PhD student position (100%) at the Institute for Medical Education in Bern (f/m/d)

Short description

The Institute for Medical Education (IML) is a center of excellence in medical education. As a university institution, we work in the fields of research, teaching, service and development and supervise projects at the national and international level.

We invite applications for a PhD student position (100%) for the project “From threat to challenge - Improving medical students’ stress response and communication skills performance when breaking bad news to simulated patients”.

This SNSF-funded project aims to investigate the effects of brief didactical and stress-reducing means on biological, experiential and behavioral measures. This aim will be achieved by conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a sample of about 200 undergraduate medical students.

Job Information:

• Start date: June 2021 or upon agreement
• Contract length: 4 years
• Workplace: Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

Your tasks:

• Planning, preparing, and conducting the RCT
• Managing, analyzing, and interpreting the collected data including cardiovascular measures, stress hormone, questionnaires and communication-skills performance
• Writing high-quality research publications
• Presenting the project findings at meetings and conferences

Your profile:

• Master degree in psychology or life sciences; candidates with a master degree in medicine can also be considered if there is a record of research experience
• Very good methodological and statistical knowhow (with focus on quantitative data)
• Very good level of both English and German (level C1/C2/mother tongue)
• Flair for scientific writing
• Strong interest in empirical research and career plans in a scientific context
• Good team working skills

What we offer:

• Supervision and collaboration by a highly motivated, international, interdisciplinary team consisting of medical educators and psychologists (PD P. Gomez, University of Lausanne; Prof. S. Guttormsen, University of Bern; Prof. U. Nater, University of Vienna)
• Doctorate study program of the Graduate School for Health Sciences (GHS) of the University of Bern (courses, conferences, seminars, etc.), cf. www.ghs.unibe.ch/
• Salary in accordance with the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation

To apply, send a motivation letter, your CV, copies of your diplomas/work certificates (i.e., list of courses and grades at university level), and contact information of two referees by e-mail (pdf file format preferred) to PD Dr. med. Christoph Berendonk MME, christoph.berendonk@iml.unibe.ch. For questions, please contact Dr. phil. Felix Schmitz, felix.schmitz@iml.unibe.ch.

University of Bern
Medical Faculty
Institute for Medical Education