Student profile
Scott Munro, PhD Health Sciences

Scott Munro

"My supervisors have been absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have gotten through to this stage of my PhD without them. They shared their expert knowledge, and given me brilliant pastoral care in the more challenging periods of my studies."

Course

Health Sciences PhD

Entry year

2013

Research project

Pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiograms in acute stroke patients.

Why I chose Surrey

In July 2013, I graduated with a bachelors in paramedic practice from Surrey and went straight into life as a Paramedic. As time went on, I started to notice gaps in our knowledge around what the best and most effective treatments for patients are and wanted to do something to ensure patients are getting the best available care.

To do this, I knew that I had to get a PhD in a relevant area, which led me back to Surrey. I had a really positive experience during my undergraduate studies and was happy for an excuse to return!

My research project

For my research project, I'm investigating pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiograms in acute stroke patients as part of a retrospective cohort and qualitative interview study. To do this, I'm  examining the relationship between recording a pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiogram in acute stroke patients with functional outcome and in-hospital processes of care.

My overall PhD experience has been very positive. At first I was quite anxious and felt a bit like an imposter, but with the support of my supervision team and the other postgraduate researchers around, I soon settled in to life as a PhD student. My supervisors have been absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have gotten through to this stage of my PhD without them. They provide expert knowledge, as well as providing brilliant pastoral care in the more challenging periods of my studies. I really owe a lot to them.

One of my proudest moments so far has been publishing a systematic review from my PhD in an international, peer-reviewed journal. I also really enjoy giving lectures to the undergraduate students about why research is so important and how developing critical appraisal skills will help them throughout their careers, as well as their patients.

"One of my proudest moments so far has been publishing a systematic review from my PhD in an international, peer-reviewed journal."

My life at Surrey

Guildford is such a nice town - there are great shops and restaurants and a welcoming community to embed in. I now live and work in Guildford permanently, so it obviously made a good impression on me while I was studying here!

Guildford is also a great gateway to get to the rest of the UK, with easy access to the coast down the A3 and only a short train ride into central London. Being close to the M25 means that the motorways to get to other parts of the country aren’t far away either and the two largest airports are less than an hour away.

My career and development

As well as doing my PhD, I work as a Paramedic for an NHS Ambulance Trust. Once I finish my PhD, I’m considering applying for a post-doctoral position to carry on having a balance between clinical and academic work.

Find out more about our Health Sciences PhD