Addressing healthcare workforce challenges in an AI-enabled context

We are offering a self-funded PhD position with the Brunel Business School. The project focuses on addressing healthcare workforce challenges in an AI-enabled context.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

If you have any questions about the project or would like to arrange an informal discussion, please reach out to Professor Julie Davies at julie.davies@brunel.ac.uk.

The project

Significant healthcare workforce shortages globally and increasing GDP expenditure on healthcare requires innovative multidisciplinary approaches to workforce development.

We invite postgraduate researchers who are interested in understanding how practitioners navigate rapid changes in the healthcare sector for sustainable careers.

Our project aims to conceptualise social capital and identity shifts in crafting careers with changes in technology, especially in AI-enabled workplaces.

Here are some research questions you might consider:

How do different learning trajectories affect healthcare worker careers?
How is technology transforming the healthcare workforce?
How does technology redraw knowledge boundaries amongst healthcare practitioners?• What drives workforce engagement and productivity in the healthcare sector?
What effective career experiences can sustain meaningful healthcare careers?
What creative methodologies are useful to gain insights into healthcare workforce development in collaboration with key stakeholders?

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:

Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you would be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.

Good luck!

This is a self funded topic

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: /research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Julie Davies - I am a member of the Organisations and People Division in Brunel Business School. My research interests focus on hybrid management and leadership development in organisations including healthcare and business education, intersectionality, ethnic minority micro-enterprises, and workplace well-being. I use qualitative research methods, interdisciplinary, and international perspectives. I welcome ideas for collaborations and proposals from organisations and prospective doctoral students whose interests align with my research areas in engaged scholarship to make a positive impact linked to UN SDGs 3, 5, 8, and 10 in particular. I have (co)led research projects on gender and medical leadership development with AIIMS, New Delhi; on workforce redesign in Airedale Hospital; and HRM in regional SMEs, including Chevening, NHS England, and EU Erasmus+ funding. I have published in journals such as the Academy of Management Learning & Education; Gender, Work & Organization; Journal of Business Research; Journal of Health Organization and Management; Stress and Health, and co-authored papers with plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists. For three years I served as an Associate Editor of Human Resource Development Review. I have conducted research, consultancy, and executive education in Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Kuwait, Mozambique, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Vietnam in airline, banking, energy, and healthcare organisations. I initiated and facilitated EFMD’s international development programme and AAPBS workshops for business school deans. I also have extensive distance learning teaching experience on the Open University’s MBA and have taught next level leadership and managing change at London Business School. I was the inaugural Director of the MBA Health programme in the Global Business School for Health at University College London. I am currently a trustee of Kirkwood Hospice where I chair the EDI subcommittee and I am an external examiner for the University of Manchester’s MSc Healthcare Leadership. I chair the research committee of the University Forum for Human Resource Development (UFHRD) and I am an academic advisory board member for the Centre for Business and Industry Transformation (CBIT) at Nottingham Business School. I am a member of EFMD’s MBA conference steering committee. I am a practitioner Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Senior Fellow AdvanceHE, and UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) recognised doctoral supervisor. I am also a qualified executive coach and psychometrics assessor. LinkedIn: X: @juliedaviesUK ORCID:

Related Research Group(s)

Healthcare Management, Culture and Leadership Group - We focus on the intersection among healthcare management, culture and leadership from an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach.

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