Professor in ophthalmology, combined with positiion as specialist physician at the Academic Hospital

Allvar Gullstrand was installed as Uppsala University’s first professor of ophthalmology in 1894. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1911 for his groundbreaking work on the dioptrics of the eye.

Uppsala University is now seeking a professor of ophthalmology combined with a position as specialist physician – or with qualifications acceptable to the hospital, consultant – at Uppsala University Hospital.

Uppsala University, Department of Surgical Sciences

As part of the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Department of Surgical Sciences conducts research and offers first-, second- and third-cycle courses and programmes. The department’s educational activities include the Medicine Programme and Nursing, Specialist Nursing and Diagnostic Radiology Nursing Programmes. Research is conducted in research groups organised around various surgical specialisations and adjacent subjects, such as radiology and anaesthesiology. Much of our research is conducted in national and international collaboration with other research groups.

The Department of Surgical Sciences has approximately 120 employees and 200 registered doctoral students. Many of our teachers have an appointment combined with a position at Uppsala University Hospital. The majority of our doctoral students are clinically active physicians or nurses. The Department of Surgical Sciences has an annual turnover of just over SEK 150 million.

The Ophthalmology Unit at Uppsala University Hospital provides healthcare with a large percentage of research-associated, highly specialised care. The unit consists of an eye clinic, a ward and a surgical department, including outpatient surgery. In 2023, the unit conducted 26,000 doctor’s appointments, 10,000 other appointments, 3,000 operations, 6,000 eye injections and had 800 inpatients. 

The unit currently has almost 100 members of staff, including 17 ophthalmologists and 5 registrars. The unit serves a population of approximately 1 million within its catchment area.

Description of the subject area

As a subject area, ophthalmology has a long tradition at Uppsala University, with a broad base of diagnostics and treatment, including surgery. The subject is taught to students on the Medicine, Nursing and Specialist Nursing Programmes, as well as to hospital registrars, opticians and orthoptists. Clinical and experimental research within the subject area has a similarly long tradition at the university, and enjoys access to the infrastructure at Uppsala University Hospital and Uppsala University.

Duties

The successful candidate will have overall responsibility for research and doctoral education in the subject area as well as supervision and teaching at the third, second and first-cycle levels. Duties include leading an active research team in the subject and contributing to positive development of research and education in the subject in collaboration with other researchers and teachers within the faculty. Administrative duties and internal and external representative assignments may be required. Duties also include presenting information on research and development work. One-third of the working time will be taken up by clinical practice at Uppsala University Hospital, particularly activities pertaining to clinical development.

Qualifications

A person who has demonstrated both research and teaching expertise is considered qualified for employment as a professor (Chapter 4, Section 3, Higher Education Ordinance). According to Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University (AR), a general requirement is that the personal qualities are suitable to perform the duties well (Section 5 AR).

Research expertise must have been demonstrated by independent research work and by the fact that the applicant’s activities maintain a high international standard. The applicant must have demonstrated expertise in planning, initiating, leading and developing research, have demonstrated the capacity to obtain research funding in competition, and demonstrate well-documented expertise in supervising third-cycle students. The applicant’s contributions to the international and national academic community will be assessed on the basis of, among other things, the quality and scope of their academic publications in publishing channels most relevant to the subject. See AR Section 31.

Teaching expertise must have been demonstrated by qualifications in education and teaching. Furthermore, the applicant must demonstrate well-documented expertise in supervision in the first, second and third cycles. A prerequisite for having demonstrated teaching expertise is that applicants have completed teacher training for higher education of relevance to operations at the University, comprising at least ten weeks, or have acquired the equivalent knowledge. If special circumstances apply, this training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years employment. The teacher training must also include third cycle supervision. See AR Sections 22 and 32.

The applicant must have a documented ability to teach in English or Swedish.

A Swedish licence to practice medicine and specialist expertise in are required to apply for this position. If the applicant is not entered onto the Swedish Specialist Register for nuclear medicine, they must have submitted an application for entry onto the Swedish Specialist Register (ophthalmology) to the National Board of Health and Welfare by the application deadline for this position. However, the applicant must have obtained Swedish registration as a specialist in ophthalmology by the date the employment decision is made.

If the person offered the position also meets Uppsala University Hospital’s requirements for employment as a consultant, the applicant will be offered employment combined with the position of consultant.

Assessment criteria

In the assessment of more than one qualified applicant, research expertise will be assigned greater weight than teaching expertise. However, an overall appraisal of the assessment criteria will be conducted meaning that an applicant deemed to have greater teaching skills may be ranked higher than another who demonstrates slightly greater scientific skill. Clinical expertise is important to the position and will be assigned weight.

In assessing research expertise, research quality is the prime consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop research and research education in the third cycle, the ability to acquire funding for research in competition, as well as the demonstrated capacity to interact with others both within academia and in the wider community. See also Section 3 of Guidelines and Assessment Criteria for Recruiting and Promoting Teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy (GA) and Section 20 AR.

In assessing teaching expertise, teaching quality is the prime consideration. The scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth, must also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop teaching instruction, as well as the ability to connect research to teaching in respect to research in the subject at hand, subject didactics, as well as teaching and learning in higher education. The ability to interact concerning issues of teaching and learning in higher education with actors inside and outside the University is also included in teaching expertise. See also Section 4 GA and Section 22 AR.

Clinical expertise is demonstrated through clinical work and clinical training, and by participation in clinical development. Clinical development includes measures that have enhanced the quality or efficiency of health and medical care. See Section 24 AR.

Assessment criteria, other expertise

Administrative and leadership expertise are significant to the position and will be assigned importance. The ability to collaborate with the surrounding community and to inform the public about research and development will be considered.

Leadership expertise is demonstrated through the ability to lead operations and employees, make decisions, assume responsibility and motivate and provide others with the conditions necessary to attain common goals. The ability to coordinate the group and contribute to generating commitment, participation and job satisfaction and the ability to manage conflicts are further examples of demonstrated expertise. See Sections 29-30 AR and Section 5 GA.

According to the Appointment Regulations, administrative expertise is demonstrated, for example, through the capacity to plan, organize and prioritize work in an efficient and task-related manner, as well as through the ability to assign and observe time frames. Expertise includes overall operational planning and the capacity to manage resources in a way that reflects operational priorities, as well as the ability to work in a structured manner based on an awareness of goals and quality. See Sections 27-28 AR and Section 5 GA.

Collaborative expertise is significant to the position and will be assigned weight. According to Section 6 GA, the following apply: When assessing collaborative expertise, experience with and expertise in education and outreach, editorships and other activities related to knowledge exchange between the University and the surrounding community, as well as experience with innovation and entrepreneurship, shall be of significance.

The applicant’s parental leave, part-time work relating to care of children, or the like, will be regarded as qualifying work experience.

When the University appoints new professors, those applicants must be selected who, following qualitative holistic assessment of their competence and expertise, are judged to have the best potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties and to help advance operations. See AR §4.

The gender-equality aspect must be applied in an appointment if it is determined following a qualitative assessment that two applicants of different gender have equal or approximately equal qualifications and if either gender is under-represented (comprises less than 40% within the relevant category of posts and in the relevant workplace).

All qualifications must be documented so that both quality and degree can be assessed.

During the evaluation of submitted applications, international referees may be used. In this event, the University may need to send applications that are written in Swedish to a qualified translator.

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Links to relevant regulations and guidelines

Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University

Guidelines and assessment criteria for recruiting and promoting teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy

Career Portfolios. Instructions for compiling qualifications and guidelines for qualifications assessment in connection with recruitment of teachers, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy

About the position

The position is a permanent position. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date as agreed.
Placement: Uppsala

For more information, please contact: the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Karin Forsberg Nilsson, tel. 018-471 41 58, karin.nilsson@uu.se, eller the Head of Department Liisa Byberg, tel. 070-167 94 00, liisa.byberg@uu.se.

Welcome to submit your application no later than 3 February 2025, UFV-PA 2023/3877.