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Educational grants

Educational project grants (Education Strategy Committee)

arc seeks to fund a number of projects aimed at investigating innovative approaches to enhance the education of health care professionals and the public on musculoskeletal disorders. The educational activities sponsored by arc are under the guidance of a recently established Education Strategy Committee (ESC). This body is currently undertaking detailed strategic reviews of its activities in the fields of public and patient education, as well as undergraduate and continuing education of all relevant health care professionals. These reviews are unlikely to be completed before early 2009 and implementation will not begin to occur until later in 2009.

In order to ensure the momentum of educational activities across all our areas of interest, arc aims to support a number of projects, and proposals will be considered for work that can be completed within 24 months and at a maximum cost of £100,000 per project. Intending applicants must discuss their proposed work prior to submission with Dr Andrew Hassell, Chair of arc’s Education Strategy Committee, initially by email to Andrew.Hassell@uhns.nhs.uk.

The research can be focused on a number of areas including identifying educational needs for a particular client group, evaluating methods of delivering education and assessing the impact of activities on knowledge and practice. arc is currently commissioning work on identifying patient and public needs and is also committed to revamping its website to meet those needs, and therefore would not wish to duplicate those activities. Intended applicants should see arc's Education Strategy to gain insight into the global strategy with regard to its educational activities.

Applications can come from individuals working for universities, the NHS or other public institutions and the deadline for the first round of applications is Monday, 29th September 2008.

Educational research fellowships (Education Strategy Committee)

Educational research fellowships are open to clinicians (usually at specialty training level in rheumatology or general practice) and non-clinicians (including allied health professionals and educationalists). They aim to provide an opportunity for training in educational research methodology and/or medical education in a project relevant to arthritis and related musculoskeletal diseases.

Fellowships will normally be awarded for 2 or 3 years (full or part-time equivalent) and candidates will be expected to register for a higher degree (MD, MSc or PhD). Salaries will be according to age and experience on the appropriate clinical or scientific salary scale (see Essential information for applicants). Fellows will be attached to a department of rheumatology or general practice and are expected to have two supervisors (academic and educational), one of whom may be external.

Introduction

Currently, there is a need for individuals to be trained in research methodology in medical education. The arc educational research fellowship is analogous to the arc clinical fellowship and aims to achieve this.

Up to 3 educational research fellowships will be awarded annually by open competition in order to encourage both clinicians and non-clinicians to undertake educational research relevant to arthritis and musculoskeletal disease. Applications will be assessed by peer review and interview with a similar rigour to other arc fellowships. Fellows will be expected to register for a higher degree.

Guidelines

Aim: To encourage clinicians (including GPs), allied healthcare professionals and non- clinicians to undertake research into educational methodology and/or medical education with the aim of improving the general standard of education in arthritis and musculoskeletal disease relating either to medical or patient education.

Who may apply: Medical graduates usually at specialty training level (including GPs) or allied healthcare professionals and non-clinicians with an appropriate postgraduate qualification (including educationalists) and a special interest in arthritis and musculoskeletal disease.

Location and supervision: Fellows will normally be attached to a department of rheumatology or general practice and should nominate an academic supervisor and an educational supervisor (the latter could be external). Applications should be made jointly by the applicant and their supervisors.

Provides: Training in educational research methodology and/or medical education relevant to arthritis and musculoskeletal disease. Fellows will be expected to register for a higher degree (MPhil, MSc, MD or PhD).

Salary/Length: Salary will be in line with the applicant's current salary at the time of appointment. Fellowships will be for up to 3 years and may be full time or part time equivalent.

Please ensure that you have read and understood the above guidelines before making an application.

These fellowships, which are not renewable, are advertised once a year (see Application Deadlines) and shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview.

Allied health professionals training fellowships

Please see full details in the Fellowships section.

Allied health professionals educational training bursaries (Educational Grants to Individuals Working Group)

Educational training bursaries aim to promote awareness and understanding of arthritis and related musculoskeletal diseases among allied health professionals through research, practical experience, presentation of research, and formal education in rheumatology.

Funding is offered towards the costs of attending either:

1. A short training/diploma course or modules from a taught MSc programme in the UK with a clear rheumatological content. Examples are the Keele ASPiRE course and Brighton GCRP course. The maximum amount available is £1,000 and application deadlines for ths funding are twice a year in the middle of January and July.

2. A full MSc course or taught/professional doctorate in the UK with a clear rheumatological content. The maximum amount available is £5,000 and there is one application deadline a year in January.

Eligibility

The applicant must be an allied healthcare professional who is, or is eligible to be, registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) , Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or other appropriate regulatory body and:

have at least 3 years' relevant post-registration work experience and at least one year's experience in rheumatology/arthritis;
have a primary future professional commitment to the care of patients with arthritis and related musculoskeletal diseases;
have the support of their head of department and two referees, one of whom should be a health professional in a supervisory capacity;
provide an outline programme of the training course to be attended together with a letter of acceptance from the course organiser.

Funding

Within the maximum sums shown above, arc will consider providing funds towards the cost of tuition fees for full-time or part-time study and, in exceptional circumstances, other expenses such as travel, books, equipment, and living expenses may be considered. However, applicants are expected to have raised funds from other sources or be prepared to contribute from their own pockets.

Submitting an application

Awards cannot be made retrospectively and applications must be submitted at least 2 months prior to the commencement of a course, or course module, and by the deadline date (see Application Deadlines).

Applications will be assessed by the appropriate arc committee and applicants may be invited to interview depending on the nature of the application.

Allied health professionals educational travel awards (Educational Grants to Individuals Working Group)

Travel awards are offered to allied health professionals who are, or are eligible to be, registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or other appropriate regulatory body.

Two categories of funding are offered as follows:

1. Up to a maximum of £500 is offered towards the costs of attending a national or international meeting in order to present a paper or poster, chair a session or lead a discussion, provided the meeting has a clear relevance to the aims and interests of arc.

2. Up to a maximum of £2,000 is offered to enable allied health professionals to visit wards/units in their specialty for the purpose of studying other methods of care of patients with arthritis and related musculoskeletal diseases.

Eligibility

have at least 3 years' relevant post-registration work experience and at least one year's experience in rheumatology/arthritis;
have a primary future professional commitment to the care of patients with arthritis and related musculoskeletal diseases;
have the support of their head of department and two referees, one of whom should be a health professional in a supervisory capacity;
provide proof that a paper or poster (with applicant as the primary author) has been accepted for presentation or that the canditate has been invited to chair a session or lead a discussion;
OR provide a verified programme of rheumatology units/educational visits planned, with set dates and relevant correspondence from the contact organisation(s).

Funding

Within the maximum sums shown above, arc will consider providing funds towards the cost of fares, registration, accommodation, and subsistence. However, applicants are expected to have raised funds from other sources or be prepared to contribute from their own pockets.