essay competitions medical students

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 OPEN.

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 The work must be an original unpublished essay of 1,000 words or less .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 ARE NOW OPEN. Click here to access the portal.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JUNE 1, 2024

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.

Essay Contest

The 2024 Essay Contest is now closed. Winners will be announced in July.

About the Contest

The Lasker Essay Contest engages early career scientists and clinicians from the US and around the globe in a discussion about big questions in biology and medicine and the role of biomedical research in our society today. The Contest aims to build skills in communicating important medical and scientific issues to broad audiences. The topic is announced annually in early February, and winners are announced in mid-July.

Eligibility

The Contest is open to medical school students, interns, residents, and fellows; doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in biomedical sciences; and graduate students training in health professions programs e.g., public health, dental, pharmacy, etc who are currently doing research. Applicants (from the US or any other countries) must be currently participating in an educational program. This program may be located in any country.

Winners will receive up to $5,000. Monetary prizes will be directed to the winner’s university to be used towards the winner’s educational expenses.

Essays should be 800 words or less and must be written in English. We allow only one essay submission per applicant, and the essay must be written by a single author. The use of any generative AI tool (e.g. ChatGPT) in composing an entry is prohibited – all essays will be screened with software designed to detect use of AI. Essays need to be original; content previously published will be disqualified.The file containing the essay should include the essay title and the applicant’s name, email, and institutional affiliation. The 800-word limit applies to the body of the essay. Field-specific scientific jargon should be avoided or explained.

Evaluation Criteria

Essays will be evaluated based on their originality, quality of writing, style, and clarity. Essays that are not written in English or are longer than 800 words will not be considered.

Publication

The winning essays will be published in the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation .

All Winners

Meet the Winners of the 2023 Essay Contest and Read the Essays

Meet the Winners of the 2022 Lasker Essay Contest

The 2022 Lasker Essay Contest

Meet the Winners of the 2021 Lasker Essay Contest

The 2021 Lasker Essay Contest

Winners of the 2020 Lasker Essay Contest

Winners of the 2019 Lasker Essay Contest

Winners of the 2018 Essay Contest

Winners of the 2017 Essay Contest

Winners of the 2016 Essay Contest

Winners of 2015 Essay Contest: The “Research Challenge”

2014 Essay Contest: Supporting Medical Research

Read the winning essays.

Allison R. Chen Research Training in an AI World

Louise O. Downs Is a Test Better Than No Test When There Is No Treatment?

Ayush Kumar Using HG1222 — A Perspective Into the Ethics of Collecting Biospecimens

Salman E. Qasim The Human Brain: The Final Frontier and the Wild West

Sneha P. Rath Cementing the Bricks

Kaelyn Cummins Microbes, Medicine, and Astronauts: Reflections on a Collaborative Project

Azmina Karukappadath Two Fields, One Dream

Hussain Lalani I Would Be Scared if I Heard That Too

Rutvij Merchant Pathways to Global Health Equity: More Seats, Fresh Perspectives

Kirti Nath Puzzles

Avik Ray Unified Diversity: The Team Game

Ziad Ali What Happens Now?

Banafsheh Nazari Embracing Technology, the Pandemic’s Lesson for Us

Trisha Pasricha One more question

Miriam Saffern My Mother is a Layperson

Adina Schonbrun The Cornerstone of Scientific Success: Unsung Frontline Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Emily Ashkin Michael Bishop: A Scientist for the Next Generation

David Basta For the Love of Science

Avash Das Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein: Tribute to My Inspiration

William Dunn Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity

Safwan Elkhatib Salk, Sabin, and the Crown of Health

Laurel Gabler Putting “People’s Health in People’s Hands”: How the Bangs Inspired my Personal Journey

Kwabena Kusi-Mensah As One Single Tribe: Thinking Globally and Locally

Lisa Learman With the Corn, Against the Grain

Olivia Lucero Genetics as a Tool for Generational Empowerment

Hannah Mason My Gym Genie: Gathering Inspiration from Dr. John Schiller

Samantha Wong Fauci: Science as a Voice of Reason

Grace Beggs Game On: Smartphone Technology for Science Education

Peter John Making it All Fun and Games in the Biomedical Sciences

Dereck Paul Pathways: A National Mentorship Program for High School Students Underrepresented in Science and Medicine

David Hartmann Cancer Survivors: Outstanding Advocates for Trust in Science

Debra Karhson A Verification Vaccine for Social Contagion

Caroline Vissers Diversity at the Top of the Social Media Signaling Cascade

Abigail Cline Science and Cinema: From the Benchtop to the Big Screen

Tammy Tran Science Is Everywhere: Unexpected Science Encounters in the Course of Everyday Life

Michael Wu Search for Science: Smart Search-Linked Discussion Forums

Jennifer Bratburd Breaking through Barriers to Science with Citizen Science

Apurva Lunia Dissemination of Biomedical Research Via Multimedia Platforms Using Existing Healthcare Frameworks

Jessica Sagers Let’s Get Real: (Re)making Scientists Into People

David Ottenheimer Modern Neuroscience Has the Tools to Treat Psychiatric Illness

Therese Woodring (Korndorf) Hacking the Bacterial Social Network: Quorum Sensing and the Future of Microbial Management

Unikora Yang The Cutting Edge of DNA Editing: Translating CRISPR to Improve Human health

David Hill Mutual Understanding: Uncovering the Mechanistic Basis of the Host-Symbiont Relationship in Human Health

Joseph Rathkey In Silico Modeling as an Ideal Platform for Future Biological Research and Discovery

Stephanie Ng Depression and the Final Frontier

Omar Toubat Mastering the Genetic Reprogramming of Cells

Peter Soh Offering Incentives for Future Scientists

Michael Burel Catalyzing Broad Public Interest in Scientific Research

Nick Andresen Crowdsourcing a Medical Research Donation Database

Gregg Gonsalves Researchers as Advocates and Activists

Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Guidelines for the 2022 Medical Student Essay Contest

Students currently enrolled in a medical school or program are encouraged to submit to Hektoen International ’s 2022 Medical Student Essay Contest. Submissions will be reviewed by the Hektoen International Editorial Staff and a select group of contest judges who will determine the two winners of the following awards:

Grand Prize: Single winner of $3,500 Runner-Up: Single winner of $2,500

Essays can be on any topic as it relates to medicine. Art, history, and literature topics are preferred. Fiction will be accepted. Original poetry and standalone artwork will not be considered (though essays on poetry and on original artwork are welcome). Before submitting an article, please search for your topic to see that it has not been fully covered already. For possible topic categories, see our Sections .

To enter, you must be:

• Currently enrolled in medical school or can verify your acceptance into medical school,
• Currently serving as a medical intern or resident, or
• Currently serving as a fellow to pursue a medical specialty.

Essays should be under 1,200 words. The deadline is March 15, 2023, at 12 PM (noon) CST.  The contest is now closed.  Late submissions will not be considered. Contest submissions should be sent to  [email protected] or via the form below . Participants must certify that their work is original. Participants must have copyright ownership or permission to use any images submitted. 

• The contest is open to participants currently enrolled in a medical school or program as described above. Educational status (including the name of your school) must be specified in your cover page/bio in order for entries to be eligible.
• Submission of an article implies consent to publish in  Hektoen International.  If accepted for publication, an article may be published at any time regardless of the outcome of the competition. If major edits are made, proofs will be sent to the author before publication.
• Inquiries about the contest should be sent to [email protected] .
• Single-author essays only; multiple authors on one article are not allowed.
• Entries must be written in English and follow our article guidelines, including a cover page and proper formatting of both text and illustrations. Incomplete submissions may be deemed ineligible for consideration in the contest.
• Submissions will be read by Hektoen International ’s editors and contest judges. They will review contributions for appropriateness, originality, style, and content.
• Submissions are processed on weekdays during business hours. Please check your email for confirmation of your submission. Please wait one week before inquiring about the reception of your article if you do not receive a confirmation email.
• The winners of the contest will be announced by email in 2023. Winning articles may be published in a 2023 issue of  Hektoen International .
• All submissions selected for online publication will appear in Hektoen International and will be placed into a corresponding  Section . Published articles may also be highlighted in Frontispiece —our front page—and/or in the various themes of  Hektorama .
• Articles and the images within them may also be publicized via our newsletter , which is currently received by 40,000+ subscribers, and on our Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram , and  LinkedIn .

Articles must be unpublished, original work, saved as a Word document by the author’s last name followed by the title (or abbreviated title). For example, the article “Big Hugh” by Dr. Smith, should be saved as Smith_Big Hugh.docx . Each submission should include:

• A cover page with:
• Author’s name, titles/degrees, professional affiliation, contact information and location (as you would like it listed in the journal)
• A biography no longer than 100 words, written in the third person, that includes your current educational status and future educational/career goals. See the bottom of our articles for examples.
• Submissions must also have the following formatting:
• The title and page numbers in the document header
• The full text of the article in Times New Roman, size 12, and double-spaced. Please format according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17 th Edition ( chicagomanualofstyle.org ) or the American Medical Association Manual of Style 11 th Edition ( academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle/book/27941 )
• References for quoted and cited material formatted according to Vancouver, Chicago, or AMA style, with the endnotes in numerical order.

Articles may include images. If you provide an image, please review and heed the guidelines below before you contact us with any questions, which we encourage.

• Final image choice will be determined by journal staff.
• Rights to use and publish images in  Hektoen International must be acquired by the author  prior to submission , either via a source’s declaration the images are in the public domain or under a Creative Commons or similar license, or by obtaining permission from the copyright holder(s) of the images. For more information, see https://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/copyright/public-domain or contact us at [email protected] .
• Images must be high quality and saved as a .JPG
• Images must be titled by author’s surname and short article name. For example, an image to accompany the article “Big Hugh” by Dr. Smith would be saved as Smith_Big Hugh.jpg . Add a number at the end to distinguish additional images ( e.g., Smith_Big Hugh2.jpg ).
• Images must be accompanied by a caption. In a separate Word document entitled “Caption” with the following information:
• Caption, source, and permission/copyright/licensing information (including the address of the website where you found the image)
• For artwork, please provide the title and date of work, the artist’s name, and the location of the artwork (museum or private collection)
• Save the caption as a Word document by author last name. In the example of Dr. Smith, the illustration would be captioned as Smith_Caption.docx .
• Caption example:   Spock Behind G.W. Library . Photo by Warren K. Leffler, October 15, 1969. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress . No known restrictions on publication.

General Guidelines for All Submissions

We DO NOT accept clinical studies All submissions should be the stated author/artist’s original work Authors are responsible for obtaining publication rights for accompanying images

Patient Consent/Confidentiality

Our confidentiality policy is based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Please refer to this document if you have any questions:  https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/ . Authors/artists should protect the confidentiality of all persons and not reveal personal details without their consent.

Copyright (©) and Plagiarism

Authors retain the copyright to their submissions to  Hektoen International . We request, however, that authors refrain from submitting their work for publication for four months after the piece has been published. Authors are requested to notify us and reference the  Hektoen International  website as the original publisher in subsequent publications of the article.

By submitting your work to us via Forminator or by email for consideration for publication, you consent to the scanning of your work by third-party plagiarism checker programs along with, on a case-by-case basis, research by our staff of your publication history to ensure the work published in our journal is original. By performing these checks, we protect our reputation as well as your own.

Plagiarism is, in its simplest wording, claiming someone else’s work as your own. When you submit work or portions of a work that you yourself did not write, without giving credit to its original author, that is plagiarism. Plagiarism ranges from copying another’s entire publication to rewording portions and ideas from another’s publication without a citation.

We also acknowledge the concept of self-plagiarism, in which you republish work you have already written without permission from the copyright holder. Examples of self-plagiarism include you submit an article to us that was already published in another journal without that journal’s permission; you draw information and/or concepts from an article you wrote that is already published elsewhere without citing that article in your submission.​

Form temporarily unavailable—please submit to [email protected] . If you submitted between January 24 and February 24, please resubmit.

Submissions are processed on weekdays during business hours. Please check your email for confirmation of your submission. Please also wait one week before inquiring about missing submissions through this form or resubmitting.

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Royal Medical Benevolent Fund

• You are here:

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.

Building Trust Essay Contest

• John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize
• Profiles in Professionalism
• Medical Education and Training
• Endorsements of the Charter
• Organizational Trust
• 2019 Trust Practice Challenge
• Commitment to act for health equity
• Choosing Wisely®
• 2023 Reframing Trust – A Path to Address Misinformation
• 2022 Fact or Fiction – Strategies for the Misinformation Age
• 2021 Pursuing Trust Striving for Equitable Health Care
• 2020 Building Trust & Health Equity
• 2019 [Re]Building Trust – A Path Forward
• 2018 [Re]Building Trust

In 2022, the ABIM Foundation launched the Building Trust Essay Contest to explore the diverse activities or projects that medical students are engaged in that build trust with their schools, faculty, peers, patients, and communities.

Building on the success of it’s first two years, the 2024 Building Trust Essay Contest has expanded its scope to welcome submissions from students across all health professions, including nursing, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and others. This expansion maintains the contest’s foundational commitment to exploring and celebrating initiatives rooted in trust.

2023 Essay Contest

• Molly Fessler , University of Michigan Medical School 
• Isra Hasnain , The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
• Ian Jaffe , NYU Grossman School of Medicine
• Meher Kalkat , The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 
• Elina Kurkurina , Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University 
• Christopher Montgomery , UCSF School of Medicine 
• Maria L. Belalcazar, MD , Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University of Texas Medical Branch
• Marianne M. Green, MD, FACP , Vice Dean for Education, Raymond H. Curry MD Professor of Medical Education, and Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
• Lorna A. Lynn, MD , Vice President of Medical Education Research at the American Board of Internal Medicine
• Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH , Senior Vice President for Academic and Medical Affairs at the American Board of Internal Medicine
• David Reuben, MD , Director, Multicampus Program in Geriatrics Medicine and Gerontology and Chief, Division of Geriatrics at UCLA
• Annelise Silva , AMSA National President-elect, medical student at Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine
• Rohini Siva , AMSA National President, 4th year medical student at Eastern Virginia Medical School
• Daniel Wolfson, MHSA , Executive Vice President and COO of the ABIM Foundation

2022 Essay Contest

• Teva Brender , Oregon Health & Sciences University
• Howard Chang , THe Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Sunil Joshi , Oregon Health & Sciences University 
• Meher Kalkat , The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 

Honorable Mentions

• Clarice Douille , Creighton University School of Medicine
• Veenadhari Kollipara , Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
• Paul Lewis , Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Armaan Ahmen Rowther, PhD , The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Suman Vadlamani , UT Southwestern Medical School
• Nicholas Wilson , Morehouse School of Medicine
• Andres Diaz , Editor of AMSA’s  The New Physician , MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson
• Shan Jin , AMSA Academy Chair, a third-year medical student at the NYIT College Of Osteopathic Medicine
• David Reuben, MD , Director, Multicampus Program in Geriatrics Medicine and Gerontology and Chief, Division of Geriatrics at UCL
• Michael Walls, DO, MPH , AMSA National President, graduate of Touro University California

Content links

WPA Launches 2024 Medical Student Essay Competition focused on Mental Health and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

World Psychiatric Association announces a Travel Award for the winner of its 2024 Medical Student Essay Competition to attend the 24th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry in Mexico City, Mexico

The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has once again launched its much-anticipated Medical Student Essay Competition , a WPA Presidential initiative with the support of the United Nations Secretariat – Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development Goals.

This year's competition revolves around the critical theme of "Improving Mental Health in the Global World Using the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." It challenges medical students worldwide to explore innovative approaches and solutions that align with the UN's comprehensive set of goals for sustainable development.

Eligibility and Participation: A Global Call to Medical Students

The WPA extends a warm invitation to medical students across the globe to contribute to this vital discourse. Participants are encouraged to submit essays of up to 3000 words, offering their perspectives and insights on the intersection of mental health and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Recognition on a Global Stage

Beyond recognition, the competition promises a platform to make a significant impact. All Finalists and the full text of their essays will be showcased on the WPA website, spotlighting both the authors and their ideas. The winning essay will be translated into all six official languages of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Moreover, the winner will be acknowledged at the 24th World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2024) in Mexico City. To facilitate their participation in the congress, a Travel Award of up to $1500 USD will be granted to cover travel and accommodation expenses. Additionally, the winner's Congress registration fee will also be waived.

More information on the 2024 Medical Student Essay Competition can be found here , including all submission requirements and deadlines .

Deadline and Schedule:

All submissions must be made online before the clock strikes midnight on 15 May, 2024, and the winner will be announced by 30 July, 2024.

This competition not only serves as a platform for aspiring medical professionals to showcase their talents but also highlights the WPA's commitment to addressing global mental health challenges through collaboration with the United Nations.

The WPA President, Prof. Danuta Wasserman, the WPA Special Interest Group on Medical Students, and the United Nations Secretariat – Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development Goals are pleased to support this competition and are looking forward to reading the submissions, as well as welcoming the winner in Mexico.

Author: WPA

• WPA Meetings

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The BSANZ Medical Student Reflective Essay Competition

The balint society of australia and new zealand has announced the winners from the 2023 medical student reflective essay competition..

There were a record 89 entries this year, with a very high standard of writing covering a wide range of topics.  After several rounds of reviewing, the reviewers are pleased to announce the top 12 essays as listed in the table below.

Congratulations to Megan Torpey and Taneka Tezak who received The Lawrence Gilbert Memorial Prizes.  Runners up were Geetika Malhotra, Alisha Sethi, Dikshya Parajuli and Tuyen Pham.  Links to all these essays will be listed in due course.

Our thanks go to the local and international group of essay reviewers who did an amazing job this year.

Results and essays from previous competitions can also be accessed through the links listed below.

Essay requirements for the next competition in 2025 are listed as well, with a submission date expected to be in July 2025.  We look forward to hearing from you then.

Hamish Wilson (Dunedin, NZ) and Alexa Gilbert-Obrart (Sydney Australia) Conveners on behalf of the BSANZ

2025 Essay Requirements for Medical Student Writing Prize

Medical Student Writing Prize 2021 Results

There were 45 entries in 2021, with a very high standard of writing. Congratulations to Madison Booth and Stephanie Lee who received The Lawrence Gilbert Memorial Prizes.

We would like to congratulate all the students for their perceptive essays about their interactions with significant patients, as well as for their insights about the nature of clinical training and medical practice. Four essays from the 2021 competition were published in medical journals (Journal of Primary Health Care (NZ) and The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine (US)).

Many thanks to students and our reviewers who have made this essay competition such a success.

Alexa Gilbert-Obrart and Hamish Wilson On behalf of the BSANZ.

Winning essays from 2021

Too Momentous for Words , by Madison Booth (University of Queensland)

Beyond the Medical , by Stephanie Lee (Bond University)

An unexpected journey , by Thomas Swinburn (Auckland Medical School)

Homecoming , by Rebecca Gandhi (Auckland Medical School)

Further information about past winners of the Medical Student Reflective Essay Competition is available here.

• Dec 11, 2018

Demystified: Essay competitions

Entering an essay competition may not be the first thing you think of whilst in medical school. You come home exhausted from lectures, or being used as a doorstop on placement and all you want to do is stare mindlessly at Netflix.

But essay competitions are surprisingly fun and easy - with the added reward of a possible cash prize and a bump on your CV. Medical students are open to a wide range of essay competitions and not only are they not as competitive as one might initially think, they also give you the opportunity to improve upon your writing, research and critical analysis skills. If you enjoy writing or are interested in a certain area of medicine, or perhaps just want to bulk up your CV a bit, you might want to enter an essay competition.

You can find a list of websites which hold annual essay competitions for UK medical students here . This is by no means a comprehensive list. Almost every medical society will offer essay competitions: Google is your friend.

How do I decide which competition to enter?

1. There are typically two types of essay competitions you can enter.

The first type require you to ‘ discuss ,’ ‘ explore ’ or ‘ argue ’ a statement. This requires you to first read through the literature to gain knowledge and understanding of the topic, and then to use your critical analysis skills to argue your point for or against the statement.

The second type of essay prize is more clinical in nature. These essays may ask you to write about your experiences in certain specialties or to offer a suggestion about how you think a certain specialty could be improved, or perhaps may change in the next decade. These essays tend to require more original and creative thought and some students may find these easier.

2. How much time you are willing to spend researching and writing your essay?

Most people make this judgement based on the value of the essay prize. For example, you might be willing to spend more time writing an essay for a competition that offers a prize of £1000 compared to one that offers £300. Remember, whichever prize you win, they will both look good on your CV.

The other main factor which will determine how much time you spend upon your essay will be the word count. This will give you a general idea of the amount of depth and research that will be expected from you. On the other hand, some people may struggle with smaller word counts as it can be difficult to condense your writing and still make it good.

How do I start planning my essay?

So, you’ve found an essay competition which you want to enter and are ready to go. Before you start, you should consider making a rough outline of what your essay will cover and how it will start and finish. This may be difficult if you are writing about a topic which you first need to research, in which case you may wish to go back to your framework and build upon it as your research expands. It is always best to start with a basic framework which you can then build upon.

As with any essay, it is best to start with a Introduction , Main Body and Conclusion .

Your introduction should contain a brief synopsis of what your essay is planning to cover, or perhaps a question which it aims to answer. A short , succinct and thought-provoking introduction is always best; this is how you grip your readers’ interest. Some people prefer to write their introduction once they have finished the rest of their essay. You can expand upon what your main body will contain once you do some reading. Your conclusion , as with your introduction, needs to be short and concise. It should condense the main points of your essay into a way that is easy for the reader to read and understand. You could end on a question or suggestion of where you think this topic should go next, or what you think the future holds.

Once you have this basic Introduction -> Main Body -> Conclusion framework, you may wish to jot down some ideas that instantly come into your head when you read the essay title . Essay titles as a whole tend to be stimulating and emotive; they ask for an argument or a point of view from the writer. Undoubtedly when you first read the essay title, hundreds of thoughts will race through your mind about what you could write about and how you feel about this topic. Write them all down on a blank piece of paper. This will help you later both when you start researching your essay and when you start writing it. An example of this framework with ideas pre-research can be found at the end.

Lastly, remember to read the essay title. If it asks you to discuss certain topics, then only discuss those. If it asks you to argue, use your skills or critical analysis to argue your point across. Do not go into unchartered territories and lose your foundation.

How do I research my essay?

Every person is different when it comes to writing essays. This brief outline is just a way to get you started if you are struggling or haven’t written an essay in a long time. Do what works best for you.

Many people write their essays using this approach:

Basic Framework & Ideas (click here for a detailed example.)

Edit/clarify direction of essay based on research

Condense research accordingly into set topics for Main Body

Write, argue and analyse

1. Research

Before you write an essay you need to know what you’re writing about. This is particularly relevant if you are offering an an opinion, argument or commentary. Your Essay Title will cover a specific topic. e.g. instead of the Management of Mood Disorders, it may specifically ask you about ECT. If it does open up a very general and wide-ranging topic, it is best to choose one specific area rather than try to cover everything: depth over breadth. This will also help to condense your research. It is easy to begin researching one thing and then end up in a completely different direction. It’s helpful to continually look back at your essay title throughout your research to keep you grounded.

Firstly, choose the area of interest which you will be researching. This may be given by the essay title (e.g. specifically around ECT) or one that you need to think of if the essay is particularly broad. Try to think of something that genuinely interests you; this will make your writing come across as more passionate and you will find it easier to research your essay and later write it.

Secondly, you want to get an idea of the recent debate around your area of interest. What do academics think about this? Have there been any recent controversies? Some people find it helpful to start by looking into systematic or literature reviews to get a general idea before diving deeper.

For most clinical and scientific essays, the databases listed below should help you find what you need. You should be able to gain access through an OpenAthens account provided by your medical school. If not, you can go to the librarian in one of your university libraries and ask about getting access to these databases.

Examples of Databases for Research

1. Cochrane Library (good for systematic reviews)

4. NHS Evidence

5. PsychINFO (good for Psychiatry/Psychology essays)

8. Web of Science

Once you’ve searched your topic in a couple of the databases, you will find numerous articles appear. One of the important skills that essay writing teaches you is how to sift through research to find what you need. You can do this by narrowing your search skills e.g. only for certain topics, or by sifting through abstracts and identifying the articles that are relevant from the ones which are not. At times you may come across a journal article which offers a new perspective or information which you wish to learn more about or are particularly interested in. In this case, references from that particular article can be very useful.

You’ve now found some articles related to your topic. You’ve read these articles and have found some themes emerging. You are beginning to get your own ideas about what your essay should be about and the direction it will take. Perhaps reading one of the articles has made you particularly passionate about a certain point of view. Start making a list of these themes and your thoughts around them. Also make sure you keep a note of the articles in a separate document; this will help with references later.

2. Edit/clarify direction of essay based on research

You’ve got some information together and hopefully are beginning to get an idea of what your essay will look like. Now, have a read through all the information you’ve gathered and you will begin to see the direction that your essay is taking. You can almost see your essay growing in front of your eyes. Hopefully you’ll feel a bit more confident now in writing your essay.

Remember that basic framework you created at the beginning? You might find it helpful to add into the Main Body what themes you intend to cover. For example, for the essay about ECT:

Main Body - What is ECT? Cover history & clinicians accounts based on books.

- Why is ECT so stigmatised? Talk about Media (give examples of One Flew over the Cuckoo Nest), lack of public knowledge - mention survey around public’s attitudes to ECT.

- Why do we still use ECT? Covers statistics, effectiveness compared to other treatment options.

- Past or Future? ECT as one of the best treatments in Psychiatry.

3. Start writing your essay.

Some people find it helpful to write for each theme separately using the research they have collated, and then bring all these themes together to flow nicely into an essay. This way you are breaking your essay down into manageable chunks.

Remember, don’t just copy and paste the information you have gathered from research articles. Not only is this plagiarism, it is also unlikely to get you that essay prize. Instead, think about the research you have read - what are some of the arguments against what you’re writing? Can you think of the flaws in your own arguments? Where has this research come from? Is it backed up with evidence or is it just someone’s opinion? What makes this person’s opinion more important than anyone else’s? This type of critical analysis is what makes a good essay.

To wrap this guide up: what makes a good essay?

Answers the question/title - does not go off tangent.

Wide range of research using literature/systematic reviews, original research and academic commentaries - clear understanding of the topic.

Offers an opinion or argument i.e. not just descriptive.

Critical analysis: Suggests how current research is flawed, problems with current ways of thinking etc.

Creative/Original thought: Offers a new perspective, not just based on research. Offers insight into what the future may look like, what needs to change.

For a list of essay competitions targeted towards medical students, click here .

For our example framework (and initial ideas) of an essay, click here .

Article by Dr Gunjan Sharma; prizewinner of: 1. Royal Society of Medicine Student & Trainee Prize, Psychiatry Section 2016-2017 2. Medical Student Prize of the Faculty of Spiritual Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016 3. Medical Student Essay Prize of the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016 4. Careif Suicide Prevention Essay Prize 2014

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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

1. Hagell A, Shah R and Coleman J (2017) Key Data on Young People 2017. Association for Young People’s Health. www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk/key-data-on-young-people. Accessed 29 January 2021

2. Hankin B et. al. (1998) Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. J Abnormal Psychology, 107(1), 128-140

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.

7. NHS Digital (2014) Health and Wellbeing of 15-year-olds in England: Main findings from the What About YOUth? Survey 2014. NHS Digital. https://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB19244. Accessed 29 January 2021.

8. Shah R, Hagell A and Cheung R (2019) International comparisons of health and wellbeing in adolescence and early adulthood. Research report, Nuffield Trust and Association for Young People’s Health.

9. Radovic A, McCarty CA, Katzman K, Richardson LP (2018) Adolescents' Perspectives on Using Technology for Health: Qualitative Study. JMIR Pediatr Parent. 1(1), e2.

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

Medical Student Essay Prize

Twice a year the BSDS sets and essay title on a topic related to dermatological surgery and offers a prize for the winning essays.

The BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize (previously titled Undergraduate Essay Prize) is open to anyone who has medical student status at the time of application or who graduates that year.

The title for the next Essay Prize is:

“ Use your creativity to show us how you would safely and efficiently train a medical student to perform an ellipse excision”

This could take the form of:

• A PowerPoint lesson plan (maximum 3 slides)
• An instructional video (real life or computer animated – maximum 5 minutes)
• An artistic presentation (drawings/photographs/combination of) (No PDF please)

The prize for the winning essay will be £300.

BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize Application Form – July 2024

Deadline for submissions:  31st July 2024

Previous Essay Prize Winners

Click to view previous essays.

• 2023, July –      “How can we ensure valid consent in dermatologic surgery in the era of teledermatology and one-stop clinics?” –  Zoe Hemsley, Cambridge University.
• 2023, January –  “ What are the most important priorities for skin surgery and skin cancer research and why?”  –  Mohammed J Ali, Hull York Medical School  
• 2022, July – “ You’re on mute! – Potentials and pitfalls with remote teaching in skin surgery” – Jessica McKeever, University of Dundee
• 2022, January –  “What beneficial changes has the pandemic made to dermatological surgery?” Sukhmunni Johal Oxford University
• 2021, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnose skin cancer in the future?” Laura Leeves, Kings College London.
• 2021, January –   “How do we optimise operator safety during dermatological surgery?”   Mahaveer Singh Sangha University of London Medical School
• 2020, July –  “How do we optimise patients experience of dermatological surgical procedures?”   Anastasia Constantinou, University of Cambridge
• 2020, January –   “How can dermatological surgery become more environmentally friendly?”   Chaplin Catriona, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
• 2019, July –       What will dermatological surgery look like in 2050?  For this submission, the essay format had been changed to a 5-minute long video.  Outcome Details coming soon.
• 2019, January  –  “Which doctors would make the best skin surgeons? Can we predict ability prior to training?”  Pimentel-Velazquez Diana, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
• 2018, July  –  “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnosis skin cancer in the future? ” Selvendran Sara, Imperial College London
• 2018, January  –  “Skin cancer and patients’ use of Dermatology apps – a cause for concern or the future of healthcare provision?”  Yi Jia Teo, University College Cork School of Medicine, National University of Ireland
• 2017, July –  “Should NHS patients have access to scar management?”   Kelsey Aimar, University of Nottingham
• 2017, January –  Two prizes awarded: “If Mohs skin surgery is the ‘gold standard for non-melanoma skin cancer treatment’, why doesn’t eveyone have it?”  Ali Ansaripour , Kings College London GKT School of Medical Education and  Antonio Ji Xu , Oxford University Medical School
• 2016, July –  “Discuss the technological advances in dermatological and reconstructive surgery that have had the greatest impact on skin cancer patients”  Joseph Jayasundera, King’s College London
• 2016, January –  “Discuss the impact of targeted molecular skin cancer therapies on dermatological surgery” Anna Ascott, Barts and The London
• 2015, July –  “How should we measure the “best” outcomes for skin cancer surgery?” Mahdi Saleh, Keele University
• 2015, January  –  “There is no need to treat any skin cancer with Mohs surgery – discuss “ Monty Lyman, University of Birmingham
• 2014  –  “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?” Joseph Colclough, University of Glasgow 2014  –  “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”  Katherine Farquhar, University of Glasgow
• 2013  – “ Skin Cancer and Vitamin D “ Verity Williams, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London.
• 2012  – “ Skin cancer surgery: who should do it and why? “ James Womersley, Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth.
• 2011  – “ Rising skin cancer incidence: current and future impact on dermatological surgery “ Sarah Gentry, University of Exeter and Plymouth College of Medicine.
• 2010  – “ The role of technology in dermatological surgery “ George Coltart, Oxford University.
• 2009  – “ What is the role of the dermatologist in the management of Skin Cancer? “ Justice Reilly, Glasgow University Medical School.
• 2008  – “ The impact of climate change on skin cancer “ Laura Thomas, Imperial College. 2008  – “ The impact of climate change on skin cancer “ Rory Honney, Oxford University.
• 2007  – “ Discuss aspects of healing in skin surgery “ Faisal Ali, Oxford University.
• 2006  – “ Surgical and emotional scars of skin cancer “ Daniel Todkill, Warwick University

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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 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 .

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Medical Council of New South Wales

Medical students

As a NSW medical student, you might be surprised to learn the NSW Medical Council already regulates your conduct and health - even before you become a doctor. So, what do we do, and when might you come in contact with us? 

First and foremost, our job as the regulator of the NSW medical profession is to protect patient safety. It is our paramount concern.

Essay competition 2023

The NSW Medical Council holds an annual short essay prize for medical students currently studying in NSW. Entry is free, with the winning entry awarded a $1500 gift card and the runner-up a $500 gift card. Winning entries are published on the Medical Council website and shared with NSW medical students and the NSW medical profession via Council newsletters and online channels. 

Essay question 2023

Research suggests many medical students and doctors in Australia do not have their own doctor. Explore the reasons behind this and the impact this might have on students /doctors and on patient care and safety. What strategies would help address this issue and why?

2023 essay winners announced!

Congratulations to Callum Fraser, a year 5 medical student from the University of Western Sydney (first prize), and Dylan Foskett a year 2 medical student from Macquarie University (runner-up).

Read Callum’s reflections on this year’s theme and his essay White coat tension – doctors and the patient role .

Read Dylan’s reflections on this year’s theme and his essay A taste of our own medicine.

Judges comments : There were a record number of entries with every NSW medical school represented. The quality of the essays was of a high standard with students exploring the solutions and barriers to self-care within the medical profession with nuance, originality and intelligence.  The judges congratulate every student who entered and who embraced and reflected on this important issue.

Read essays from our previous winners

Read entries from our essay winners and runners up  Jessie ,  Ho Yun  and  Vivien  in 2022 which explored the ethical and professional challenges that can arise for medical students and doctors when using social media.

Who are the regulators?

It can be confusing! Health practitioner laws apply nationally and  overseen by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)  and individual professional boards (such as the Medical Board of Australia). Uniquely, in New South Wales, the Medical Council of NSW and the independent NSW Health Care Complaints Commission have joint regulatory responsibility for ensuring the public is protected by responding to concerns about individual doctors practising in NSW and medical students (health and conduct) who are studying in NSW.  

As a medical student currently studying in NSW Australia, your details are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. This is facilitated by the  NSW medical school you are registered with.   

In a nutshell, the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) and the Medical Council co-regulate and manage complaints about individual medical practitioners and medical students in NSW. The HCCC also manages complaints about other health practitioners, unregistered practitioners and institutions. 

While Ahpra manages complaints in most other states, their role in NSW relates to complaints about advertisement of medical services and registering students and practitioners.  

For a more in-depth exploration of how the puzzle pieces fit together, check out our podcast on this topic or this explainer .  

What does it mean to be regulated?

It is expected that the medical profession will ensure patients’ safety and is generally held in high esteem by the public. Part of the Medical Council’s role is to ensure that this continues to be the case. Without public trust, doctors wouldn’t be able to undertake their role effectively.  

Those are the key drivers for regulating the health and conduct of medical students. You’ll be relieved to hear that no one is following you around with a clipboard grading you and that it’s not a pass/fail test. However, conduct can include issues of communication, professionalism, illicit drug taking, being drunk while working with patients, allegations of family violence and more. 

Should a complaint be made about a student’s conduct, it is reasonable to expect that the Medical Council will seek further information and take this information to a committee who may decide to: 

- take no further action  - send a letter to the student with advice  - direct the student to a conduct or counselling interview   - take urgent action against a student, that may temporarily prevent them from studying  - refer the complaint on. 

While this can be confronting to read, the numbers of complaints about medical students are extremely small. 

It is important to highlight that the Medical Council does not regulate medical students’ performance. This is entirely the remit of universities and students’ supervisors.

Is this over and above the Code of Conduct I signed at university?  

Yes. In learning to be a doctor you are required to meet certain professional responsibilities and expectations. These arise from your increasing involvement with patients, families and the wider community as your learning progresses on your way to becoming a doctor. Doctors, including student doctors, should be strongly guided by the Medical Board of Australia’s Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia.  

The importance of self-care

There’s plenty of research indicating that healthier doctors = healthier patients . Whilst many students recognise this and the importance of having their own doctor , there’s no doubt the demands on students and interns are intense. Acknowledging the culture of medicine and the importance of doctors’ health, the Medical Council spoke with Dr Leanne Rowe on how to maintain your health. In our podcast Dr Rowe provides realistic tips, doctor to doctor, that may help you avoid burnout and impairment. 

Any student or doctor who is referred to the Medical Council as a result of a notification relating to health impairment is supported around their health needs with the aim of helping them return to study and/or clinical training as soon as possible. The Medical Council is focused on helping ensure students who are impaired address and remediate any health problems so that they can continue their studies and become successful and skilled doctors in future. 

Resources: 

See our articles in our doctors' health area in the Good Practice section of our website.It includes articles on self-care, why doctors need their own doctor, burnout.

See also our recent articles on health impairment  and role of medical regulators such as the Medical Council:

Building a culture of care - separating fact from fear in mandatory notifications  

10 things you need to know about mandatory notification

Black Dog Insitute  FAQs for mandatory reporting and confidentiality

Avant has a useful guide for students and work life balance:   https://www.avant.org.au/member-benefits/doctors-health-and-wellbeing/your-health/work-life-balance/medical-student-health-priorities/    

What does mandatory reporting mean for me?

It’s no secret that medical students are typically ‘Type A’ personalities, goal focused and competitive. This also makes you more susceptible to worry (reference). So, before you listen to the rumour mill, there are a few things we would really like to clarify! 

Our sources indicate that the elephant in the room continues to be mandatory reporting. Let’s tackle that head on. Yes, there are mandatory reporting laws that mean practitioners have an obligation to make a report to the Medical Council if you are a risk to yourself or the public. However, the reality is that most students with managed health conditions will never need to be subject to such a report. Remember, less than 1% of students will come to the attention of the Medical Council for health conditions. 

This includes mental health conditions. We’re often approached with questions such as “I’m asking for a friend, but if my friend is studying medicine and takes antidepressants, do they need to be worried that their treating doctor will make a mandatory report?”. In most cases, the unequivocal answer is no.  

Many students and medical practitioners have underlying health conditions, including mental health conditions, that are well managed and do not need to be reported to the Medical Council. Generally speaking, these students engage positively and regularly with their treating practitioners and seek additional assistance rather than trying to conceal their health issues. 

There are two concerns that may trigger a mandatory notification about a student – an impairment that places the public at substantial risk of harm or concerns about sexual boundary crossing. A mandatory notification about a student must also be based upon a reasonable belief that an incident or behaviour occurred. 

What am I obliged to tell you?  Students are required by law to notify the Medical Council of NSW within seven days if they have been charged with an offence that carries 12 months or more imprisonment. This may include but isn’t limited to drink driving, breach of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) or drugs charges. Ignorance is unfortunately not a defence, so if you are charged, please contact your medical indemnity insurer or medical school for advice.  

Common pitfalls

As medical students and future doctors your activity on social media areas can have long-lasting effect. While there is no hard and fast rules health professional  regulators recognise that medical students are people too, there are guidelines in place to avoid putting yourself in a difficult position. The Medical Board of Australia’s Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct in Australia provides a good guide around many issues such as these.   

It is also important to have your own regular doctor encourage peers and colleagues to have their own doctor . If you need a doctor who may be particularly sympathetic to the demands of the profession, please visit the AMA Doctors for Colleagues page for recommendations. 

Reaching out

Do you influence the curriculum at medical school?    Strictly, no. However, we do partner with most NSW universities to deliver guest lectures on medical regulation, impairment and self-care, primarily in the first and fourth years. However, medical students are the cornerstone of the profession, and we would encourage you to raise any questions you may have about medical regulation via your MedSoc first. If they can’t answer these, please escalate them to your NSW Medical Students’ Council (NSWMSC) Executive team. And if that doesn’t get you an answer, the NSWMSC has some key contacts here at the Medical Council who can help you. 

What do I do if I get a complaint while I’m a student? 

You may find that a complaint is made about you whilst you are working as a student. It’s important to note that these complaints are rare and can only be about your conduct or health. Your clinical performance is the domain of your university.  

In the unlikely event a complaint is made, it is critical to contact your medical indemnity insurer straight away, to document the circumstances and seek their advice on your next steps. Should the complaint be received by the Medical Council, you will receive a letter outlining the details of the complaint and seeking more information. The Council will await your response before deciding what the best course of action may be. This is assessed on the risk to the public and may include placing conditions on your registration as a student.  

The Doctors’ Health Advisory Service (DHAS) are available 24/7 and are staffed by doctors who can assist, provide counselling and support during this process, but also any time in your career. 

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.

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

Shaping the invisible

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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Wylie Undergraduate Essay Prize

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• Past recipients - Environment Award

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International volunteer grant, international project grant, international e-education grant award, safe project grant funding, honours and awards, sas professional development grant, undergraduate elective funding.

• Australia case study
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Award for Innovation in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain

Thomas boulton anaesthesia history prize, trainee committee oral presentation prize, become a member.

Join this supportive and influential community and get access to a range of benefits and services

Applications for the Wylie Undergraduate Essay Medal 2024 were welcomed on the topic  How does a 'well' workforce benefit patient safety?  Essays must be written by an undergraduate medical student at a university in Great Britain or Ireland. The overall winner will receive the Wylie Medal in memory of Dr W Derek Wylie, President of the Association 1980-82.

Applications were invited from medical students studying in Great Britain and Ireland (subject to confirmation of eligibility).

• All applicants should be the sole author of their essay.
• The word limit is 1,000 words (excluding references and headings).
• Some essays may be published online or in Anaesthesia News , depending on their suitability and at the discretion of the Association. All essay submissions will be subject to a plagiarism check and the results will be considered as part of the judging process.
• All submissions will be blinded to reviewers. Author names and contact information should not be included on the submitted essay.

Deadline for submission was 23:59 on Wednesday 7 February 2024.

Submitters will be informed of the outcome of their submission in early April 2024.

Miss Jade Miller and Miss Sarah-Louise Watson were jointly awarded the 2023 Wylie Undergraduate Essay Prize for their essays entitled  How can we address the gender gap in anaesthesia, as well as medicine in general? Both essays will be published in Anaesthesia News.

You might also be interested in:

Anaesthesia news.

Read the latest news and views in the world of anaesthesia, or browse back copies.

There are a variety of grants, awards and prizes you can apply for

Representing the medical and political views

Of over 10,000 anaesthetists in the uk, ireland and internationally.

“The Doctor as a Humanist”: The Viewpoint of the Students

Conference Report and Reflection by Poposki Ognen (University Pompeu Fabra); Castillo Gualda Paula (University of Balearic Islands); Barbero Pablos Enrique (University Autonoma de Madrid); Pogosyan Mariam (Sechenov University); Yusupova Diana (Sechenov University); and Ahire Akash (Sechenov University)

The practice of Medicine as a profession has become very technical; doctors rely on fancy investigations, treatment algorithms and standardized guidelines in treating patients. In a lot of universities, medical students and residents are trained without appreciating the importance of art and the humanities in delivering good care to patients and their families. Factual knowledge is imposed on us, as students, from scientific evidence delivered by highly specialized professionals: those who know more and more about niche subjects.

As a result, when someone decides to become a doctor , it seems that scientific training is the sole priority, with most attention being given to the disease-treatment model. As medical students, we are taught very specific subjects, leaving little or no space or time for any cultural enrichment programs. And yet, Personal growth as a doctor and a human being cannot be achieved unless one is exposed to the whole range of human experience. Learning from art and artists can be one such means of gaining these enriching experiences. We can learn from historians, and from eminent painters, sculptors, and writers, as well as from great scientists. How do we achieve these ends? The following essay summarizes and reviews one attempt at providing answers. The 2nd “Doctor as a Humanist” Symposium took place at Sechenov University in Moscow from the 1 st to the 3 rd of April, 2019, to explore the holistic perspective of interpersonal treatment.

To begin our essay, we would like to clarify some key concepts, such as culture, humanism and humanities, as they were employed at the conference. Culture is a complex phenomenon that includes knowledge, beliefs, artistic production, morals, customs and skills acquired by being part of a society, which can be transmitted consciously or unconsciously, by individuals to others and through different generations.

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the cultural aspects and frailties of being human, and use methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, which distinguish them from the approaches of the natural sciences. Humanism is the practice of making the human story central. Consequently, the studies of humanities, so invested in human stories, is one aspect of practicing humanism.

Technological and practical progress in medicine has been impressive in the past fifty years. Nevertheless, patients still suffer from chronic conditions such as heart failure, chronic lung disease, depression, and many others. These are conditions where technology cannot significantly change the outcomes or reverse the underlying condition. One of the ways to alleviate suffering is through compassion and empathy where the doctor is a professional who listens to, understands and comforts the patient, as well as engaging the patient as a fellow human being. We need arts and humanities as doctors’ tools to comfort and, perhaps, even to heal. We also need them to remind us that we are ‘merely human’ ourselves, and that we share our humanity with our patients, as equals.

Unquestionably, there are fundamental requirements that every physician must internalize; the conference goal was to explain that one such requirement is the humanistic view. Opera, poetry, philosophy, history, the study of dialectics, biographical readings, and even volunteering abroad can be means of engaging the world for positive change. Sometimes called  “soft” skills, these are in fact necessary and valuable qualities to empower ourselves as persons, as well as doctors. The 2nd The Doctor as a Humanist Symposium placed the corner stone in a global project that aims to understand medicine as a multidisciplinary subject, and to establish the concept of humanistic medicine both as a science and an art where the patient and the doctor are human beings working together.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION

The event united experts in Medicine and the Humanities from all over the world. The speakers (doctors, nurses and students) were from Russia, the USA, the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Mexico and more. Each day’s program was both intense and diverse, and included plenary lectures and panel sessions. Medical students were highly involved in all parts of the conference, offering us a great chance to introduce our projects, share our opinions on various topics, and discuss our questions connected with the role of the humanities in medicine.We participated in roundtable discussions, which were chaired by experts from different countries. Even though this made us nervous, at the same time it was very important for us, as students, to be a part of it. We discussed the future of medical humanities from various perspectives, and above all our thoughts and ideas were listened to and commented on, on an equal basis with the world’s experts. For once, we could see that our views were being taken into consideration, and we hope that in the future this will be the norm and NOT the exception. We are the future of medicine, and our voices should be heard, too.

At the end of the first day there was a students’ session, where we gave our opinions on the relative importance of the medical humanities from a multicultural viewpoint, and on this particular roundtable there were students from Russia, Spain, Iran, Mexico, Italy, as well as a Nursing resident. One of the students during the session shared her view that “I would like to see medicine through the lens of humanism and empathy, and also implement all its principles in my professional life on a daily basis”. All participants agreed, and although we were representing different countries and cultures there was no disagreement about this. Even though we have not yet faced many of the obstacles of the world of medicine, we can see the role of compassion in clinical practice better perhaps than our seniors. We shared our points of view about this question and its relevance in the different countries. It was an incredible moment, as experts and professors demonstrated a great interest in our ideas.

The program was extremely diverse; however, the main idea that most speakers expressed was how to find, sustain and not lose humanist goals. Brandy Schillace gave an impressive presentation entitled “Medical Humanities today: a publisher’s perspective”, which studied the importance of writing and publishing not only clinical trials, but also papers from historians, literary scholars, sociologists, and patients with personal experiences. The nurses Pilar d’Agosto and Maria Arias made a presentation on the topic of the Nursing Perspective that is one of the main pillars of medical practice. Professor Jacek Mostwin (Johns Hopkins University) shared his thoughts on patients’ memoirs. An Italian student, Benedetta Ronchi presented the results of an interview on medical humanities posed to the participants and speakers during the symposium. The plurality of perspectives made this conference an enriching event and showed us how diverse ideas can help us become better doctors. More importantly, it reminded us of our common humanity.

A significant part of the symposium was dedicated to Medicine and Art. Prof Josep Baños and Irene Canbra Badii spoke about the portrayal of physicians in TV medical dramas during the last fifty years. The book “The role of the humanities in the teaching of medical students” was presented by these authors and then given to participants as gifts. Dr Ourania Varsou showed how Poetry can influence human senses through her own experience in communicating with patients. She believed that many of the opinions and knowledge that we have internalized should be unlearned in order to have a better understanding of the human mind. The stimulus of poetry makes this possible. Poetry allows us to find new ways to express ourselves, and thus increase our emotional intelligence and understanding of other people’s feelings.

One of the most impressive lectures was by Dr Joan.B Soriano, who spoke about “Doctors and Patients in Opera” and showed how the leading roles of physicians in opera have changed over the centuries. People used to consider the doctor as the antihero, but with time this view has transformed into a positive one that plays a huge role in history.

It is important to be professional in your medical career, but also to be passionate about the life surrounding you; for instance, Dr Soriano is also a professional baritone singer. For students, this Symposium was full of obvious and hidden messages, which gave us much lot of food for thought. As Edmund Pellegrino, the founding editor of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy , said: “Medicine is the most humane of sciences, the most empiric of arts, and the most scientific of humanities.”

CHOOSING ONE WORD

To conclude our summary of the students’ viewpoint each of us chose One word to encapsulate our thoughts about the symposium.

The Doctor as a Humanist is a multicultural event where everyone can learn and contribute to this global necessity to put the heart and soul back into medicine. Of course, we are aware and delighted that other organizations are championing the cause of the Humanities in Medicine, and in some cases, such as https://www.dur.ac.uk/imh/ , they have been doing so for many years.

As medical students, we appreciate how we have been placed at the centre of the symposium, which we believe has made this new initiative rather special. We hope that students of Medicine and from other disciplines come and participate in future symposia.

If you want to learn more, and see how you can participate, please contact the International student representatives, Mariam ( [email protected] ) and David ( [email protected] ).

Acknowledgements

Assistance provided by Jonathan McFarland (c) and Joan B. Soriano (University Autonoma de Madrid) was greatly appreciated during the planning and the development of the article.

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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]

Dermatology

Dermatology Section: Hugh Wallace Essay Prize

Submission deadline : Thursday 25 April 2024

Open to : Dermatology registrars

Prize : £250

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

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology Section: Travelling Fellowship Bursary

Submission deadline : Wednesday 1 May 2024 

Open to : British based ophthalmologists travelling abroad and foreign ophthalmologists travelling to the UK

Prize : Bursaries can be submitted up to the value of £1,000

BSHNI annual oral presentation

Submission deadline: Sunday 12 May 2024

Open to: All delegates. The presenting author should register for the meeting and  will receive a complimentary conference dinner invitation.

Paediatrics & Child Health Section: Overseas bursary

Deadline: Tuesday 28 May 2024

Open to:  RSM Paediatrics & Child Health Section members of all grades

Prize: C overs the registration fee plus a contribution of £500 towards travel and hotel costs

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

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

Student section: Tomorrow's Doctors Conference Oral Presentations 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.

Realizing the benefits of human genetics and genomics research for people everywhere.

2024 DNA Day Essay Contest Winners

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who participated. Happy DNA Day!

2024 question.

Many human diseases have a genetic component. Some diseases result from a change in a single gene or even multiple genes. Yet, many diseases are complex and stem from an interaction between genes and the environment. Environmental factors may include chemicals in the air or water, nutrition, microbes, ultraviolet radiation from the sun and social context. Provide an example of how the interplay of genetics and environment can shape human health.

2024 Winners

1st Place: Megan Xie , Grade 12 Teacher: Mrs. Margot Bram School: Lower Moreland High School Location: Huntingdon Vy, Pennsylvania

2 nd  Place: Macey Hunter , Grade 12 Teacher:  Ms. Cameron Simpkins School:  Fayetteville High School Location:  Fayetteville, Arkansas

3 rd  Place: Justin Lin , Grade 11 Teacher:  Ms. Kailin Duan School:  San Marino High School Location:  San Marino, California

Honorable Mentions

Where in the world our submissions come from:.

About the Contest

The contest aims to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on important ideas and issues related to human genetics. Competitive essays are expected to convey substantive, well-reasoned, and evidence-based arguments that demonstrate deep understanding.

Essays are evaluated through three rounds of judging, and every essay is read by a minimum of three judges. Top-scoring essays have typically been scored by a dozen or more judges.

Read the 2024 DNA Day Essay Contest Announcement  Press Release .

Questions/Comments: Contact  [email protected]

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April 24, 2024 | Lauren Woods - Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine

UConn Medical Student Wins National Research Poster Competition

Ireoluwatomiwa “Ire” Opayemi was honored at a national meeting of the American College of Physicians

UConn School of Medicine student Ire Opayemi presenting his winning research poster at the American College of Physicians national Internal Medicine Meeting.

Rising fourth-year UConn School of Medicine student Ireoluwatomiwa “Ire” Opayemi was honored by the American College of Physicians at their national Internal Medicine Meeting, held April 18-20 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, for his student-led medical research.

Opayemi’s research poster was on his “Assessment of Medical Students’ Mental Health, Perspectives, Attitudes, and Extracurricular Adaptations due to the USMLE Step 1 Exam Pass/Fail Scoring Change amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” at UConn School of Medicine.

UConn Health Family Medicine physician Dr. Adam Perrin, Faculty Co-Director of Student Affairs and director of Student Wellness at the UConn School of Medicine, served as his faculty mentor and assisted him as principal investigator (PI) for the research project.

In January 2022, the U nited States Medical Licensing Examination ® (USMLE) Step 1 transitioned from a numerical score to a pass/fail scoring system, primarily to reduce the stress associated with the exam. Opayemi’s research explored the impacts of the Step 1 P/F change and compared it to the 2021 survey. It included perspectives, attitudes, and mental health status of medical students; the modifying effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ board studying habits and confidence; and residency competitiveness.

Opayemi’s research study findings revealed a mixed response to the change with a substantial portion of students perceiving a reduction in stress. But the majority expressed increased stress due to residency application pressures. Mental health assessments showed no substantial differences between 2021 and 2023 in depression and anxiety. However, the lack of significant differences observed across different classes highlights the pervasive nature of these issues.

His study findings have already helped his fellow UConn medical students.

“This study has increased the awareness of the mental health impact of Step and has led to significant changes at the place of this study,” reports Opayemi. “This research highlights the importance of continuous attention to the mental well-being of medical students.”

“ I am very proud of Ire’s work,” says Perrin. “The subject matter explored in this project is very much reflective of his focus on the mental health of medical students. Ire is very much about advocating for his classmates, as well as his patients, for the betterment of their mental health.”

Interestingly, Opayemi is a founding member of the UConn Health chapter of Medical Minds Matter , a student-run organization “that seeks to transform the narrative of mental health in the medical field through storytelling, community-building, and grassroots advocacy efforts.” The organization is focused on dispelling the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in medical professionals.

Opayemi is currently wrapping up a year of study devoted to earning the degree of Master of Public Health. He will return to his medical school studies this summer and is on course to graduate, and officially become Dr. Opayemi, in May 2025.

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I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University is the oldest leading medical university in Russia that has become a cradle of most medical schools and scientific societies of our country. For decades it has been unofficially known as “First Med”.University success is based on a blend of glorious traditions and actual innovative approaches multiplied by a great potential of human resources. We are proud to be a unique educational, scientific and medical complex that graduates, certifies and provides lifelong professional education for physicians and other healthcare workers; that contributes significantly to the domestic and global medicine. The University is closely linked to the fundamental and applied research, highly efficient medical treatment, and propaganda of medical and pharmaceutical achievements. Our University is rich with knowledge and experience that is generously transferred to our students, to those whose mission will be to face the challenges of the 21st century in the field of medicine and people aiding, to implement new methods and technologies in healthcare.

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Twenty two students (twelve medical students, six students in Dental Medicine and four students in Pharmacy) have undergone their summer internship at the training and clinical facilities of Medical University-Varna. For two weeks interns trained at the academic and clinical facilities, under the direct supervision and guidance of leading professors in their respective fields. Summer…

Our delegation of the Department of Preventive and Emergency Cardiology under the Institute of Vocational Education has participated in three major international events: Second Sino-Russian Conference of Young Scientists on Heart Diseases, Eighth Sino-Russian Conference on Medicine and Pharmacology, Sixth Sino-Russian Conference on Heart Disease in the Cold Climatic Zone. Sechenov First MSMU researchers were…

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Founded in 1958 in Moscow, the International Tchaikovsky Competition is held every four years.

Since 2011, the Competition is held in two cities: Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It aims to highlight the most promising talents in the fields of the piano, violin, cello (since 1962) and voice (since 1966).

Past prizewinners include the pianists Van Cliburn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Grigory Sokolov, Mikhail Pletnev, Boris Berezovsky, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, and Daniil Trifonov; violinists Viktor Tretiakov, Gidon Kremer, Viktoria Mullova, and Akiko Suwanai; cellists Natalia Gutman, Mischa Maisky, David Geringas, Boris Pergamenschikov, Antônio Meneses, Ivan Monighetti, and Alexander Kniazev; and singers Deborah Voigt, Paata Burchuladze, Evgeny Nikitin, Mikhail Kazakov, and Jong Min Park.

The 2015 Competition (the 15th since 1958) will take place from June 15 to July 3. It is "a milestone year that could well be a musical Olympics," said Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation. This year's Competition is dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the great Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Visit the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition's official website .

Photos: The city of Moscow, where the piano and violin competitions are held (top) and a view on Moyka river from Nevskiy prospect in Saint Petersburg, where the cello and voice competitions are held (bottom).

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Knox County students honored for winning statewide contest

K NOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett honored two Knox County students for winning the statewide 2023 civics essay contest.

The contest was open to public, private, charter or homeschoolers in Grades K through 12. Two essays from each school and each grade level were submitted featuring the theme ‘Why Civility Matters.’

“Congratulations to Jasmine Smith and Nancy Claire Johnson on their first and third-place finishes in the 2023 Civics Essay Contest,” said Secretary Hargett. “They demonstrate the future of our great state is bright.”

Smith, a student from Knoxville Montessori School, placed first in the sixth to eighth grade category. Johnson, a student from Farragut Intermediate School, placed third in the third through fifth grade category.

The students visited the state capitol on March 21 to receive their awards. Both also earned TNStars 529 College Savings Program scholarships.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.

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Open International Competition for the architectural and artistic design of stations on two new branches of the Moscow Metro

Submission: May 21, 2020 Registration: May 21, 2020 Language: English Location: Concept Prizes: Please see details below Type: Open   On April 15, 2020, an Open International Competition was launched for the architectural and artistic design of stations on two new branches of the Moscow Metro – “Prospekt Marshala Zhukova” on the Rublevo-Arkhangelskaya Line, and