Two scholarships will open in May to support research projects led by frontline workers, with clinicians, nurses and allied health practitioners encouraged to apply.
The Emergency Medicine Foundation is offering rural health practitioners more than $85,000 in research grants to boost professional capacity in emergency care research and improve outcomes for road trauma patients in Queensland’s regional areas.
Two new scholarships targeting emergency care research will be open on 6 May to frontline healthcare workers, regardless of prior research experience, with funding ranging from $15,000 to $40,000 for recipients.
Selected clinicians will be funded to enrol in an approved university course offering training in emergency care research, with mentoring available from 13 experienced health researchers from the Jamieson Trauma Institute.
According to EMF board chair Professor Hugh Grantham, the grant scheme would lead to significant improvements in professional capacity in emergency care across the state’s regional and rural health workforce.
“We are looking for innovative and workable solutions to overcome barriers to optimal emergency care outside Queensland’s metropolitan areas, and to build the research capacity of clinicians,” Professor Grantham said.
Delivered in partnership with the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC), the scheme features a dedicated funding stream for research aiming to improve trauma outcomes in regional and remote areas.
MAIC Insurance Commissioner Neil Singleton said the commission was “proud” to be collaborating with the EMF to support greater access to research opportunities and bolster professional capacity among rural frontline workers.
“Given Queensland’s vast geographic spread, road trauma patients in rural and remote areas often need to be transferred to metropolitan hospitals, which can delay or complicate their treatment and recovery,” Mr Singleton said.
“It is critical that emergency teams in these areas are equipped and empowered to explore improvements in local clinical care so patients can be treated close to home, reducing transport costs and above all – saving lives.
“MAIC is proud to be working with EMF in supporting these important clinician-led research projects to enhance clinician expertise and improve patient care and outcomes.”
More information on the EMF’s Trauma Care in Regional, Rural and Remote Queensland grant scheme is available here.