Announcing our first Clinician Scientist Pathway Scholarship Recipient
Meet Catherine Williams, the first Barwon Health and Deakin University Clinician Scientist Pathway Scholarship Recipient
Barwon Health and Deakin University are delighted to announce that Catherine Williams is the recipient of the first round of Clinician Scientist Pathway PhD Scholarships.
Catherine, an oncology physiotherapist at Barwon Health, told us a little about her path to becoming a clinician-researcher, and explained how the Clinician Scientist Pathway works.
What prompted you to transition from clinician to clinician-researcher?
I have always been interested in the interface between clinical research and clinical care. When my primary clinical focus became Oncology, I felt completely immersed – every team meeting, every decision, every ‘corridor conversation’ about a patient or program is grounded in the latest research.
I completed a Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology in 2021, and successfully applied for a grant from Cancer Council Victoria and the Victorian Cancer Agency to lead an Allied Health Clinical Trials Unit – Oncology (ACT-ONC) Project. This has led to conducting a 3-year funded project aiming to build capacity for allied health professionals to lead more clinical trials, particularly trials addressing cancer supportive care and survivorship needs.
What is your PhD about?
My PhD explores the best methods to provide training and education to allied health professionals to increase their engagement with, and ability to lead more clinical trials.
There is substantial evidence that shows the introduction of clinical trials to healthcare organisations leads to improvements in access to innovative care for patients, increased employment and training opportunities for staff, and economic benefits for organisations and industry. Despite this, allied health trials are vastly under-represented in the clinical trials space.
With the introduction of the National Clinical Trials Governance Framework and the inclusion of clinical trials in healthcare service accreditation, it is vitally important that we are equipped to do clinical trials, and to do them well.
What steps helped you enrol in your PhD?
Having a clear picture about a gap in knowledge that I felt a ‘fire in my gut’ to answer was probably number one. I sought out others with the same passion who really helped me flesh out my idea. It can feel daunting to reach out to other researchers, but I have not come across one yet who isn’t keen to talk to interested clinicians about their work!
Depending on your career and study history, you may immediately meet the entry requirements for a PhD, or (like me) you may take a slightly different path to PhD candidature – my big piece of advice is don’t write yourself off just because you haven’t just completed a Masters degree, or have a huge amount of published work. Also, don’t think a PhD isn’t for you because you work part-time or have other life commitments! Innovations such as the Clinician Scientist Pathway can help.
What does the Clinician Scientist Pathway (CSP) mean for you?
The CSP is a shared commitment – between me, Barwon Health and Deakin University. Not only will there be some practical support for me in conducting my PhD, but the area I am studying is important to both organisations, therefore the outcomes and outputs are viewed as a good fit for our future research, clinical and strategic priority areas. This pathway is an attractive option for clinicians.
The Graduate Certificate of Health and Medical Research can be supported as part of the pathway which can help to bridge gaps you may have in your research knowledge and experience – it's heartening to see Barwon Health and Deakin University leading the industry with a program like this.
What would be your advice for others?
Try to be open to becoming involved in research opportunities when they arise, even if you are someone who has historically felt like research is ‘just not your thing.’
It can appear daunting and too hard or time-consuming initially, but it offers such a strong pathway for ensuring we are offering every person who walks through our doors the absolute best care we currently know of, as well as an avenue for improving the way allied health is viewed and recognised within the organisation and the broader health care industry.
About the Clinician Scientist Pathway
The Barwon Health and Deakin University Clinician Scientist Pathway is a jointly funded four year PhD scholarship program for Barwon Health employees across medicine, nursing, midwifery and allied health.
The Clinician Scientist Pathway differs from existing PhD pathways because it supports a clinician to maintain a clinical role at up to 0.5 FTE with protected PhD research time, blending patient care with research.
For high-potential clinicians with limited research experience, the Clinician Scientist Pathway will also support a clinician to undertake the Deakin Graduate Certificate of Health and Medical Research. The Graduate Certificate provides training and credits towards PhD entry criteria and can be undertaken remotely and part-time during the 6-12 months leading up to PhD commencement. Importantly, it can include development work on the proposed PhD.
Interested? Find out more here.