General Adult prizes and bursaries
Prizes
The poster prize winner will receive £150.
Three shortlisted applicants will be selected for oral presentation and will receive free registration at our Faculty conference for the day on which they make their presentation. In addition, the winner will receive £150.
How often?
Annually
Who can enter?
All psychiatrists in training grades and consultants in their first year of practice.
Where will it be presented?
Faculty Annual Conference (usually held in October)
Rules
- The prize is awarded on the basis of originality and relevance to general adult psychiatry of submissions for poster presentations and a short oral presentation to the judging panel
- The judging panel will consist of the Faculty Academic Secretary and other elected members of the Faculty Executive.
Closing date
The submission closing date for 2024 will be updated soon.
Submissions
2024
Oral presentation
Wiiner – Dr Shahnila Sohail for The experience of International Medical Graduates at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust: a Quality Improvement project
Poster presentaton:
Winner – Dr Sanah Ghafoor for Establishing a Core Psychiatry Trainee Committee within Leicestershire Partnership Trust
2023
Oral presentation:
Winner – Dr Joanne Zhi Qiao Hew for Evaluation of the new medical assistant role in Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust (CNTW)
Poster presentation:
Winner – Dr Joanne Rodda for Systematic review of the use of virtual and augmented reality in undergraduate psychiatric education
2022
Oral presentation:
Winner – Dr Nicole Needham for The acceptability and feasibility of sexual health screening in psychiatry inpatients
Poster presentation:
Winner – Dr Will Marsh for Understanding and improving psychiatric trainee experience and confidence with regards giving evidence to Mental Health Tribunals: a quality improvement project
2021
Oral presentation:
Joint Winners – Dr Gabriela Di Scenza for Analysis of penetrating neck injuries at a South London Trauma Centre before and after the first national lockdown
Dr Tobias Rowland for Implementation of a MOSAIC (Multidisciplinary One Stop Assessment and Intervention Clinic) within a Home Treatment Team
Poster presentation:
Winner – Dr Pranav Mahajan for Food for thought: highlighting the importance of weight and nutrition in patients under the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service in Sheffield
Prize
Winner
£250 plus two days’ free registration at our conference plus one night's accommodation, and standard advance travel within the UK if the conference is face to face (receipts required).
Two runners-up
(Awarded at judges’ discretion): two days’ free registration, plus one night's accommodation, and standard advance travel if the conference is face to face.
The conference prize package is for the year in which the prize is awarded and cannot be carried over.
Who can enter
All clinical medical students in the United Kingdom.
Where presented
Our Faculty residential meeting.
Rules
- The format of the prize will be an essay of up to 3,000 words (excluding references) on a subject set by the Faculty each year.
- Please use double-spacing and font at 12 pt
- Marking will be based on content, presentation and scientific merit. Criteria for judging will include clarity of expression, understanding of the literature and evidence, cogency of argument and overall ability to convey enthusiasm and originality within a set word limit
- Entries will be shortlisted and judged by a panel appointed by our Executive Committee. Should a minimum standard not be achieved, prizes may not be awarded
- The winning essay will be published on our website.
Essay title
The essay title for 2025 is "Social Media and Psychiatry: Friend or Foe? Evaluating the impact of social media on mental health and its implications for psychiatric practice."
Closing date
11.59 Sunday 2 March 2025
Submission
Please email your essay, and a 250-word summary.
2024
Winner – Louise Osborne for The Future of Psychiatry in a Digital World
2023
Winner – Catriona McVey for Neurodiversity in doctors and its impact on their profession
2022
Not awarded
2021
Winner – James Nicolson for Psychiatrist: brain, mind or soul doctor?
2020
Winner – Muhammad Shaikh for Without Social Psychiatry, there is no Psychiatry
Background
Oliver Middlemiss suffered from a crippling and disabling form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He was bright, able and many of the people who worked with him and knew him well were deeply surprised when he took his own life in July 2019. Only those closest to him knew of his suffering. Oliver was committed to his recovery and to making a difference to other OCD sufferers, especially those who had lost hope. To this end and in his name, the family and friends of the late Oliver Middlemiss have introduced a prize to encourage interest and to raise awareness of OCD amongst clinicians and researchers by rewarding a piece of work on OCD.
Prize
The winner will receive £350 and may have the opportunity to present their work at one of the seminars run by the Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCARD) Network.
How often
Annually. The outcome will be announced in December each year.
Who can enter
Anyone submitting a poster relating to OCD to the General Adult Faculty Annual Conference or the RCPsych International Congress whose work is accepted for presentation.
Rules
The scope of the prize would include all clinical or research posters on the topic of OCD.
The work could draw from multiple data sources, including medical research, anecdotal evidence and media representations.
A shortlist of 3-5 posters will be made for the final award.
The work will be judged by a prize panel comprising of 1-2 members of the OCARD Network; an OCD researcher; a close relative of Oliver Middlemiss and an OCD patient.
Finalists will be asked to allow their research to be referenced on a website.
Closing date and submissions
Check our annual faculty conference (see our News, reports, and resources page) and International Congress pages for relevant documentation.