakinPartnership@wh.org.au

Applications close 31 October 2022