medical essay competition 2023 uk

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Medical Student Prize

The 2024 Medical Student Prize deadline for submissions has now passed

2024 Medical Student Prize

This year medical students are invited to submit an essay on their Quality Improvement Project (QUIP) and how it has equipped them and their department to perform better. The project must have completed at least one round of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle and can be on any aspect of T&O - from education to patient preparation or adoption of surgical innovation.

The lead author of the winning submission will receive the following:

• BOA-recognised certificate
• £100 prize money
• A ticket for Medical Student's Day at the BOA Annual Congress 2024 in Birmingham
• Travel and one night's accommodation at the BOA Annual Congress 2024 paid for by the BOA

The BOA also wish to recognise the exceptional submissions we receive with a highly commended certificate.

How do I submit my project?

You will be required to submit an application form along with your essay. The essay application form  can be found here; please complete this and send it, along with your essay, to [email protected] . There is a limit of one essay entry per student.

In the application essay form you will be required to confirm: 

“I certify that the attached material is my own work. I also certify that I have formally certified or formally acknowledged the words and ideas of others.”

Am I eligible?

The competition is open to all medical students in the UK or Republic of Ireland. If you have submitted in previous years but you are still a medical student, you are welcome to re-enter the competition for the 2024 prize.

Medical Students from the UK or Republic of Ireland who are studying abroad are not eligible to submit an essay.

Is there a word limit?

The maximum word count for the essay is 1000 words. The essay title and references/figures/tables (including in-text references) are not included in the word count, but any accompanying text i.e. the name of the table if stated above/below it, will be counted in the Word Count. Appendices are not encouraged but maybe used to present relevant additional information referred to in the essay. We usually receive a large number of submissions and the people marking the essays are not expected to read Appendices and therefore these should not be used to display details which are essential to your work.

Can I include graphs or images in my submission?

Does the word count include references and figures, what referencing style shall i use, when is the final deadline, when will the winner be announced, will i receive feedback, who can i contact if i have a problem, past winners.

2023 Sumedh Sridhar, winner of the 2023 Medical Student Essay Prize competition, with his essay ‘Bones, Burnout, and Beyond’: Strategies for Supporting T&O Staff and Patients in a Changing Landscape.  His essay was published on Orthopaedics Online , which you can read here .

2022 Jan Drmota, a final year medical student at Imperial College London, was the winner of the 2022 BOA Medical Student Essay Prize.  His essay was published on Orthopaedics Online in December 2022 which you can read here . 

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School Competitions And Prizes For Aspiring Medics

Learn about all of the competitions and prizes you can enter at school to boost your Medicine application.

If you’re an aspiring medic at school, you can boost your Medicine application by entering competitions and prizes. Regardless of whether you win or not, you’ll be able to include the experience in your Personal Statement and talk about it at Med School interviews . Here are some Medicine competitions you can enter to be proactive and make your application stand out.

Imperial College London – Science in Medicine School Teams Prize

Imperial College London has three team competitions to choose from:

• The British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Prize – Submissions should focus on a topic with interactions between the cardiovascular system and the nervous system.
• The Lung Prize – Submissions can focus on any aspect of the prevention or treatment of respiratory disease.
• The Scleroderma and Raynaud’s UK Prize – Submissions should focus on promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals with Scleroderma and/or Raynaud’s.

For each competition, the challenge is to design an ePoster. A team can have up to six members (they recommend assembling a team with varied interests) and schools can enter one team per prize.

The top ten shortlisted teams in each contest will be invited to present their ePosters at an online finals event. In each stream, first, second and third prizes of £3,000, £2,000 and £1,000 will be awarded to schools in order to support science-related activities.

Deadline – midnight on 30th June 2023.

University of Cambridge – Robinson College Essay Prize

The Robinson College Essay Prize is open to Year 12 students in the UK, providing an opportunity to develop and showcase independent study and writing skills. It also allows students to experience the type of work that they might be expected to do at Cambridge.

Entrants submit an essay (no more than 2,000 words) answering a question from various options. Last year, one of the possible titles was ‘Can science tell us how we should live?’. Up to three entries can be submitted per school, so you should discuss your application with your school before entering.

Five prizes are awarded, with each winner receiving book tokens to the value of £50. Winners will also be invited to Robinson College for a prize-giving ceremony.

The 2023 prize will open with more info in June.

Specialist Application Advice

Want expert advice to navigate the Medicine application process?

Medic Mentor – National Essay Competition

Medic Mentor’s National Essay Competition requires students to write an essay (up to 1,500 words) from the perspective of a medical professional.

There are essay titles available for Medicine, Dentistry , Veterinary Medicine and Allied Health .

For 2023, the essay questions are:

• Medicine – Should the patient be viewed as part of the multidisciplinary team?
• Dentistry – How can the holistic approach minimise periodontal disease in patients?
• Veterinary – What is the importance of a holistic approach when caring for livestock?
• Allied Heath – How can the multidisciplinary team optimise the care of the older person in hospital?

Deadline – midday on 1st May 2023.

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition is aimed at students in Year 12, but younger students are also welcome to enter, and there are various essay title options to choose from. For the 2023 competition, one of the possible titles was ‘Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.’

The competition is designed to give students an opportunity to engage in research, hone their writing and argumentative skills, and prepare for university interviews. Minds Underground also runs essay competitions for other science subjects like Psychology and STEM.

The submission deadline is typically around March/April. Get more info here.

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra Essay Prize is for students in Years 12 and 13 who are looking to prepare for university. Inspired by the admissions process at All Souls College, Oxford, entrants write an essay (1,500-2,000 words) responding to a single-word title.

For the 2023 prize, the single-word options were: Control, Collaboration, Exchange, Freedom, Claim.

Entrants are encouraged to use imagination in their essays to build interesting links between their chosen title and their school learning. There are prizes available of £50 for first place, £30 for second place and £20 for third place.

The deadline has varied from year-to-year: it was June in 2022 and April in 2023, so keep an eye on their website for more details.

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Medical School Expert

Medicine Essay Prizes (7 Competitions For Year 12 and 13’s)

Every article is fact-checked by a medical professional. However, inaccuracies may still persist.

Having a medical essay prize on your CV looks absolutely fantastic when it comes time for you to apply to medical school.

In such an overcrowded marketplace, anything that sets you apart from the crowd in a positive manner is sure to drastically increase your chances of getting an offer.

Although when I was applying to medical school I hadn’t managed to win an essay competition (despite my best efforts!) hopefully you’ll have more luck than me!

To save you some research time, I’ve compiled a list of 7 medicine essay competitions that you can enter this year.

Competitions that if you win will skyrocket your chances of application success.

INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE:

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra essay prize is an annual essay prize for all students in years 12 and 13 looking to prepare for university.

Libra Education themselves describe it as:

“An excellent way for 6th-form students to demonstrate that they have the makings of a scholar, the Libra Essay Prize offers a chance to prepare for the academic rigour required by university assignments and provides a great accomplishment to discuss on a personal statement or at an interview.”

Students are free to choose any subject from a list of categories (one of which being science) and then have to write an essay with a title containing a chosen word.

The small pool of words you can choose from change each year but are all generally quite abstract so you can connect and use them in creative ways.

The essay has to be between 1,500 – 2,000 words, with Harvard style referencing which isn’t included in the word count.

Libra accept entries from all over the world, but the essays must be written in English.

First prize wins £50, second prize £30, and third £20, all paid out in book vouchers. There’s also Commended and Highly Commended entries for each category.

Minds Underground Essay Competition

Minds Underground is an online learning platform, designed to support and enhance the learning and problem-solving of determined young students.

Every year they run a medicine essay competition, primarily aimed at year 12’s (although they do say younger or older students are also welcome to apply).

To enter, you have a choice of three questions, to which you need to write a 1,000 – 1,500 word answer.

“Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.” “What goes wrong for cancers to develop?” “Tell us about a key development/invention that you think has been most influential to medicine.” – Past Minds Underground medicine essay questions

If you’re feeling ambitious, students are permitted to enter an essay for more than one subject- so you could have a crack at the psychology or science one too!

Helpfully, under each question Minds also give you a few pointers to get your creative juices flowing.

Newnham Essay Prizes

Newnham College of the University of Cambridge runs a medicine essay competition with a twist:

Only female students are allowed to enter.

Again, students have a choice of three differing questions.

For example, the questions in the 2021-22 competition were:

• How realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for Covid-19? Could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic?
• Sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. Does it matter?
• Looking to the future. Will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease?

Newnham do give you a bit more of a range when it comes to the word count, accepting anything from 1,500 to 2,500 words.

There’s a generous £400 prize for first place, £200 for second and £100 for third.

Unfortunately for you as an individual though, prize money is split 50:50 between the essay prize winner and the funding of resources for their school…

John Locke Institute Essay Competition

“The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. “

The John Locke Institute arguably gives away the most generous prize out of any competition on this list.

You get a scholarship worth $2,000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program, as well as an invitation to their prize-giving ceremony in Oxford.

The essay questions for each subject are published in January, with the deadline for submission generally being in late June.

As well as the opportunity to secure the prize for medicine, the candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship- which comes with a $10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of their courses!

American Society Of Human Genetics Essay Contest

Although this next essay competition comes from America, it’s open to students worldwide.

The American Society Of Human Genetics supports national DNA day through its annual DNA day essay contest: commemorating the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953.

The contest is open to students in grades 9-12 worldwide and asks students to “examine, question, and reflect on important concepts in genetics.”

With a limit of only 750 words, not including reference lists, this is a short but sweet chance to bag yourself a considerable cash prize for your efforts.

In addition to the personal prize money, the ASHG will also provide you with a $1,000 grant towards genetics research or teaching materials.

Although it is a worldwide contest, so undoubtedly will have plenty of entries, there are also 10 honorable mentions up for grabs (in addition to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place) that all come with a $100 prize too.

Immerse Education Essay Competition

Immerse Education run summer programs for over 20 different subjects in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Sydney.

The reason why students get so much value from these courses is because they’re immersed in centers of academic excellence whilst learning from experts in their chosen field.

The good news for you is that their essay competition gives you the chance to attend one of their summer school programs for free.

10 winners receive a 100% scholarship and runners up are awarded partial scholarships of up to 50% to study their chosen subject.

According to Immerse, around 7% of entrants receive scholarship funding to attend a program- which is pretty good odds if you ask me!

“There is no downside to entering the competition. If you win, it is awesome. If you don’t win, you gained an experience. Entering the competition and working as hard as I did for it was one of the most gratifying experiences.” – Pedro L (100% scholarship winner)

You can find the full list of essay questions, in addition to top tips for writing academic essays (as well as the terms and conditions for the competition), simply by signing up via Immerse’s website.

The RCSU Science Challenge

The Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) is a student union at Imperial College London and run an annual science challenge open to both home and international school students.

The focus of the challenge is communicating scientific concepts in a non-technical manner, so that people without a science background could still understand and enjoy the content.

The big twist with this essay competition is that you don’t actually have to enter an essay!

The idea is to produce a ‘short piece of science communication’ which can be an essay or can be a short video in answer to one of the four questions set by the judges.

Written entries must be less than 1,000 words, whilst video entries must be less than 3 minutes and 30 seconds long.

For this competition, it’s really all about short and snappy responses that will captivate the reader whilst answering the question in a precise but easy to understand manner.

We hope to inspire those who take part in the Science Challenge to explore, develop and use their scientific skills along with their passion for their corner of science to help others see what all the excitement is about.

Why You Should Enter Medicine Essay Competitions

I think it’s fair to say that competition to get into medical school in the UK is insanely high- and it’s only getting worse.

With such large numbers of incredibly qualified candidates, medical schools have to find some way of differentiating them.

One way to make it easy for a university to pick you is to stand out from the crowd by having a medical essay prize on your application.

An essay prize demonstrates your dedication to the subject, scientific knowledge and an ability to write expressively and persuasively- all ideal qualities when it comes to being a doctor.

You may surprise yourself.

Often, not as many people as you might think enter these competitions.

Simply by writing the essay, you’re also going to greatly increase your knowledge about that particular topic, which can still come in really handy at interview.

Even if you don’t win, just discussing the fact you entered still looks good in the eyes of an interviewer.

It shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond your school curriculum, to explore subjects you’re interested in and that you’re a highly motivated candidate.

How To Increase Your Chances Of Winning An Essay Prize

Although when I was applying to medical school I didn’t manage to win an essay prize, there are a couple of things I did that would have greatly increased my chances of doing so.

First and foremost, I think you’ve got to cast your net wide.

Don’t limit yourself to just one shot at the target: if you’ve got the time then I’d recommend trying to enter at least a couple of different competitions.

More entries will mean more chances for you to have your essay officially recognised.

Secondly, if you have the choice between entering a local or national competition, I’d always go with the local one.

Although a national prize would look slightly better on your CV, simply due to the number of entries, you’ll have a much higher chance of winning the more local competition.

By local I mean this could be a more regional charity, nearby hospital or university, or even your school.

Even better yet, you could always enter both!

Lastly, I think one of the best ways you can increase your odds of winning a prize is by entering a competition around a topic that you’re genuinely passionate about.

If you’ve no interest in genetics, then I wouldn’t enter the American Society Of Human Genetics’ contest!

Your interest in the subject will come through in your language, depth of knowledge and motivation to go above and beyond for your essay- all of which will put you in a much better position for winning.

Where You Can Find Further Essay Competitions

In addition to the essay prizes described above, there are tonnes of other opportunities available for you to distinguish yourself as a medicine applicant.

Loads of the Royal Colleges run an ever changing variety of prizes and competitions, usually to encourage interest in their specialty.

The opening dates and deadlines for these prizes are always changing so it’s worth keeping an eye out for the perfect essay question or new prize that’s just been announced.

Some of these organisations that run their own competitions include:

• The Royal Society of Medicine
• Royal College of Emergency Medicine
• British Orthopaedic Association
• British Society for Haematology
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Royal College of Psychiatrists
• British Association of Dermatologists

But there are many more out there. If you have a particular interest in one specialty or area of science then I’d definitely recommend doing a bit of digging to see if there’s a society or organisation related to that field that runs their own competitions!

Final Thoughts

There really aren’t many downsides to entering one of these competitions.

You get a shot at winning, gain a talking point at interview and develop your scientific knowledge (not to mention technical writing skills).

Although you might feel that some of the smaller prizes aren’t worth your time and effort to write the essay, the real value comes from the boost one of these prizes would give your medicine application.

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Kilsby student essay competition

We are listening to the voice of the next generation of healthcare professionals..

The BHMA runs an annual student essay competition to broadcast the voice of the best and most innovative thinking from those about to embark on a career in healthcare. We want your fresh insight and opinion on how to transform the health service into a more compassionate and caring version of its current self.

Our title for 2024 (BHMA’s 40th Anniversary):

‘Holistic Healthcare in Action: Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future’ 

Please use 2 or 3 examples to illustrate your answer.

Essay option:

Essay of 1000-1500 words.

Creative Inquiry option:

The assignment should be in the form of a creative text (please submit photographs/DVD/music file as appropriate) alongside a written reflection of up to 1000 words. Marks will be allocated in four categories: Impact, Perception, Aesthetics and Reflection.

Please complete the form below along with your submission

Deadline June 30th

FIRST PRIZE – Essay and Creative Enquiry

• Your essay published in our journal and online
• Ticket to our conference & awards reception
• Free membership to the BHMA or free journal subscription for 1 year
• Your essay published online

For just £17 per annum, your student membership enables you to access our entire online library of the Journal of Holistic Healthcare plus 10-20% discounts on selected events, courses and other membership packages.

Many Ways of Knowing

JHH 20.3 Journeys into Medicine

Journeys Into Medicine

Health Creation and Creative Health

Holism and Medical Education

What’s missing from medical education?

Embodiment and bodywork

Integrative Medicine

Shifting the paradigm

Frontiers of self-care

Flourishing in Medical Education

Beyond COVID

Mind-body self-care

Stories in medicine

The Real Food Issue

Faith, hope and love in healthcare

Nature Connections

Social Prescribing

Healing Journeys

Transformative innovation in healthcare

Men’s Health

Women’s Health

Children’s Health

Saving the NHS

Nutrition and Lifestyle

Become an  Ambassador

How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet? First Prize Essay

How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet first prize creative enquiry, previous winners & runners-up.

Note that we have recently started publishing winners and a few other choice essays as blog posts. These appear in the side bar above.

2023: Sayed Adam Bukhari , King’s College London, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2023: Felicity Smith , Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Arts and Crafts in Healthcare: What William Morris can Teach us About the Benefits of a Holistic Perspective for Practitioners, Patients and the Planet

2023: Kate Eustace , University College Dublin, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2023: Alton Ajay Mathew , Medical University of Lodz, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2022: Jonathan De Oliveira , St. George’s, University of London ‘What is missing in our clinical education’?

2022: Karla Hamlet , Canterbury Christ Church University – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’ – The Student Voice

2022: Hamaad Khan , University College London ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Lucy Butterfield , University of Manchester – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Andrew Zhou , University of Cambridge – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Pervana Kaur , University of Karol Marnkowski ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2021: Deeya Kotecha , Cambridge ‘ How can holistic healthcare influence health inequalities ‘

2021: Jabin Chowdhury , Birmingham ‘ If holistic healthcare is the answer what is the question? A take on healthcare inequality ‘

2021: Annie McKirgan , Liverpool ‘ All Animals are Equal … Or are They? ‘

2020: Lauren Wheeler, Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic…prevention is better than cure’

2020: Isabel Allison, University of Birmingham ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic’

2020: Megan, University of Southampton: ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic: Does anyone have a spare pen?’

2020: Simran , University of Southampton ‘Holistic Lessons from a pandemic: ‘All Lives Can’t Truly Matter Until Black Lives Matter’ ‘

2019: Jessica Frost Birmingham Medical School Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food

2019: Aaron Morjaria King’s College, London Is food the foundation for good health?

2019: Josephine Elliot University College, London Is food the foundation for good health?

2018: Thomas Christie Templeton College, Oxford Social Prescribing – are drugs or people the better cure?

2017: Fiona Field Imperial College London Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2017: James Bevan University of Southampton Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2017: Maddie Leadon University of Cambridge Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2016: Robbie Newman Imperial College London Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2016: Alice Redfern University of Oxford Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2016: Vinay Mandagere University of Bristol Diagnosis: Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2015 Julius Kremling Germany, Why connection matters: Understanding patients’ illness by understanding their reality

2015: Tamar Witztum University of Bristol, Resilience in holistic care: Learning from Alice Herz-Sommer

2015: Lucy Brenner Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Cultivating compassion – students to lead the way?

2015: Eleanor Tanner University of Birmingham The Star of Compassion

2014: Olivia Sjökvist University of Hull, Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2014: Laura Clapham King’s College, London Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2014: Chiara Catterwell-Sinkeldam, King’s College London Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2013 Kundan Iqbal The importance of holism in medical care today and ways this can be promoted

2012 Reanne Jones Tears of Joy, tears of sorrow

2011 Thea Collins 2030: What made the NHS sustainable?

2010 Jason Ferdjani Improving global well being, improving personal well being

2009 Krishna Steedhar Student’s health matters

2008 Phoebe Votolato Being a Medical student

2007 Lewis Morgan A good holistic practitioner

Previous winners came from:

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THE SOCIETY FOR EDUCATION

IN  ANAESTHESIA (SEAUK)

Eruditione Praecellentes

Essay Competition 2023

Trainee Prize: £50

Title: 'Should interprofessional education (IPE) be included in the anaesthesia curriculum?'

Medical Students £50

Title: 'Should non-technical skills be taught and assessed at undergraduate level?' 

The deadline is midnight on 29th September 2023

Entries are now invited on the following essay titles from medical students & trainees in anaesthesia (CT1-ST7).

Only one author per entry will be accepted.

All entries will be anonymised and judged by members of the SEA UK council. The judging panel looks for well-written entries that demonstrate critical thinking and reflective practice.

Max. 1200 words (excluding title and references).

Please use Times New Roman size 12 font and double line spacing.

Maximum five references can be cited using Vancouver style.

References must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text.

Winners will also receive complimentary registration to the 2024 SEA UK Annual Scientific meeting.

The winning essay will be published in the SEAUK Winter Newsletter. Any further queries should be emailed to  [email protected]

How to enter:

Please send your submissions to Dr Peeyush Kumar (Abstract Coordinator) at [email protected] with a copy to Mrs Cath Smith (SEA-UK Administrator) at [email protected] as a Word document.

Entries Open: Medical Student Essay Prize

Attention all UK Medical Students!

We are thrilled to announce that entries are now open for the BSPRM Medical Student's Essay Prize.

The winner of the prize will receive £250 and will also have a prestigious platform to showcase their innovative ideas in the medical field.

To read the award criteria and to submit your entry, please click HERE.

Entries will close on 2 September 2024

Best of Luck!

Medical Student Essay Competition

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How would you improve surgical training

19 April 2023 (Last updated 19 Apr 2023)

Medical Student Essay Competition  How would you improve surgical training? Deadline for applications on Sunday 21 May 2023 at 11.59pm The title of the essay should be “How would you improve surgical training?” This is an opportunity for you to express your thoughts on how surgical training can be enhanced and improved. The winner will receive £500 and the winning essay will be displayed at the ACPGBI Annual Meeting in Manchester We look forward to hearing from you!

Conditions of entry

• Medical student status at the time of application or who graduates in 2023.
• Is a student member of the ACPGBI ( Please find membership details here https://www.acpgbi.org.uk/about/membership/apply.aspx , Membership is free for medical students)
• Essays must be the applicant’s own work and not plagiarized or generated from AI in any way
• Essays should be no longer than 1000 words (excluding tables and references) and should be typed in 12-point size with double line spacing
• Applicants should submit their essay (in PDF format) and this completed application form to: [email protected]
• The deadline for applications is on the Sunday 21 st May 2023 at 11.59pm
• The prize for the winner will be £500 . The winning essay will be displayed at the ACPGBI Annual Meeting, Manchester, 3 rd – 5 th July 2023

Marking Criteria

The title of the essay is “How would you improve surgical training?”

The essay will be marked (by 2 independent markers) out of 40 points in total; given for the following categories; content (10), originality (10), structure and presentation (10) and demonstration of insight into surgical training (10)

Download the application form

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UKCGG Essay Competition

UKCGG Essay Competition 2023

The topic for the 2023 UKCGG Essay Competition was " Increasing use of artificial intelligence in genomic medicine for cancer care – the promise and potential pitfalls. " We had essays on a similar theme in 2018, but given the huge advances in this space since then, we thought it worth revisiting! The submissions were of a high standard, with some fantastic ideas and insights.

Hearty congratulations to our winners!

• Medical student: Eva Hanlon
• Junior doctors: Olivia O'Connor (Overall winner) 
• Clinical scientist trainee: Rasha Bensabai 

Read the winning entries here . 

UKCGG Essay Competition 2022: What will enable personalised cancer risk assessments ten years from now?

The topic for the 2022 Essay Prize was: What will enable personalised cancer risk assessments ten years from now?

As usual we had some fantastic submissions. 

Huge congratulations to our overall winner, Dr Eunice Xing, and to our winners in all categories. We were disappointed that we had no submissions from Trainee Genetic Counsellors, so expect lots of submissions from this group in 2023!!

We also awarded commendations to: Amber Corrigan, Joseph Christopher, Samira Ahmad Bawany

Download and read the winning essays by clicking here.

2021: "Delivering cancer genetics services in the post-pandemic era – are we ready for a virtual model of care?"

The topic for the 2021 Essay Prize was:  "Delivering cancer genetics services in the post-pandemic era – are we ready for a virtual model of care?"

The submissions for this year's competition were fantastic, and gave us lots of food for thought in how we can continue to deliver services in the midst of yet another wave - we're not quite "post" pandemic yet. 

The overall winner, and first prize in the junior doctor category was Melody Redman, who also presented an overview of her essay at the recent UKCGG winter meeting. 

Other winners included 

• Medical student - Jen Lim 
• Genetic counsellor trainees - Vernie Aguda 
• Junior Doctor (commendation) - Rhys Dore 

Read all of their wonderful submissions here . 

2020: "Horizon scanning in cancer genomics"

We had some phenomenal entries in our 2020 UKCGG essay competition, on the topic of "Horizon Scanning in Cancer Genomics". Participants were tasked with writing an essay based on the following scenario: 

Imagine two patients - one being diagnosed with cancer now and one being diagnosed with the same cancer in 10 years time. How and why do you think advances in genomic medicine will change the care we offer now and then for cancer patients and their families?

Some stellar entries were received. Massive congratulations to all participants, and to our winners! 

Overall winner, and first prize Medical Student category - Lydia Seed 

Lydia gave a fantastic presentation summarising her essay at the UKCGG Winter meeting, and was so impressive that she was also invited to speak as part of the ICR-led module "Molecular Pathology of Cancer and Application in Cancer Diagnosis, Screening and Treatment" on the MSc Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London. 

Winners in the other categories included:

Doctor category: Melody Redman 

Genetic counsellor category: Xavier Bracke-Manzanares

Scientist category: Robert Pigott

Runners up included:

Doctor category: Emily Ferguson 

Medical student category: Tom Hampshire 

Genetic Counsellor category: Courtney Elliot

Scientist category: Seemu Ali

Read the winning essays! All available here .

2019: "Should All Individuals be screened for Genetic Predisposition to Cancer"

The topic for the essay competition in 2019 was ""Should All Individuals be screened for Genetic Predisposition to Cancer". Again, we had some fantastic submissions. 

Congratulations to all participants and to our winners! 

Overall Winner and First Prize Junior Doctor Category  - Sarah Wedderburn

Sarah said "I am currently an ST5 in Clinical Genetics based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. I have always wanted to work in clinical genetics but it was my time as a core medical trainee on the oncology unit which focused my interest towards cancer genetics. The role of the clinical geneticist evolves with the specialty.  Questions such as that asked by the essay will become ever more frequent and answering them will be part of our role. This essay has made me consider many of the current and future challenges facing clinical genetics and genomics."  

Second Prize Junior Doctor Category - Lucy Loong

Special Commendations Junior Doctor Category  -  Tom Webb and Christopher Harlow

First Prize Medical Student Category - Francesco Dernie

Second Prize Medical Student Category  - Wassem Hasan

You can read the winning entries here .

2018: "Will Artificial Intelligence Eventually Replace Cancer Geneticists"

We had some excellent entries in the CGG Essay Prize in 2018, on the topic "Will Artificial Intelligence Eventually Replace Cancer Geneticists"

Huge congratulations to all our winners:

Overall Winner and First Prize Medical Student Category  - Olivia Greatbatch

Olivia said " I am currently in my second year of medicine at University College London, and so am in the process of deciding which intercalated BSc I wish to pursue. Given just how topical the future of artificial intelligence is across all medical specialities, it is an area which I have recently been trying to learn more about. Since both oncology and genetics are options that I am considering for intercalation, I felt that the essay competition would be a great way to gain an appreciation of what a career in these two fields may entail in the future, whilst also exploring my own interests."  

Second Prize Medical Student Category  - Rashmi  Saincher

Third Prize Medical Student Category  - Ayan Basu

First Prize Junior Doctor Category  - Alice Garrett

Second Prize Junior Doctor Category - Lara Hawkes

Third Prize Junior Doctor Category  - George Morrissey

First Prize Scientist Trainee Category  - Nana Mensah

 You can read their winning entries here .

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Essay competitions, awards and prizes

If you have a flair for essay writing, then look out for competitions run by the Royal Colleges and many other professional medical associations, usually to encourage interest in their specialty. Closing dates for submission fall throughout the year so keep your eyes open!

Some organisations that run competitions include:

British Association of Dermatologists

• British Association of Forensic Medicine
• General Medical Council
• Medical Women’s Federation
• Pain Relief Foundation
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Royal College of Ophthalmologists
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Royal College of General Practitioners
• Royal College of Radiologists
• Royal Society of Medicine (for members only, costs £25 a year to join)
• Institute of Medical Ethics (for F1 & F2 UK doctors)

Project Funding

Some organisations and Trusts offer funding for research projects, vacation research work experience and intercalated degree year research. We’ve compiled a list of these, again it isn’t exhaustive so we do encourage further research.

Some of these applications may require a supporting statement from a member of academic staff. Check criteria carefully before applying.

The Biochemical Society

Grants are available for stipends of £200 per week for 6 – 8 weeks, and up to £1,600 in total, to support a summer placement in a lab for an undergraduate student. Applications must be made on behalf of and in association with a named student.

Website: www.biochemistry.org Email: [email protected]

The British Association of Dermatologists offer a range of awards between £250 and £3,000 towards fees and living expenses for an intercalated year project related to dermatology and skin biology. It also offers £500 undergraduate project grants.

Website: www.bad.org.uk Email: [email protected]

Association for the Study of Medical Education

The Association for the Study of Medical Education offers awards related to the development of excellent medical education. Applications are welcomed from anyone on the continuum of medical education (UG, PG or qualified and studying professional development) and will be assessed against their criteria. They also have a number of other essay prizes available and awards so it is worth researching their website.

Tel: 0131 225 9111 Website: www.asme.org.uk Email: [email protected]

The Genetics Society

The Genetics Society Summer Studentship scheme offers grants of up to £3,000 for undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience in any area of genetics by carrying out a research project over the long vacation ( more information ). They also have a range of competitions and awards that you can look into on their website.

Website: https://genetics.org.uk/grants/summer-studentships/  Email: [email protected]

The Institute of Medical Ethics

The Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) offers grants, student elective bursaries, and scholarships (covering the next academic year) for students wishing to do an intercalated degree in medical ethics or an allied subject.

Website: https://ime-uk.org/grants-and-competitions/ 

The Physiological Society

Vacation Studentships offer undergraduates the opportunity to undertake a research project on an area of physiology over their summer break. Working under an academic supervisor, they can get to experience day-to-day life in the laboratory first-hand. Funding of £150 a week, to cover living costs, is on offer for up to eight weeks.

Website: www.physoc.org Email: [email protected]

The Pathological Society

Funding for students wanting to intercalate a BSc in Pathology but who do not have LEA or other government support. Also offer awards to fund electives and vacation studies in pathology.

Website: www.pathsoc.org

The Paget’s Association

The Paget’s Association awards Student Research Bursaries of up to £6,000 to promising UK medical or science students (MRes, MSc, BSc or equivalent higher degree) to pursue research into any aspects of Paget’s Disease of Bone.

Tel: 0161 799 4646 Website

Other resources

The list above is not exhaustive so we do encourage further research.

A good place to start is RD Learning , a database of health-related research funding opportunities.

Please contact us if you notice any broken links, of any other funding opportunities or if any options are no longer running.

• Get involved

Student Essay Prize

2023 student essay prize: what is the most important emerging challenge for global health over the next 5 years and how could this be overcome.

The essay topic for this year is "What is the most important emerging challenge for global health over the next 5 years and how could this be overcome?"

This Student Essay Competition is for students studying global health as a degree, or any degree with a component of global health or medicine.  It is open to current, full-time, students, based anywhere in the world. Evidence of student status must be provided at the point of submission.

The essay topic for this year is “What is the most important emerging challenge for global health over the next 5 years and how could this be overcome?”

The essay should clearly set out your personal perspective and specific view, with evidence to back up your choice. The essay must demonstrate a combination of scholarship, original thought, and analysis.

The essay should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words, excluding references, footnotes, and tables.  A 150–200-word summary should also be submitted together with the essay.  All sources must be appropriately acknowledged using references numbered in the order in which they appear in the text with brackets e.g. (2) for reference 2. References do not count as part of the word count.  

The essay must be in English. Please try and organise the essay into a logical succession of headed sections, where possible.

The essay should be entirely your own original work and should not have been previously published. All essays will be checked for plagiarism, and we encourage you to refer to an academic writing handbook such as this one produced by LSHTM for guidance . Please note that if the summary is omitted, the essay will not be considered. Only one essay per person can be submitted.   

The winner(s) will be selected by a panel of experts, and the decision ratified by the RSTMH Education and Training Committee. Highly commended essays may also be selected. The decision of the Committee is final.  

 The panel will be assessing essays using the following criteria:

• How well your personal perspective links to the local/national/international landscape
• How well structured the essay is 
• How easy the essay is to understand 
• The evidence basis for your essay, including how you make use of relevant references
• How much does the essay inspire or engage the reader

Announcement and prize

We may publish on our website or in our newsletter anonymised data relating to submissions to the competition. We will announce the winner’s name and essay title, plus that of any highly commended submissions on our website and through other communication channels. We may publish submitted essays on the RSTMH website and through our other communications channels. We may publish the winning essay in our scientific journal and on our website. By submitting an essay, you agree to these conditions. The prize for the winning essay is £200, plus a year's free student membership to RSTMH, either new or a renewal. We will also invite the winner to be presented with a certificate and their prize fund at an RSTMH event in 2024.

The essay should be submitted by 5pm GMT Thursday 23 November 2023

History of Student Essay Prize

We launched the Student Essay Prize in late 2018 after discussions with our Training and Education Committee to encourage students of varying disciplines to engage with the fields of tropical medicine and global health.

Previous winners

2022 Hannah Lin, Cambridge University, "The Collateral of Conflict: The Effects of War on Health At Home and Away"

2021 K.M. Pavani Senarathne, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, "Burden of a "universal" healthcare system: The story of a common man from Sri Lanka"

2020 Mark Tan, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, "COVID-19 In An Inequitable World: The Last, The Lost, and The Least"

2019 Anouk de Cort, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, "The hidden clinical picture of climate change"

2018 Matthew Spencer, University College London

Essay Prize for UK Junior Doctors

Voices from the frontlines, the nhs junior doctor experience.

The Inaugural MedCourse Essay Prize

• £100 Prize for 1st place
• Certificates for top 3 essays
• Boost your application & CV

How it Works

Our essay competition invites aspiring medical professionals and junior doctors to share their personal narratives and clinical insights regarding the challenges they face in the NHS.

This competition aims to shed light on the hardships, triumphs, and essential perspectives of junior doctors, offering a platform for them to articulate their experiences while raising awareness of issues such as overwork, underpayment, and the impact of the junior doctor strikes.

Words: 1500-2000

Description

In an essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words, participants are encouraged to share their personal stories, challenges, and insights as junior doctors working within the NHS. Possible themes to explore may include:

• The Junior Doctor’s Journey
• Your “Overworked and Underpaid” experiences
• Patient Stories
• NHS Strikes and the Junior Doctor Perspective
• Mental Health and Resilience

Essays should provide unique insights, personal anecdotes, and constructive suggestions. Participants are encouraged to draw from their own experiences and clinical work to enrich their essays.

The competition provides an opportunity for junior doctors to make their voices heard, share their stories, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on healthcare reform.

Submit your essay to [email protected] in PDF format, including your name, grade, and word count.

Deadline: 5th November 2023, 23:59 UK time

Winners will be announced on November 13th!

Dr Reena Kotecha

Reena is a doctor, founder of the Clinician Wellbeing Course , and organisational well-being consultant, with a passion for using mindfulness and mindful self-compassion to aid clinician well-being and performance.

She is a TEDx/public speaker, a professional stakeholder for mindfulness research at Uni of Cambridge and a former advisory board member for Headspace for Organizations.

Mr Hassan Thwaini

Hassan is a clinical pharmacist, expert medical copywriter and health reporter, focusing on men’s mental and physical health and well-being.

He is co-founder of  Write Clinic , a medical writing academy and community designed for healthcare professionals, helping thousands of medical professionals find their feet in the digital world.

Mr Ash Ahluwalia

Ash is an orthopaedic registrar, surgical lead at MedCourse, and business owner. He is passionate about helping doctors progress through their careers.

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Prizes for students

The RSM has numerous prizes and awards aimed at students. By submitting an application, you will have the chance to present at a meeting, add to your CV and open up more career opportunities.

Please note this page is updated regularly.

All submissions must be sent in by 11.59pm on the stated deadline date.

Generally prizes, awards or travel grants must be claimed before the end of the academic year in which they are gained (30 September).

For more information or help please contact [email protected]

General Practice with Primary Healthcare

John Fry prize

Deadline:   Thursday 1 August 2024

Open to:   Medical, nursing and allied healthcare students with an interest in general practice and primary care

CAIPE John Horder Team Award and John Horder Student Award

Deadline: Wednesday 31 July 2024

Open to: Individuals or teams working within the community who can demonstrate outstanding principles of collaborative working and the Student annual essay award offered to a student who has been involved with interprofessional learning or working, within the community.

Team Award prize:  Certificate of achievement and £600, Student Award prize:  Certificate of achievement and £150

Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Dame Josephine Barnes Award

Deadline: Tuesday 1 August 2024 at 11:59pm

Open to: All medical undergraduate students

Prize: £100

Student section: Tomorrow's Doctors Conference Oral Presentations 2024

Submission Deadline: Friday 7 June 2024

Open to: Medical Students, entrants must register for the Tomorrow's Doctors Conference to be considered

Students Section: Doubleday Prize

Submission Deadline: Friday 21 June 2024

Open to: Medical Students attending UK Medical Schools

Student section: Tomorrow's Doctors Conference Poster Prize 2024

"It’s a great privilege for our team to have been recognised by this prestigious award from the RSM Surgery Section and reflects the dedicated work behind this exciting innovation."

See more from prizes and awards  or hear from  previous prize winners.

Prize Rules and Information

• Esme’s Umbrella is a charity seeking to support, and advocate for, people who live with Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS). CBS can occur when a person has significant visual loss, and it is characterised by vivid, silent, visual hallucinations. This is an under-researched and historically overlooked condition. We hope that through this essay prize, medical students will gain exposure to CBS at an early stage in their careers and take that forward to their clinical practice in the future.
• This prize is open to UK medical students in all years of study , including if undertaking an intercalated degree. By submitting an entry to the essay prize, you are confirming that this is your own work and that it has not been previously published. Jointly-written entries will not be accepted.
• The prompt for the essay prize for 2023 is: ‘Charles Bonnet Syndrome’. An interesting angle on the condition would be welcomed.
• The word limit (excluding references) for entries is 1,000 , with a maximum of 15 references (in the Vancouver style). Arial font should be used in 11 -point size.
• The closing date to be considered for this essay prize is 1st May 2023 at 11.59pm. Please note that entries received after this deadline will not be considered, and that we are unable to provide feedback on individual submissions.
• The winner of this national prize will receive £125 , a badge , and a certificate .
• To apply for the prize, please submit your essay with your name, medical school, and year of study to: [email protected] .

Thank you for your interest in our student essay prize. We look forward to reading your entry!

If you have any questions which remain unanswered, please feel free to email [email protected] . We will aim to respond as soon as possible.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VZRQb5n9O2-U9AioFbNYUcPL2sI4NCMHEKSEh1war3E/edit

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Medical Student Essay Competition

'The medical student response to the Covid-19 pandemic’ - now closed. See winning essays below

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, medical students were encouraged to participate in the NHS response raising unique challenges and potential ethical, professional and legal issues. At the start of 2021, the IME invited UK medical students to submit an essay entitled ‘ The medical student response to the Covid-19 pandemic’ aimed at highlighting the ethical issues raised by their experiences in responding to the pandemic. We received an excellent response with medical students keen to express their individual experiences.

Seven prizes of £300 each were awarded, plus complimentary IME student membership for 12 months.

This competition is now closed. For a list of winners and essays, click here .

Student Essay Prize

YPHSIG Student Essay Prize 2022

The winner of the YPHSIG Student Essay prize 2022 is Barbara Chow, a fourth-year medical student at King’s College London with a keen interest in Paediatrics and critical care.

Her essay “ What impact can chronic illness have on adolescent development and how can adolescent development effect chronic illness?” impressed our panel of judges with its clearly presented ideas and consideration of the biopsychosocial model.

You can read her full essay below.

Congratulations also to runners up: Rebecca Nock (University of Sheffield) and Daniella Bae (Imperial College London) who both showed great insight in their reflections on young people's healthcare.

Read the winning essay prize for 2022

Medical Student Essay Prize 2022 Guidance and Regulations

Guidance and Regulations

1. Eligibility

1.1 The competition is open to all those currently enrolled at a UK Medical School at the time of submission.

1.1.1 Entrants must detail their medical school and course year in their submission email.

1.2 Entries are invited one of the following essay titles:

· What impact can chronic illness have on adolescent development and how can adolescent development effect chronic illness? (1500 words)

· Case study: the patient that changed my outlook on adolescent healthcare. (1500 words)

· what are the advantages and disadvantages of digital healthcare for adolescents (1500 words).

2. Essay submission

2.1 Candidates must nominate themselves for entry by submitting a short essay on the specified topic to the judging panel.

2.2 Entries must be made to the following email address: [email protected]

2.3 Only essays that are submitted via email, in Word format to the published email address will be accepted.

2.4 Entries in PDF format will not be accepted

2.5 The deadline for submission is 23.59 GMT on Monday 31 January 2022 . Submissions after this time will not be accepted.

2.6 Essays must be up to 1500 words . Entries over the word limit will not be accepted.

2.6.1 The word limit does not include the title or references.

2.6.2 References should be presented as footnotes and endnotes; references presented in alternative formats may be considered to be part of the limit.

3. Judges and judging criteria

3.1 Essays will marked by both senior members of YPHSIG and the YPHSIG student representatives.

3.2 The panel will mark essays against the following criteria:

Style of writing

Punctuation, spelling and grammar

Content/understanding

Originality

3.3 It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure submission has been received by YPHSIG. The student representatives will email to confirm receipt of applications within 5 working days of submission.

3.4 The judge’s decision is final.

4. The Prize

4.1 The 1 st place winner will receive a prize of £100 and free entry to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Annual Conference (28 th -30 th June 2022) in Liverpool. The winner will receive a certificate during the YPHSIG organised session at the conference. The winning essay will be published on the YPHSIG website.

4.1.1 The conference ticket itself is non-redeemable or exchangeable with no cash alternative. Individuals are expected to cover the cost of their own travel and accommodation during the conference.

4.2 The winners of 2 nd and 3 rd place will each receive a prize of £25 and a certificate by post.

Updated 23/11/21

YPHSIG Student Essay Prize 2021

The winner of the YPHSIG Student Essay prize 2021 is Rebecca Howitt, a third-year medical student at the University of Oxford.

Her essay “What improvements should be made to adolescent healthcare in the UK over the next decade and what steps could be taken to reduce socio-economic heath inequalities?” impressed our panel of judges with its ideas for increasing service accessibility and improving transition to adult services.

Congratulations also to runners up: Ishika Bansal (University College London) and Monica Mangoro (University of Nottingham) who both showed great insight in their reflections on young people's healthcare.

Winning essay 2021 (click to expand/collapse)

What improvements should be made to adolescent healthcare in the uk over the next decade and what steps could be taken to reduce socio-economic health inequalities, introduction.

Adolescents form a unique group within healthcare as they transition from children to adults. It is a time where behaviour shifts towards risk-taking, many individuals become sexually active and habits which have long-term health implications such as drinking and smoking begin . Moreover, it is a time period associated with a steep increase in depression and anxiety diagnoses. Therefore, ensuring adolescents can easily access healthcare, particularly sexual health clinics and mental health support, is vital for the wellbeing of this age-group. Additionally, ameliorating the transition from adolescent to adult services and the shift to self-management of conditions, is crucial to preserving the future health of young people. Such improvements over the next decade can be achieved through a variety of ways but given the growing awareness of socioeconomic health inequality in this age-group, ensuring such changes target these disparities, rather than heightening them, is crucial to improve health outcomes for all adolescents.

Community-Based Healthcare

A key change to improve adolescent healthcare over the next decade would be to make it easier for adolescents to access primary care services. One way to achieve this would be to run clinics within schools or colleges so adolescents can receive care in a safe setting, but in the absence of their parents from whom they may not wish to disclose their health concerns. These could be generic GP or nurse clinics, or those with specific foci such as reproductive health. Given that under-18 conception rates in the poorest areas of England and Wales are over double those of the richest areas , making it easier for young people to access contraception at school could help tackle this health inequality, and pilot schemes have shown such drop-in services attract ‘hard-to-reach’ young people .

In addition, improving health education in schools, and other initiatives such as targeted social media campaigns, could also tackle behaviours which promote poor health. Two-thirds of smokers begin by the age of 18 and smoking rates in under 18s follow a socioeconomic gradient . Also, the UK has the highest obesity rate for 15-19 year-olds (8.1%) compared to 14 other European countries, and bar Finland, the highest inequality in obesity rates between those from affluent and deprived backgrounds . Whilst promoting individual behaviour change through targeted education campaigns is useful, it is important to recognise how deeply intertwined the issues of obesity and deprivation are, and so tackling upstream factors such as food poverty will also be key in promoting change over the next decade.

However, school-based clinics are not the only example of how adolescents can be better reached. Young people often reside at more than one address, in particular first-year university students, but also adolescents with separated parents. Therefore, allowing them to register at more than one GP practice would make it easier for them to access care when they need it, rather than waiting until they return near their registered GP or repeatedly switching practices, resulting in a lack of joined-up care.

Another solution would be to increase telemedicine for the adolescent population. Not only has the notion of increased reliance on technology for communicating with healthcare providers proved popular with adolescents , but it has been necessitated in many cases by the COVID-19 pandemic. An adolescent and young adult medicine clinic in San Francisco reported a shift from 0% to 97% of consultations being carried out via telemedicine, and these were well-received by patients . Whilst some difficulties were encountered such as it being hard to find a private space, these were often resolved, e.g. using the Zoom chat function to reply to questions if they felt uncomfortable when near other household members. However, whilst potentially a revolutionary tool for some aspects of adolescent healthcare, it is important to note that factors such as crowded housing and poor internet connectivity are higher in lower socioeconomic status households and may make telemedicine unsuitable for these patients. Therefore, implementing telemedicine alongside easy to access face-to-face clinics would prevent the health inequality gap being widened, instead of narrowed.

Hospital-Based Care for Adolescents

As well as improving primary care, steps should be taken to improve the experiences of adolescents receiving hospital treatment. From small steps such as ensuring there are adequate numbers of adult-sized chairs at outpatient clinics, to larger ones such as the creation of teenage wards/bays within paediatric inpatient units, ensuring adolescents feel acknowledged, and not treated like small children, is vital. Indeed, patients report higher satisfaction when being treated on adolescent specific cancer wards , such as those run by the Teenage Cancer Trust, and so extending this across both general and specialist units may improve patient experience.

Mental Health Support

Adolescents present their own health needs and requirements. Of particular note is the need for mental health support, with 75% of mental health problems emerging in adolescence . Moreover, the risk of mental health problems is four times higher for children growing up in adverse socioeconomic circumstances and socioeconomic disadvantage increases the risk of suicide . Together these highlight that although improving mental health care for all adolescents is important over the next decade, there needs to be a particular focus on outreach to those most at risk.

As highlighted previously, school-based approaches can be useful, and a survey of school leaders by the mental health charity Place2Be highlighted that 66% of schools already provide external professional support for mental health . However, extending this universally would be a good improvement to make over the next decade. Additionally, linking school support systems with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) may help children receive more specialist support before issues escalate further. This is currently not the case, with only 4% of those school leaders surveyed feeling that CAHMS responded quickly to requests for support15.

In addition, self-referral schemes would make it easier for young people to request support from CAHMS. Whilst these mechanisms are in place in some regions, e.g. Buckinghamshire, they are not in others, e.g. Oxfordshire, creating regional disparities in access to mental health support for adolescents. Regional disparities are also seen in waiting times and referral rejections (17% of CAHMS referrals were rejected in London in 2019, compared to 22% in the North) and specific mental health services for looked after children are not available in all areas on the country . Addressing these differences is important in ensuring that all adolescents across the UK can receive adequate mental health support, particularly those who are the most vulnerable and who may not be in school to receive support there.

Finally, online resources and apps for mental wellbeing could be beneficial to adolescents, who as a patient group are more likely to engage with technology . These not only would provide ongoing support between appointments, but adolescents may discuss usage among peers and recommend them to one another, furthering their effectiveness. However, a recent review highlighted that despite their promise, no mental health apps have been specifically designed for adolescents , so this could be an avenue for improvement in the future.

Improving Transition from Adolescent to Adult Services

Finally, ensuring that adolescents receive adequate support when moving from child to adult services is a key change to be made over the next decade. Whilst NICE guidance recommends that transition planning should begin in Year 9 , only 4% of adolescents report experiencing a smooth transition from CAHMS to adult services . Therefore, having handover consultations where healthcare professionals from both services meet to discuss the continuation of care could potentially see a reduction in the rate of adolescents disengaging with adult mental health services upon transition, which currently stands at 50% . This is particularly important for vulnerable patients and care-leavers.

Improved care transition is also important for adolescents with chronic health conditions. Not only is there a shift in service provision, but also a shift from parental management of conditions, to self-management. In the UK, the asthma mortality rate for young people is 0.3 per 100,0008 which compares poorly with other high-income countries. Whilst the reasons underpinning this are not entirely clear, a survey by Asthma UK suggests that adolescents have relatively poor understanding of their symptoms and struggle with managing their health independently . Especially given patients living in more deprived postcodes have higher rates of hospital admissions with acute asthma , engaging young people in taking an active role in managing their conditions is crucial in improving healthcare outcomes for adolescents both whilst they are under child and adult services.

In conclusion, adolescents present their own healthcare needs, particularly surrounding sexual, reproductive, and mental health. Ensuring easier access to services over the next decade, such as through schools or via an increased reliance on technology, would improve care for this unique subgroup of patients. Moreover, ensuring the transition from adolescent to adult care is as smooth as possible is also of paramount importance. Yet achieving this in a way which reduces, and not further increases, socioeconomic health inequality is vital to improve both the current and future health of young people.

WORD COUNT: 1499

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3. Gregory AM et. al. (2007). Juvenile mental health histories of adults with anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 301-308

4. Office for National Statistics (2018) Conceptions in England and Wales: 2018. Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/conceptionandfertilityrates Accessed 31 January 2021.

5. Ingram J, Salmon D (2010) Young people's use and views of a school-based sexual health drop-in service in areas of high deprivation. Health Educ J. 69, 227–235

6. Health and Social Care Information Centre (2015) Statistics on Smoking, England – 2015. Health and Social Care Information Centre. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-smoking/statistics-on-smoking-england-2015 Accessed 30 January 2021.

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10. Barney A, Buckelew S, Mesheriakova V and Raymond-Flesch M (2020) The COVID-19 Pandemic and Rapid Implementation of Adolescent and Young Adult Telemedicine: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation. Journal of Adolescent Health 67(2): 164–171.

11. Reynolds BC, Windebank KP, Leonard RC, et al. (2005) A comparison of self-reported satisfaction between adolescents treated in a “teenage” unit with those treated in adult or paediatric units. Pediatr Blood Cancer 44, 259–63

12. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demla O, Merikangas KR and Walters EE (2005) Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, Archives of General Psychiatry 62(6), 593

13. Straatmann, V. S. et. al. (2019) How do early-life factors explain social inequalities in adolescent mental health? Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 73, 1049–1060

14. Samaritans (2017) Dying from Inequality: Socioeconomic disadvantage and suicidal behaviour. Samaritans. www.samaritans.org/dying-from-inequality/report. Accessed 31 January 2021

15. Place2Be and NAHT (2020) Huge rise in school-based counsellors over past three years. Place2Be. https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2020/february/significant-rise-in-number-of-school-based-counsellors/ Accessed 30 January 2021

16. Crenna-Jennings W and Hutchinson J (2020) Access to child and adolescent mental health services in 2019. Research report, Education Policy Institute.

17. Bakker D, Kazantzis N, Rickwood D, Rickard N (2016) Mental health smartphone apps: review and evidence-based recommendations for future developments. JMIR Ment Health 3(1):e7

18. Grist R, Porter J, and Stallard, P (2017) Mental Health Mobile Apps for Preadolescents and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research 19(5): e176.

19. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016), Transition from children’s to adults’ for young people using health or social care services, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng43/chapter/Recommendations#transition-planning. Accessed 31 January 2021

20. Appleton R, Connell C, Fairclough E, Tuomainen H, and Singh SP (2019) Outcomes of young people who reach the transition boundary of child and adolescent mental health services: a systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 28(11), 1431-1446

21. Care Quality Commission (2018) Brief guide: Transitions out of children and young people’s mental health services CQUIN. Care Quality Commission. https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20180228_9001400%20_briefguidetransition_CQUIN.pdf Accessed January 31 2021

22. Asthma UK (2019) The reality of asthma care in the UK: Annual asthma survey 2018.

23. Grecian S et. al. (2013) The relationship between social deprivation and hospital admissions with asthma. European Respiratory Journal 42(Suppl 57), 957

Previous Winners

Yphsig student essay prize 2020.

The winner of the YPHSIG Student Essay prize 2020 was Jessica O'Logbon, 2nd year medical student at Kings College London,.

Her essay "‘How should adolescent health services change by 2040 to better accommodate young people?" impressed our panel of judges with its ideas for patient participation in healthcare. You can read the full essay below.

Congratulations also to runners up: Daisy Lu (University College London) and Triya Chakravo (University of Oxford) who both showed great insight in their reflections on young people's healthcare.

Winning Essay 2020 (Click to expand/collapse)

How should adolescent health services change by 2040 to better accommodate young people, introduction.

Adolescence is a period of increasing freedom, personal autonomy and risk-taking behaviours that lead to preventable morbidity and mortality [1]. This makes it a critical time for engaging this population in their health. Until recently, adolescents were seen as being relatively healthy and were not considered to be a priority in terms of health service delivery [2]. A number of factors have now changed this perception. The rate of mortality in adolescents is declining much slower than other age groups with increasing morbidity [3]. It is also of great concern that there has been no reduction in rates of deaths from intentional injury among 10-18-year olds in three decades with suicide rates rising [4, 5]. This highlights important contributors to morbidity such as mental health and substance abuse [6]. Literature review, focus groups and workshops have sought the views of children and adolescents in regard to what they felt was important for their health and well-being. Key areas emerged such as being more informed and involved in decisions about health services; for schools to play a greater role in their health and better access to age-appropriate services when needed [7]. This essay explores innovative ways that adolescent health services can improve in these areas to better accommodate young people in the next 20 years.

INVOLVING ADOLESCENTS IN HEALTH

“Adolescents and youth should be supported and empowered to contribute to designing, implementing and assessing policies, programs and systems that contribute to their health and wellbeing” was considered the single most important theme by youth advocates across the world [8]. Working with young people, youth workers and other professionals can achieve more accessible, appropriate services. This can be improved further by fostering close relationships with voluntary and community sectors. NHS trusts should open a dialogue with youth organisations like the UK Youth Parliament to take account of young people’s concerns and ideas regarding health matters, with a particular focus on barriers to access.

There is a much higher rate of success where use of resources or services has been planned jointly with young people [9] and The GP Champions Project is an example of this. The project aimed to find unique ways of improving the health of young people aged 10 to 24 years. Some of these included weekly pop-up GP services for students attending Lewisham Southwark College and supporting young people to produce their own leaflets for every GP in Sheffield and Cornwall. Additionally, young people have created training materials such as videos on young people’s needs around mental health and wellbeing for GPs, pharmacists and reception staff [10]. These initiatives empower adolescents to take control of their care and allow professionals to form a deeper understanding of young people’s thoughts and feelings when accessing services. Similar videos have been used in the e-learning Adolescent Health Programme which is available for free to all health professionals working within the NHS, but more awareness needs to be raised amongst staff about undertaking this programme and its importance in practice.

Establishing systems for the training, mentoring and participation of youth health advocates has the potential to transform traditional models of healthcare delivery to create adolescent-responsive health systems [8]. This is particularly important for marginalised adolescents such as those who are homeless, looked after by the state, young offenders or LGBTQ+ and who often experience inequalities in health. As these groups are less able to access health services in any event, there is an even greater urgency in ensuring their unique needs are identified and met [2]. This can only be known through dialogue and more effort must be made in order to listen to and consult with young people about the effectiveness and suitability of adolescent health services [11].

BRINGING HEALTH SERVICES CLOSER TO ADOLESCENTS

Adolescents spend most of their time in education, employment or at home. They are often surrounded by their peers and family members and the majority of teenagers have access to the Internet and are using it daily. This presents a range of opportunities to increase accessibility.

Many young people would like health services to be provided within their school [12]. Health drop-ins in schools are easy to access and enable young people to attend without the knowledge of their parents. This is particularly important for young people from rural areas [13. It can also appear less stigmatising than a ‘problem specific’ service. School health drop-ins can reduce unnecessary delays and deliver basic care, especially for sexual, reproductive and mental health concerns with a clearer understanding of young people’s needs in ways that work better for them [14]. Most services are held during the lunch break to avoid young people missing teaching time, but this results in short consultations when many students attend. Therefore, clinic opening hours before or after school should be made available and this should also be applied to primary care opening times to make them more adolescent-friendly.

In addition to this, adolescents’ wide use of technology can pave the way for the integration of technology into their health care. Teens are comfortable on the Internet and use it for a variety of reasons such as social and emotional support, relationship creation and maintenance, entertainment and information seeking [15]. They can investigate topics they consider embarrassing or that might arouse their parents' suspicions without adult interference or supervision. Adolescents are attracted to customisation, interactivity and multimedia formats such as games, quizzes, and personalised health check tools so health care providers can utilise these methods to ensure health information is reaching them.

Digital health interventions are a promising way to intervene early and promote health and wellness among adolescents. They are most effective when they focus on an adolescent’s strengths and their online peer interactions [16]. Evidence suggests that adolescents would like to use technology-based communication tools with their health care providers [17]. To streamline this process, collaborating with adolescents to provide the patient perspective is vital, such as establishing a young people’s panel to advise on ways in which digital technologies might be used to provide health information, improve access to services and encourage engagement and participation. With health experts to inform content, technological experts to develop software and research teams to measure effectiveness with data collection tools built into media platforms, teens and young adults can begin using evidence-based, secure and seamlessly integrated social media sites to prepare for their upcoming doctor's visit – and then tell their friends to use it too [18].

ENHANCING HEALTH LITERACY IN ADOLESCENTS AND THOSE AROUND THEM

Limited health literacy can reduce opportunities for young people to develop the capabilities needed to be actively involved in decisions about their health and care.

Peer and parent influences are especially relevant for youth. Families provide the primary structure within which children are born, grow, and develop, and from which adolescents transition to adult lives. Considering the complexity and variety of UK health services available, it can be difficult for adults to navigate through the health care system let alone adolescents. Consequently, many parents themselves have only basic health literacy skills and find it difficult to guide their children about health matters. Public Health England reports that 42% of working-age adults (aged 16-65 years) in England are unable to understand and make use of everyday health information, rising to 61% when numeracy skills are also required for comprehension [19]. Therefore, it is crucial that parents as well as children are informed about health services.

Alternative ways to disseminate information such as open engagement events held at hospitals or local GPs, similar to parent-teacher association meetings held at schools, can foster active engagement from parents and break down barriers to navigating through the healthcare system. School, community and family-based interventions to promote health literacy have shown promising results. For example, the Adult Education Trust’s ‘Talk about Alcohol’ intervention, delivered in UK secondary schools, has reported a statistically significant delay in the age young people start drinking alcohol, as well as increased knowledge about the effects of alcohol [20].

Peer education is also an effective tool for promoting healthy behaviours and teaching skills among adolescents [21]. Adolescents who have been through the healthcare system themselves and students who understand how it works and the services available (e.g. healthcare students) means that there is already a reserve of accumulated experience and knowledge which can be shared with others. Embracing this new concept can help the way adolescents view healthcare and address their worries about accessing it.

The most powerful actions to improve adolescent health arise from directly learning from adolescents as individuals. More time spent understanding what they need and want from healthcare services can be scaled-up with funding and support given to youth health initiatives to create more adolescent-responsive healthcare services. Ensuring that there are high-quality health services provided in UK schools and better educational strategies to raise health literacy can reduce barriers to accessibility. Technology provides an exceptional opportunity for coordinating actions between health services as well as bringing them closer to adolescents.

(Abridged version of winning essay) Updated 09/07/2020

Message from the YPHSIG student link representatives

It has been a pleasure to organise the first YPHSIG Student Essay Prize. We received such a high standard of entries from medical students across the UK last year. It was a joy to read their insightful and innovative views on different aspects of adolescent health. Our entries varied from incredibly thoughtful reflections on a specific case that impacted the author to broad ranging and inspiring ideas on what adolescent healthcare might look like in 2040.

The YPHSIG student essay prize has allowed us to explore what thoughts and perceptions medical students have about adolescent health. The engagement of medical students nationally has demonstrated that they are engaging with adolescent health at an early stage in their careers. We hope that this annual essay prize and other future YPHSIG student events can continue to encourage medical students to get involved in adolescent healthcare and develop their interest.

Robbie Bain and Francesca Neale

YPHSIG student link representatives

• For students

Prizes, Awards and Competitions

This page contains a list of the academic competitions, prizes and awards available to students at St George's. These competitions are run by leading medical organisations across the country and overseas. Visit their websites to find more information about their competitions and how to apply. 

Association for Palliative Medicine :  undergraduate students are invited to submit reports of a clinical audit, or an essay on palliative medicine to win prizes worth up to £250. 

British Association of Dermatologists :  various prizes available for an essay competition, a thesis competition (for Masters or PhD theses) and an elective prize/project grant for work relating to dermatology. Also offer a grant of £3000 for medical students undertaking an Intercalated degree relevant to dermatology or skin biology. 

The British Society for Clinical Neurophysiology : essay competition open to medical students on the topics of neurophysiology or neuroscience, with a prize of up to £500 

The British Geriatrics Society : grants, prizes and awards to encourage high-quality research and professional development for those interested in older people's healthcare.

The British Holistic Medical Association : an annual essay competition looking for innovative ideas from medical students, with a prixe of up to £250.

British Society for Haematology : annual essay competition that centres on haematology.

ENT UK undergraduate essay prize : annual essay competition focused on ENT, as well as an elective prize available to medical students.

Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships—Harvard University : pays full Harvard University tuition and provides a stipend to cover living expenses for a single fellow for the academic year. 

Guts UK Charity—Dr Falk Awards : Various prizes including an essay compeition on gastroenterology and a prize for medical students undertaking a science degree focusing on gastroenterology.

HealthWatch student prize : a competition that asks students to provide a critical appraisal of hypothetical research protocols.

The Marfan Trust studentships   :  offer two studentship opportunities involving work in the Sonalee Laboratory, one focused on Marfan syndrome. They also offer a competiton for the participants in the studentships for oustanding project and contribution to research. 

The Medical Council on Alcohol : an essay compeititon run every year and a design competition held every two years, both open to medical students.

Medical Women's Federation : travel funds, student grants, elective bursaries and an essay competition. 

MRC London Intervollrgiate Doctoral Partnership Studentships : The Doctoral Training Partnership, between St George's and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, offer studentships, which includes tuition fees, an annual stipend and additional support for research and training.

National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia : award for outstanding achievement  for postgraduate medical students and an undergraduate research award presented by the Royal College of Anaesthetists' president.

Pain Relief Foundation : an essay competition focused on an aspect of chronic pain. 

The Pathological Society : an essay competition for undergraduates.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists : awards, grants and prizes handed out to medical students working to improve women's health care.

Royal College of Ophthalmologists—Duke Elder Examination : the candidate with the highest mark wins a visit to St John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem, or a £400 cash prize.

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health—RCPCH Medical Student Prize : t he prize entitles an MBBS student to attend the RCPCH Annual Conference as a guest of the RCPCH. You will need to submit a short CV and a personal statement highlighting why you think you should be nominated. To apply or for more information, email  Vanessa Nsilu .

Royal College of Physicians : offers a variety of awards, prizes and bursaries. 

Royal College of Psychiatrists : offers a variety of prizes and awards to support psychiatric studies. 

Royal College of Radiologists : prizes for undergraduates, elective bursaries, research prizes and an essay competition focused on clinical radiology. 

Royal College of Surgeons of England—Medical Student prizes : an annual national award open to all UK medical students. 

The Royal Society of Medicine : the Royal Society offers a wide range of prizes, awards, travel grants and bursaries. 

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• Apr 18, 2023

Winner: National Essay Competition 2023

Updated: Jan 15

We are really excited to announce the winner for the National Essay Competition this year. Thanks to all medical students and junior doctors around the country for submitting their essays, we have really enjoyed reading and found them interesting.

Our winner for the National Essay Competition is:

Which area of cancer research should receive more funding in the next 5 years and why?

Medical funding is complex. Governments, non-profits, and pharmaceutical/biotech companies all provide funding which is essential for research and development, but is allocated according to the ethos and goals of each organisation. There are over 4000 such organisations(1). As an example of differing focuses, bibliographic analysis shows the US government tends to fund breast cancer research at the ‘cell’ level, whilst private organisations tend to fund at the ‘patient’ level(2). If we take a moment to remove ourselves from this complex ecosystem, and imagine a world where funding is allocated by essay-writing foundation doctors, which area would we increase funding to?

SECTION 1 - THE TUMOUR

We can define an ‘area’ of research in many ways: a particular tumour, a research domain (e.g. pharmaceuticals, prevention), or a specific technology. We will start with the first of these. There is a broad appreciation that cancer funding is unequal relative to disease burden; breast cancer, prostate cancer and leukaemia research is consistently well funded, whilst pancreatic, oesophageal and lung cancer is consistently underfunded(3–9).

Unequal does not mean inequitable, and there are potentially justifiable reasons for unequal funding, including the outcome per unit investment and opportunities for ‘spin-off’ research related to other fields(10). The “quids to QALYs” argument of outcome per unit investment is not applicable to these underfunded cancers, which typically have poor outcomes and are in need of further research. Given the serendipitous nature of ‘spin-off’ research, this would seem a poor basis for funding decisions. Some arguments for unequal funding which may be more justifiable apply to blood cancer, CNS cancer and sarcoma: serious cancers which often affect young people who have not had a “fair-innings”[1], with unique biology owing to their non-epithelial origin which means pre-existing research from other cancer types is less relevant. However, there is a limited pool of cancers to which these arguments are applicable.

It would be remiss not to realise that many of the cancers which receive more funding, including breast and prostate cancer, are those which are more prevalent in patients of higher socioeconomic status(12). Cancers which receive less funding, including oesophageal cancer and lung cancer, tend to be diseases of poverty(12), in keeping with their strong association with risk factors like smoking(13,14). Given the relative underfunding of these tumours, which may be in-part related to societal inequality, these would be good areas in which to increase funding.

SECTION 2 - THE DOMAIN

Next we turn our attention to the research domain. The majority of cancer research is pharmaceutical research or discovery science(5,6,15,16), as has been appreciated by the Lancet Oncology ’s ‘Groundshot’(17), the European counterpoint to the American ‘Moonshot’. An increasing focus on expensive, targeted pharmaceuticals at the exclusion of other areas of research is not likely to be of benefit to the population as a whole(17,18).

Both oesophageal and lung cancer often present late in the disease course, with consequently poor outcomes(14,19). Early stage disease is amenable to intervention and is associated with significantly reduced healthcare costs(20). Given this, and that both cancers have recognised high risk populations(13,14,19), targeted screening could be an effective measure to improve outcomes on a relatively short timescale.

SECTION 3 - THE TECHNOLOGY

There is now good, randomised trial evidence that low-dose CT screening of high risk groups for lung cancer can detect disease at an earlier stage and reduce mortality(21). More work is needed to confirm large scale feasibility, which groups should be eligible, and what the optimum screening frequency would be. The evidence for oesophageal cancer screening, outside of specific circumstances such as tylosis or head and neck tumour patients(22,23), is less clear.

Even for patients with Barrett’s oesophagus, the results for endoscopic surveillance are mixed and derived from non-randomised studies, which are prone to biases including lead- and length-time bias(24–26). Stronger evidence for endoscopic screening comes from the South Korean gastric cancer screening programme, with screened individuals having reduced oesophageal cancer mortality(27). Naturally, there could be issues with selection bias here. A randomised controlled trial of endoscopic screening is taking place in China, but it is still some years away from reporting(28).

One issue with endoscopic screening is the required expertise, both of endoscopists and histopathologists, with other barriers including expensive equipment and sedation. Whilst some techniques have sought to remove some of these barriers, like ultrathin endoscopy which can be performed in a primary care setting without sedation(29), endoscopy remains a poor screening technique. Non-endoscopic screening using a ‘cytosponge’ passed down the oesophagus has shown promise, and is able to diagnose Barrett’s oesophagus based on the presence of the marker trefoil factor 3 with good sensitivity and specificity(30–32). This technique has also been reasonably well tolerated by participants(33,34), an essential part of any screening test. As most patients with Barrett’s oesophagus will not progress to adenocarcinoma(29), and on a global scale squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant cause of oesophageal cancer(14), further biomarkers will need to be identified for the use of this technique in global cancer screening. Nonetheless, this is proof-of-concept, and a step towards widely available oesophageal cancer screening.

Perhaps one day, sophisticated technology like immune checkpoint inhibitors or CAR-T cells will melt away even advanced cancer, preferably without risks of iatrogenic thyrotoxicosis or cytokine-release syndrome. Perhaps they will even be affordable and accessible for a global populace, as cancer becomes an increasingly global problem(35). Till then, it is important that we fund research into diverse areas like screening, primary prevention and palliation to create a robust, multicomponent health system. It is important that we fund this in an equitable way, and increase funding into the less researched cancers associated with lower socioeconomic status. We should also recognise the importance of racial and gender diversity when supplying this funding(36,37), and should recognise that funding is only part of the issue - we must also encourage innovation and collaboration. We have explored one technology: oesophageal cancer screening using a cytosponge technique. This would be a good option for increased funding over the next 5 years.

[1] Although note that this argument is debated in ethical fields(11).

References:

Schmutz A, Salignat C, Plotkina D, Devouassoux A, Lee T, Arnold M, et al. Mapping the Global Cancer Research Funding Landscape. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2019 Dec;3(4):pkz069.

Jo W. Funding sources and breast cancer research frame. PLoS ONE. 2020 Aug 24;15(8):e0238026.

Martin IG, Mallela S. Funding of Cancer Research: Do Levels Match Incidence and Mortality Rates? Ther Innov Regul Sci. 2015 Jan 1;49(1):33–5.

Coronado AC, Finley C, Badovinac K, Han J, Niu J, Rahal R. Discrepancies between Canadian cancer research funding and site-specific cancer burden: a spotlight on ten disease sites. Curr Oncol Tor Ont. 2018 Oct;25(5):338–41.

Begum M, Lewison G, Lawler M, Sullivan R. Mapping the European cancer research landscape: An evidence base for national and Pan-European research and funding. Eur J Cancer Oxf Engl 1990. 2018 Sep;100:75–84.

Mutebi M, Lewison G, Aggarwal A, Alatise OI, Booth C, Cira M, et al. Cancer research across Africa: a comparative bibliometric analysis. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Nov;7(11):e009849.

Carter AJR, Delarosa B, Hur H. An analysis of discrepancies between United Kingdom cancer research funding and societal burden and a comparison to previous and United States values. Health Res Policy Syst. 2015 Nov 2;13(1):62.

Trasta A. Where does public funding for cancer research go. EMBO Rep. 2018 Mar;19(3):e45859.

Gillum LA, Gouveia C, Dorsey ER, Pletcher M, Mathers CD, McCulloch CE, et al. NIH Disease Funding Levels and Burden of Disease. PLOS ONE. 2011 Feb 24;6(2):e16837.

Ghinai I, Hla TTW, Smith R. Global health priorities and research funding. Lancet Infect Dis. 2013 Aug 1;13(8):653.

Rivlin MM. Why the fair innings argument is not persuasive. BMC Med Ethics. 2000 Dec 21;1(1):1.

Boscoe FP, Johnson CJ, Sherman RL, Stinchcomb DG, Lin G, Henry KA. The relationship between area poverty rate and site-specific cancer incidence in the United States. Cancer. 2014;120(14):2191–8.

Barta JA, Powell CA, Wisnivesky JP. Global Epidemiology of Lung Cancer. Ann Glob Health. 85(1):8.

Thrift AP. Global burden and epidemiology of Barrett oesophagus and oesophageal cancer. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Jun;18(6):432–43.

Begum M, Urquhart I, Lewison G, Fouad F, Sullivan R. Research on lung cancer and its funding, 2004–2018. ecancermedicalscience. 2020 Nov 3;14:1132.

Begum M, Lewison G, Wang X, Dunne PD, Maughan T, Sullivan R, et al. Global colorectal cancer research, 2007-2021: Outputs and funding. Int J Cancer. 2023;152(3):470–9.

Lawler M, Davies L, Oberst S, Oliver K, Eggermont A, Schmutz A, et al. European Groundshot—addressing Europe’s cancer research challenges: a Lancet Oncology Commission. Lancet Oncol. 2023 Jan 1;24(1):e11–56.

Schnog JJB, Samson MJ, Gans ROB, Duits AJ. An urgent call to raise the bar in oncology. Br J Cancer. 2021 Nov;125(11):1477–85.

Thandra KC, Barsouk A, Saginala K, Aluru JS, Barsouk A. Epidemiology of lung cancer. Contemp Oncol. 2021;25(1):45–52.

McGarvey N, Gitlin M, Fadli E, Chung KC. Increased healthcare costs by later stage cancer diagnosis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Sep 13;22(1):1155.

de Koning HJ, van der Aalst CM, de Jong PA, Scholten ET, Nackaerts K, Heuvelmans MA, et al. Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Volume CT Screening in a Randomized Trial. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 6;382(6):503–13.

Ellis A, Risk JM, Maruthappu T, Kelsell DP. Tylosis with oesophageal cancer: Diagnosis, management and molecular mechanisms. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2015 Sep 29;10(1):126.

Scherübl H, Lampe B von, Faiss S, Däubler P, Bohlmann P, Plath T, et al. Screening for oesophageal neoplasia in patients with head and neck cancer. Br J Cancer. 2002 Jan;86(2):239–43.

Yang S, Wu S, Huang Y, Shao Y, Chen XY, Xian L, et al. Screening for oesophageal cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev [Internet]. 2012 [cited 2023 Jan 31];(12). Available from: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007883.pub2/full

Corley DA, Mehtani K, Quesenberry C, Zhao W, de Boer J, Weiss NS. Impact of endoscopic surveillance on mortality from Barrett’s esophagus-associated esophageal adenocarcinomas. Gastroenterology. 2013 Aug;145(2):312-319.e1.

El-Serag HB, Naik AD, Duan Z, Shakhatreh M, Helm A, Pathak A, et al. Surveillance endoscopy is associated with improved outcomes of oesophageal adenocarcinoma detected in patients with Barrett’s oesophagus. Gut. 2016 Aug;65(8):1252–60.

Kim JH, Han KD, Lee JK, Kim HS, Cha JM, Park S, et al. Association between the National Cancer Screening Programme (NSCP) for gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer mortality. Br J Cancer. 2020 Aug;123(3):480–6.

He Z, Liu Z, Liu M, Guo C, Xu R, Li F, et al. Efficacy of endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer in China (ESECC): design and preliminary results of a population-based randomised controlled trial. Gut. 2019 Feb 1;68(2):198–206.

Lao-Sirieix P, Fitzgerald RC. Screening for oesophageal cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2012 May;9(5):278–87.

Fitzgerald RC, Pietro M di, O’Donovan M, Maroni R, Muldrew B, Debiram-Beecham I, et al. Cytosponge-trefoil factor 3 versus usual care to identify Barrett’s oesophagus in a primary care setting: a multicentre, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. 2020 Aug 1;396(10247):333–44.

Pilonis ND, Killcoyne S, Tan WK, O’Donovan M, Malhotra S, Tripathi M, et al. Use of a Cytosponge biomarker panel to prioritise endoscopic Barrett’s oesophagus surveillance: a cross-sectional study followed by a real-world prospective pilot. Lancet Oncol. 2022 Feb 1;23(2):270–8.

Triadifilopoulos G. Cytosponge for Barrett’s Esophagus Screening: When Smart Science Matches Simplicity. Gastroenterology. 2011 Aug 1;141(2):766–8.

Freeman M, Offman J, Walter FM, Sasieni P, Smith SG. Acceptability of the Cytosponge procedure for detecting Barrett’s oesophagus: a qualitative study. BMJ Open. 2017 Mar 1;7(3):e013901.

Maroni R, Barnes J, Offman J, Scheibl F, Smith SG, Debiram-Beecham I, et al. Patient-reported experiences and views on the Cytosponge test: a mixed-methods analysis from the BEST3 trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 1;12(4):e054258.

Shulman LN. The National Cancer Institute Funding of Global Research: Lessons Learned and Opportunities Going Forward. JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst. 2022 Sep 1;114(9):1212–3.

Zhou CD, Head MG, Marshall DC, Gilbert BJ, El-Harasis MA, Raine R, et al. A systematic analysis of UK cancer research funding by gender of primary investigator. BMJ Open. 2018 Apr 30;8(4):e018625.

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• Education Events

Winner: BONUS Essay Competition 2024

Online Oncology Careers Events to Attract the Future Oncology Medical Workforce: An Exemplar Event and Review of the Literature

BONUS Conference 2024 : Global Oncology

A brilliant read - very well done!

BONUS Official

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Home → Study Here → Outreach → Essay Competitions

St Hugh’s essay competitions are open to Sixth Formers from the UK and across the world. These are a fantastic opportunity to explore a topic of interest in a particular subject in more depth, whether something you have studied at school has inspired you, or whether you are keen to broaden your horizons in a new academic discipline.

All four competitions are now open: the deadline for submissions is 5pm (GMT) on Friday 26th July 2024.

To find out more about these competitions please click on the links below:

Mary Renault

Kavita singh, gwyneth bebb, privacy overview.

Medical Student Essay Award

Description.

Created to honor outstanding academic promise

Tips for Nominations

Submission by student to annual essay contest

Award Benefits for 2024 Award

• Complimentary registration for 2024 AAP Annual Meeting
• Up to $1,000 reimbursement for 2024 Annual Meeting-related travel and meal expenses
• Essay presented as e-poster at 2024 Annual Meeting

2023 1st Place: Brian R. Smith, Stanford University 2nd Place: Isabel Draper, Baylor College of Medicine 3rd Place: Serra Sozen, University of Vermont College of Medicine

2022 1st Place: William Thomas (Tommy) Baumel, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine 2nd Place: Eun Jin (Gloria) Yu, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA 3rd Place: Brittany Perry, University of South Florida College of Medicine

2021 1st Place: Sahana Nazeer, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine 2nd Place: Chloe Malava, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College 3rd Place: Mollie Marr, Oregon Health Sciences University 4th Place: Edward Tie, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

2020 1st Place: Jeff Jin, McGovern Medical School 2nd Place: Nicole Hadler, University of Michigan Medical School 3rd Place: David Jevotovsky, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

2019 Alan Elbaum, University of California - San Francisco

Your award includes complimentary registration for the AAP Annual Meeting, and up to $1,000 reimbursement for meeting-related travel and meal expenses.

The theme is: The Art of Communication in Psychiatry: Connecting with the Patient.

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2024 MEDICAL STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST ARE NOW CLOSED. 

Submission Requirements The contest is open to any student who is both currently enrolled in an accredited medical school (US, Canada, or anywhere in the world) and will be enrolled at the time of the Annual Meeting September 11 - 14, 2024. The work must be an original unpublished essay of 1,000 words or less . Due to an overwhelming response, ONLY ONE SUBMISSION PER STUDENT WILL BE ACCEPTED.

The top essay may be considered for publication in the Academic Psychiatry Journal in "The Learners' Voice" section. Essay winner does not guarantee publication in the Academic Psychiatry Journal . Please review the publication criteria when writing your essay here . Refer to MANUSCRIPT TYPE & GUIDELINES #8 The Learners' Voice.

Essays should be submitted electronically through the JOYN Awards Portal by clicking the link below. Please include a cover page with the following information:

• Student’s Name
• Name of Medical School where enrolled, year in school
• Mailing Address, Phone Number, Email Address

Selection Criteria

Judges will be blinded to the participant and affiliated medical school. Judging will be based on originality, uniqueness, flow of thought, and appropriateness to the theme.

Thank you for your interest. 

The AAP Abstract and Award Submission Portal for the 2024 Medical Student Essay IS NOW CLOSED. Submissions for the 2025 Medical Student Essay will open January 1, 2025.

For QUESTIONS ONLY, contact James Haliburton, MD, Medical Student Essay Subcommittee Chair, at [email protected] . All essay submissions must be made through the Award portal.