PhD Networks of Care: The History and Future of Technology in Nursing

PhD Networks of Care: The History and Future of Technology in Nursing
PhD Networks of Care: The History and Future of Technology in Nursing

Published	Deadline	Location
today	16 Apr	Delft

How might (open) data technologies assist nurses in the future, and what will its architectural design consequences be for the healthcare sector?
Job description

You will examine this ‘missing link’ to architecture through the development of an architectural framework for nursing in the open data society. Working in a variety of areas, including hospital care, mental healthcare, care for people with disabilities, home care, care in nursing homes and care in general practices, nurses occupy a wide range of architectural and urban conditions. On the front line of patient care, they form a locus point between state-funded healthcare systems, and the public. They are also often highly mobile, permeating both institutional and domestic spaces, oscillating between carrying out bureaucratic procedures and engaging in visceral bodily encounters. As such, nurses offer a unique but perhaps overlooked perspective on the urban geography and architecture of contemporary healthcare. A study of the figure of the nurse–in the past, present, and future city–provides an opportunity to see the ways in which data, knowledge and technology have assisted or impeded the delivery of healthcare in a distributed urban network.

In the history of modern architecture, healthcare is closely linked to specific aesthetic standards and social ideals of the body and gender. On the other hand, current research on health and healthcare focuses either on the future of hospitals or on data-driven technologies and applications. Instead, the proposed research project follows an integrative approach. It operates in an interdisciplinary, transmedial and cross-scale manner, aiming to explore the history and future of technology in nursing.
Description of the project:

Our post-pandemic societies demonstrate how closely the global healthcare sector is connected to design and digital culture. Besides hospitals, clinics, medical professionals and data technologies, nurses, in particular, play a mediating and connecting role in healthcare environments. Nurses are interfaces of social integration, linking people, buildings, cities and technologies across different scales of care.

As with other frontline medical professionals, in recent years nurses have encountered unparalleled staff shortages, supply issues, and physical and emotional burnout. In Europe, there is now a dramatic deficit of trained nurses putting pressure on the existing workforce. This is all compounded by the fact that Europe has the largest aging population in the world, creating an increased demand for care.

The project aims to explore the history of healthcare environments and identify design potentials for nursing in the future data society.

In the open data society, healthcare facilities need to integrate new technologies, redesign how they deliver acute care, rethink how they interact with other healthcare providers, and relieve activities that can be outsourced to others who can perform them more efficiently. Since wearables connect health care more and more to our daily life, the traditional model of hospitals as stand-alone facilities that provide all kinds of care services is disappearing rapidly. Increasingly, hospitals are becoming just one specific component of a larger integrated and interconnected open data ecosystem that includes various healthcare components: from wearables and platforms to smart homes. However, while these new technologies are predominantly concerned with the body, future healthcare environments also need a solid connection to architectural design. In a way, health data can act as an integration medium between the body and the building changing how we design, plan, and manage healthcare spaces and systems in the future.

Specifications

• 36—40 hours per week
• €2541—€3247 per month
• Delft View on Google Maps

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Requirements

Research Question: 

• How might (open) data technologies assist nurses in the future, and what will its architectural design consequences be for the healthcare sector?

Research Aims:

• To understand how technology has historically mediated between nurses, patients, hospitals and the architectural environments in order to speculate on the future of care in an (open) data society. 
• To explore the urban networks and architectural scales with which the nurse interacts: from bodies to buildings and healthcare environments to the city.
• To critically evaluate the impact and influence of design on (health) care work and technologies, and vice versa.
• To research the architectural and cultural history of nursing in the shift from analogue to data-driven healthcare technologies.
• To analyse the relationship between design, identity (gender, race, ethnicity and income level) and care-work to situate the role of the nurse in a social, economic and political context. 

You have:

• Completed a MSc degree in Architecture or another related built-environment discipline;
• Interest or experience in healthcare Architecture and healthcare technology;
• Previous research experience in a transdisciplinary setting;
• Ability to work collaboratively with others (students, faculty, and staff) to create a supportive research and learning environment.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice  to assist you with your relocation.

Employer
Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values  and we actively engage  to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Department
Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on 'design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings.

Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Click here  to go to the website of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Amy Thomas or/and Dr. Georg Vrachliotis: [email protected]  or/and [email protected] .

For information about the application procedure, please contact Caro Coemans, HR advisor:
[email protected] .  

The position will remain open until April 16, 2023 (local Dutch time + 2 hrs). You must apply via the "Apply now" button. Applications via e-mail will not be processed.     

Working at TU Delft

Join the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. Work on clever solutions for worldwide challenges, to change the world and make an impact. Ready to bring your energy to our research?

Challenge, change, impact!

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Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please upload the following mandatory documents:

• Detailed CV with contact information for 2 referees.
• Detailed transcripts of university grades.
• Motivation letter (1-2 pages) that should address your vision of the project and how you would fit for the advertised position.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-Employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.