Title , occupational outcomes and wellbeing among lower paid NHS staff To start 1st October 2021

Award(s) Collaborative (CASE) PhD Studentship Fully funded for 3 years, or up to 6 years part-time

Project The PhD topic is to explore the mental health and well-being of lower paid NHS staff. Staff earning under £24k per year account for over 1/3 of the NHS workforce, and have higher rates of sickness than higher paid colleagues. This project will include: i) consideration of the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, occupational, and wellbeing outcomes, and associated determinants; ii) how such impacts changed over the course of the pandemic; and iii) what kinds of support interventions were helpful in this group of staff.

The project will use data collected as part of the NHS CHECK study, which is collecting longitudinal data from staff in 18 NHS Trusts across England, with over 26,000 participants. The PhD will be supervised by Prof Simon Wessely and Dr Sharon Stevelink (both based at KCL), and Dr Danielle Lamb (based at UCL).

The successful candidate will be based mainly in the Institute of , & Neuroscience at KCL, where academic supervision and skills training will take place. The student will also spend three months as an intern with NHS England/Improvement, where they will have the opportunity to gain experience of research outside of an academic institution, and build strong links with policy makers. We are looking for a PhD candidate with good quantitative research skills. Excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrable interest and commitment to this topic are also essential requirements.

Applications from those with experience of working in (lower paid) NHS roles, or of working directly with this group, are particularly welcome.

Supervisors Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Regius Professor in Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London

Dr Sharon Stevelink, Senior Lecturer in , Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London

Dr Danielle Lamb, Senior Research Fellow, NIHR ARC (North Thames), University College London Entry Standard PhD entry requirements: Applicants should have a Bachelors degree requirements with 2:1 honours (or Overseas equivalent). A 2:2 degree may be considered only where applicants also offer a Master’s with Merit.

In addition, the applicant should have a MSc (level 7 modules) that cover at least two of the three major ESRC core research methods areas – social theory, qualitative methods and quantitative methods – or have a significant professional experience in at least two of these general areas. For more details regarding these ESRC’s core research training areas, please visit https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/studentships/core-training-requirements/.

Award types Fully funded for three years, or six years part-time, plus a stipend. Home and eligibility students are eligible to apply as well as overseas students. Fee waivers may be available from the Centre for Doctoral Studies at King’s for overseas students. Further About the IoPPN (link to http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/about/index.aspx) information Studying at the IoPPN (link to http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/study/index.aspx) Centre for doctoral studies (link to https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/doctoral-

studies Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (link to https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn) NHS CHECK study website (link to https://nhscheck.org/) Case studentships (link to https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/case-studentships-student- applicants/) How to apply Applicants must complete and submit an online admissions application, via the admissions portal by midnight (23:59 GMT), Sunday 21st of February 2021.

On the ‘Choosing a programme’ page, please select the Psychological Medicine Research MPhil/PhD (Full-time or Part-time) programme.

In your application, you will be asked to include:

• Academic Transcripts – where applicable, academic transcripts must be submitted with the online admissions application • Details of your qualifications (you will need to attach copies) • Details of previous employment • A personal statement describing (i) what relevant existing skills, training and knowledge you would bring to the project; (ii) any ideas or proposals they have for developing/executing the specified project; (iii) what you hope to achieve from the PhD; and (iv) why you wish to apply for this particular PhD. Please include this as an attachment rather than using the text box. • Academic References – all admissions applications require one supporting reference. If the applicant is relying on his/her referees to submit a reference directly to the College after he/she has submitted his/her admissions application, then the applicant must ensure that their chosen referee is made aware of the funding deadline. • The ESRC LISS DTP CASE studentship 2021 Application Form • Fill in the Diversity Monitoring Form (https://kings.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/liss-dtp-diversity-monitoring-for- case-applications) – we do not need to see a copy of this form as part of your application

In the Funding section, please tick box 5 and include the following reference: (RB-NHSCHECK-2021)

Please note there is no need to complete the Research Proposal section in your application as the project has already been set.

You are welcome to email [email protected] (Project Manager NHS CHECK) or [email protected] (second supervisor) for more information regarding the project and studentship.

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Education support team at [email protected].

References must be received by the deadline for the applicant to be eligible. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Closing Date 21/02/2021

Interviews In the week of 1st of March or 8th of March 2021