Starting a PhD in the middle of a pandemic

Starting a PhD during a pandemic is not an easy feat!

Our latest blog is by Fiona Roche, a new PhD student. Fiona writes about her experience of starting a PhD within the SHIP team.

Fiona is an Operating Department Practitioner and a former member of the lecturing team in the Department of Nursing and Community Health at GCU. Prior to retraining, she worked as a chartered town planner in Glasgow for 15 years.
Her PhD is being supervised by Dr Krystyna Curtis and Prof Billy Hare (SCEBE), and Prof Lesley Price


My first experience of the SHIP group was while I was still part of the lecturing staff at GCU. I had expressed an interest in the work of the group and Professor Lesley Price kindly invited me along to meet everyone. I was immediately impressed, not only by the knowledge and experience in evidence and the warm welcome I received, but also by the range of “buns” on offer! That first meeting turned out to be the beginning of a journey which would see me leave my lecturing post and take up a full-time PhD within the university.

I had thought many times previously about pursuing a PhD, but having a background in town planning and Operating Department Practice seemed a tricky fit! That was until an opportunity arose which felt like it had been custom made to my slightly unusual CV. Under the guidance of Lesley and Dr Val Ness, I found myself successfully applying for a full-time PhD looking at the relationship between the built environment and infection prevention and control.

Starting the PhD in October 2020 felt simultaneously like one of the best and most daunting decisions I had ever made – a combination of excitement at the opportunities on offer and a step into the unknown. The challenges of a global pandemic have certainly added another dimension to the experience. Working in solitude at home for the first few months was difficult. Trying to work in a house full of people since Christmas even more so! Having the opportunity to immerse myself in an original piece of research is, however, already an exciting and rewarding experience and I feel a definite sense of moving closer to where I want to be both professionally and personally.

Although I am still at an early stage in my PhD, I can see that my first impressions of the SHIP group were right. It is a supportive research community full of enthusiasm and knowledge. I look forward to continuing my association with them throughout my PhD and I very much look forward to sharing some (non-virtual) buns with them again soon.


To find out more about the SHIP team, head on to the GCU website, read the rest of our blogs and follow us on Twitter @SHIPGCU

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