TUTOR-PHC 2024 | Building the Research Networks of the Future

FRANCESCA DAKIN DPhil Student Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

I am a final-year PhD (DPhil) student at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, where my research focuses on how the shift to digitalised care and care processes have impacted the individual staff in primary care, general practice teams, and patients. I am an applied social scientist, using a range of qualitative methods in my DPhil and wider projects within the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Care group. 

As my PhD is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health and Social Care Research’s School for Primary Care, I was eligible to apply to be the SPCR’s representative on the annual “Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research - Primary Health Care”, or TUTOR-PHC, programme based at Western University in Canada. This was my second attempt at applying, so I was thrilled to hear the news that I was selected back in January of 2024.

I have recently returned from the in-person element of the programme, and am beginning the subsequent year-long remote training programme, which culminates in a team-based mock grant application. The in-person symposium was based in London, Ontario, at the. beautiful Ivey Spencer Centre (pictured). Prior to meeting in-person, all trainees (who were representatives from multiple disciplines and countries) got to meet synchronously online, and learn a bit about one another. We were also assigned mentors from the teaching cohort based on interests or methodologies, many of whom had previously been trainees on TUTOR-PHC. This set us up really well to know who’s who on arrival.

The symposium schedule was packed! We had activities from 7:30am to 8pm some days, kicking off with discussions between mentors and mentees over breakfast, lunch and dinner, and multiple lectures, discussion groups, and team meetings during the day. Yet, it never felt overwhelming thanks to the excellent coordination by Priya, and the highly-relevant course content. All are peppered with opportunities to socialise with other trainees, share knowledge, and discuss opportunities for future collaborations or research visits. 

I have been so impressed by the calibre of trainees and mentors on the programme. Whilst remote learning has only just begun, it is already providing a very welcome chance to reconnect with others from the course and begin to develop our grant applications. Our cohort has proven to be fun, interesting, and ambitious, an ideal context in which to grow as a researcher to enable me to give back to the SPCR as a research lead.

I would highly recommend that anyone interested in international, interdisciplinary primary care research apply to the next round of TUTOR-PHC. It is a unique opportunity to be a part of future research networks that will lead the way in global primary care research. Don’t let a failed first try put you off!