Upon receiving their approval letters and sharing the exciting news of the award with their community, the PSI Knowledge Translation (KT) Fellows begin preparing to get settled in their place at the starting line. As they embark on their KT Fellowship journey, we asked them few questions to know them beyond their recipient biographies, as well as some notes they could pass on to future applicants.
Please use 3 words to describe how you feel as you begin your KT Fellowship.
Enthusiastic – the work over several years culminated in the development of a risk tool for patients who present to the emergency department with syncope. Very enthusiastic to now complete implementation and dissemination.
Optimistic – that the knowledge translation efforts will lead to improved patient care both in the safety and resource utilization front.
Thankful – to PSI which funded the derivation phase and now both the process evaluation of the implementation and salary support in the form of KT fellowship.
Why did you apply for the PSI KT Fellowship? How does this award align with your current research and career goals?
Over the past decade, our team has derived and validated the risk tool. We also developed an online calculator and practice recommendations based on the prognosis. As we are embarking on the implementation phase, this funding opportunity was available.
The ultimate test of any research is its widespread implementation and dissemination to impact patient care globally. The award will aid in developing robust implementation strategies for future tools which we are currently developing for use in emergency departments.
What are 3 to 5 general tips and notes you would pass on to those preparing their KT Fellowship application?
- Ensure that your research program is at a KT stage and the proposed research has KT as the main component
- Prove that your research program and projects proposed have the potential to improve patient care and the health system – impact the community, impact the overall health of Ontarians
- Explain how it will impact your career and future researchers
- Have a funding plan for the projects proposed
- Be concise and to the point in the application (as there are no page limits currently)
