PhD Algorithmic Technologies shaping Clinical Professional Role & Identity

at  Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

INTRODUCTION

Are you interested in studying how healthcare professionals engage and work with novel and potentially disruptive algorithmic technologies? Then, you are cordially invited to apply for a PhD position at Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Workforce and Sustainable Healthcare research group within Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management.
Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management (ESHPM) is making a substantial investment in research and teaching into the Theme of Workforce and Sustainable Healthcare, which includes the offering of a fully funded, four-year PhD-position. This PhD project will specifically look at how algorithmic technologies are shaping the nature of professional clinical work, and influence the role, expertise and identity of professionals in healthcare.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related applications such as machine learning and deep learning in combination with other disruptive technologies such as robots, internet of things, cloud computing and blockchain have the potential to change fundamentally the way we work and how organizations function. Recent AI advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have evoked mixed feelings within healthcare. On the one hand, there are fears about the potential threat to jobs, lack of control by humans and potential ethical implications. Such negative attitudes towards algorithmic technologies can manifest as resistance, or even active resentment against using the technology in clinical practice. Yet, on the other hand, many patient groups, clinicians and policy makers envision a more optimistic future for the incorporation of AI technology into healthcare workflows. They see the potential for AI to enhance workers’ capabilities, save lives, and improve the efficiency and patient-centeredness of health systems.
AI has the potential to not only alter how people work, but also how they relate to their jobs, their sense of professional identity. AI uniquely impacts even highly skilled, knowledge workers in a way unprecedented by previous technologies. While past automation primarily displaced low-skilled labor, AI now poses a threat to professional skills such as expert decision-making and intellectual abilities, which were traditionally deemed uniquely human. Therefore, proactively addressing concerns on the evolving roles of clinicians and their professional expertise and identity is crucial for organizations and health systems. Clinicians who perceive their professional roles, values and identities as jeopardized by AI are more resistant to its adoption and less likely to utilize it effectively. This partly explains the current limited use and sustainable deployment at scale of algorithmic technologies in clinical practice despite substantial investment in health systems. For professionals to regain some sense of control over forthcoming changes in their work and be able to co-create the future AI-driven workplace seem to be important.

Please refer the Job description for details