PhD Candidate in Communication in the Emergency Medical Services

Area of work

The Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, has a vacancy for a fixed-term post as a PhD candidate in communication in the emergency medical services.The fixed-term post has a duration of three years and the desired starting date is January, 1st, 2025. 

The PhD candidate will be affiliated with the ADAPT2Lang project and the acute/critically ill and injured research group. The research group conducts research to promote equitable and safe emergency health services of high quality throughout the emergency medicine chain.

In Norway, individuals experiencing or witnessing a medical emergency will call 113 to seek help. These calls are routed to a local emergency medicine communications centre (EMCC). An EMCC operator, who will be a qualified nurse or paramedic, will answer the call. During the call, the EMCC operator will assess the caller’s situation, provide advice on what to do next and determine which primary measures to initiate, such as sending an ambulance.

Communication can be challenging when EMCC operators and callers do not speak the same language (the call is language discordant). Misunderstandings may arise if, for example, the operator is fluent in Norwegian but the caller speaks Polish. The process of assessing the situation, providing advice and making decisions becomes more complicated in such calls.

The “ADAPT2Lang” project has been designed to promote knowledge of language-discordant calls, in particular: (1) The perspectives of EMCC operators and callers on needs, challenges and solutions and (2) how EMCC operators and callers manage the situation when talking to one another.

The PhD candidate will be required to cooperate closely with the research group:

• planning, conducting and applying qualitative methods to analyse interviews/focus group discussions with operators (article 1) and callers (article 2);
• planning, conducting and analysing a selection of language-discordant calls to 113 (article 3)

As a PhD candidate at OsloMet, you will have the opportunity to apply for a grant for an extended research stay abroad.

Qualification requirements and conditions

• master’s degree or equivalent corresponding to 120 credits/ECTS in health sciences or another relevant subject area
• experience from the medical emergency services
• written and verbal proficiency in English language 
• admission to the doctoral programme in health science is a prerequisite for the post. In order to gain admission to PhD programmes at the Faculty of Health Science, applicants must have achieved a grade of B or better in their master’s thesis/second degree level subject and an average grade corresponding to B or higher in the master’s degree. In exceptional cases, applicants with a grade of C may be considered. In such cases, relevant experience from own research projects and/or scientific publications will be emphasised. Please see information about the criteria on the admissions website
• the final plan for organised research training must be approved and agreed no later than three months after taking up the post

The general criteria for appointment as a PhD candidate can be found in the regulations (Regulations relating to employment terms for posts such as postdoctoral fellow, PhD candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate - Lovdata).

It would be advantageous for applicants to have

• experience of qualitative methods

Personal characteristics

• ability to work in a systematic and structured fashion
• interest in the importance of communication in pre-hospital work
• flexible and with the ability to see different perspectives
• interest in using empirical work to improve practice Personal suitability will be emphasised.

It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population in the region and we would like to invite all qualified applicants to apply. We are working actively to further develop as an inclusive workplace and will adapt the workplace as required. We also welcome applications from those who have had periods in which they were not in employment, education or training.

What we offer

• an exciting educational post at Norway’s third-largest university
• access to further professional development in a creative academic and research environment with an academic supervision team with extensive experience of relevant research methods
• a young, active and inclusive working environment
• a developing workplace
• beneficial pension arrangements with the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• beneficial welfare schemes and a wide range of sports and cultural offers 
• free Norwegian language classes to employees and their partners/spouses 

Practical information about relocation to Oslo and living in Norway

The post is remunerated in accordance with the Norwegian State Salary Scale and OsloMet’s salary policy under code 1017 as a PhD candidate, salary grade 54, which corresponds to a starting salary of NOK 532,200 per annum.

The application process

If you would like to apply for the post, you need to apply electronically using the “apply for the position” button. You must upload the following documents before the application deadline expires:

• application, CV and copies of all pages of degree transcripts and diplomas
• education from abroad should be approved in advance and the approval letter should be enclosed. Further information can be found at: Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills | HK-dir (hkdir.no)
• second degree thesis/master’s thesis
• any scientific works or links to full articles
• list of any publications or presentations at international seminars/conferences

We only process applications submitted via our electronic recruitment system and all documents must be uploaded in order for your application to be processed. Documents must be submitted in English or a Scandinavian language. Any translations must be notarised. Original versions must be presented if you are invited to attend an interview. OsloMet will carry out document control to ensure that candidates are subject to a proper evaluation and fair competition. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

An appointment will be made based on the principles set out in the Norwegian Civil Servants Act (lovdata.no), as well as legislation governing the export of knowledge, technology and services. Background checks may be carried out in order to verify information provided in the CV and submitted documents. Background checks will not be carried out without the applicant’s consent and relevant applicants will receive further information about the process.

OsloMet has endorsed the principles set out in the DORA Declaration and the institution is committed to adhering to the recommendations therein.

Further information

If you would like further information about the position, please contact:

• Associate Professor Magnus Hjortdahl, +47 67 23 63 42, magnus.hjortdahl@oslomet.no
• for administrative questions: HR Adviser Sana Jafri, sana.jafri@oslomet.no

Application deadline: August 11th, 2024
Ref:   24/19754