012582 UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 and 2, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems, 7 months full-time (commencing Sept 2020)

The UCD Centre for Interdisciplinary Research Education and Innovation in Health Systems (IRIS), in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Researcher Level 1 to work on the Science Foundation Ireland funded project - Expanding Care Capacity through Remote Monitoring of COVID-19 patients.

Access to primary care and hospital bed capacity are the two main health systems issues that continually challenge Ireland's ability to deliver appropriate and timely healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic has created substantial demands on an already over-stretched healthcare system. From the onset of the pandemic, individuals who are concerned about symptoms have been presenting to their GP in increasing numbers requesting testing. This has further exacerbated the well-documented primary care access and treatment problems due to Ireland's low GP to population ratio. Late presentation to hospital and subsequent rapid deterioration resulting in more patients requiring admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) is a considerable concern, given our low ratio of ICU beds to population size compared to other countries. The ability to detect deterioration in symptomatic and COVID-19 positive patients early in the disease progression and direct the patient to the appropriate level and place for care would have a substantial impact on efficient resource utilisation. During and beyond this pandemic it is imperative to ensure maximum efficiency in the utilisation of these scarce resources. One initiative with potential to increase efficiency in treating COVID-19 patients is virtual clinics with, where appropriate, remote monitoring (RM) of symptoms and pulse oximetry. A RM solution for COVID-19 has been developed to enable home monitoring of otherwise healthy patients with mild to moderate symptoms (not requiring hospitalisation) who are in self-isolation, COVID-19+ and/or symptomatic. Key data (pulse oximetry, dyspnoea) recorded by the patient using a smartphone app can be viewed in real time by clinical staff. In this project, we are assessing the impact of virtual clinics and the deployment of this RM solution on patient throughput and outcomes, exploring the user acceptability and adherence to the programme to improve the programme and inform its' potential use in other settings.

Salary range: €37,874 - €43,782 per annum (PD1)
Appointment on the above range will be dependent on qualifications and experience

Salary range: €45,041- €47,673 per annum (PD2)
Appointment on the above range will be dependent on qualifications and experience

Closing date: 17:00hrs (local Irish time) on 28th August 2020

Appointee will commence in the role September 2020

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CV's submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.