Mental health short-stay services (QUT School of Nursing PhD Scholarship)

Applications close

29 April 2024

You will receive:

• a stipend scholarship of $32,500 per annum for a maximum duration of 3.5 years. This is the full-time, tax-free rate
• a Research Training Program (RTP) Fees Offset funded by the Australian Government.

You will also have the opportunity to:

• undertake research that could make a real difference to mental health care
• collaborate with leading nursing and health services researchers
• graduate as a future leader in mental health care with an industry-focused PhD.

You must:

• be a domestic student (includes Australian and New Zealand citizens, and Australian permanent residents)
• meet QUT’s academic and English language entry requirements found on the QUT - How to apply website , for the Doctor of Philosophy (IF49)
• be applying to study full-time and at a QUT campus (internal study mode).

We encourage mental health clinicians to apply.

You can apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT Doctor of Philosophy degree.

The first step is to email Professor Clint Douglas , your expression of interest which must include:

• a cover letter describing your interest in the project
• an up-to-date CV containing your contact details
• academic transcripts
• relevant supporting documents of prior research.

If supported to apply (evidence must be provided), you will then submit a formal Expression of Interest (EOI) to QUT following the advice for how to apply for a research degree .

In your EOI, nominate Professor Clint Douglas as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship into question 2 of the financial details section.

The successful applicant will be contacted directly.

QUT School of Nursing and Metro North Health are seeking to appoint a full-time PhD Scholarship under the supervision of Prof Clint Douglas (Chair of Nursing, QUT & Metro North Health) and A/Prof Debbie Long (Academic Research Lead, QUT School of Nursing). The PhD project is funded by The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation to better understand and enhance care provided in short-stay mental health inpatient settings. The scholarship is valued at $32,500 (AUD) per annum tax free for up to 3.5 years.

This project seeks to identify the best way to evaluate mental health inpatient services that focus on providing brief periods of care in response to mental health crises (short-stay approaches). The contexts of the Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) and Caboolture Mental Health Services will provide opportunities for real-world stakeholder consultation to select or develop a patient-reported outcome measure based on co-design principles.

TPCH operates a Short Stay Pathway within its acute inpatient services, and Caboolture Hospital has a dedicated “Short Stay Unit.” These services continue to evolve, and similar services are increasingly being considered across Australia. These are recent service developments, so we currently do not know the best way to evaluate them. This project aims to find a solution to this challenge. This solution is expected to inform best practices locally and in similar services elsewhere.

Evidence has shown that a growing population of people presenting with mental illness can benefit from brief hospitalisations. The short-stay approach has developed over the past few years, aiming to provide an environment and staffing skill set tailored to the needs of this group. However, short-stay approaches are still in their infancy, with only 6-10 such services currently available in Australia (though this figure is rapidly growing). This PhD project seeks to evaluate and guide best practices within the mental health short-stay context. The clinical contexts across Metro North Health will provide an opportunity to identify or develop a patient-reported outcome measure for application in the real world.