Prizes and bursaries

Prize

Three shortlisted applicants will be given free registration at our Faculty conference for the day on which they make their presentation.

In addition, the winner will receive £250.

How often

Annually

Who can enter

All psychiatrists in training grades and consultants in their first year of practice.

Where presented

Faculty/CTC Residential Meeting (usually held in October)

Rules

  • The prize is awarded on the basis of originality and relevance to general and community psychiatry of submissions for poster presentations and a short oral presentation to the judging panel
  • Applications will be invited at least three months before the annual residential meeting via a faculty mailing; the prize will also be advertised in the Faculty newsletter
  • The top three shortlisted applicants will be asked to make an oral presentation to the Faculty Residential meeting, and will be advised approximately two weeks before the meeting. The prizewinner will be expected to provide a summary article for the Faculty newsletter and the full text of the poster presentation for inclusion on the Faculty web page
  • The judging panel will consist of the Faculty Academic Secretary and two other elected members of the Faculty Executive.

Closing date

Check conference documentation each year.

Submissions 

Please email our conference office.

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

2020

Oral presentation:

Not awarded

Poster presentation:

Winner – Dr George Gillett for Identifying digital communication markers of depression in borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and healthy control populations

2019

Oral presentation:

Winner – Dr Giorgianna Passerello for Using Twitter to assess attitudes to schizophrenia and psychosis

Poster presentation:

Winner – Ms Ella Tumelty for Alpha & Beta Oscillatory Activity and its association with Working Memory performance in Schizophrenia

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 2023 is 'Neurodiversity in doctors and its impact on their profession'.

Closing date

11.59pm on Sunday 26 February 2023

Submission

Please email your essay, and a 250-word summary.

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

2019

Winner – Praveen Somarathne for Courage is a key quality for a general adult psychiatrist

2018

Winner – Joshua Breedon for Is diagnosis dead? Discuss

Since 2013 a small number of projects have been granted up to £2,000 annually by the Faculty to recognise and promote the work of its members. 

The projects that the Faculty funds will be aligned with one of the following priority areas:

  • capacity and demand in community teams
  • hidden waiting lists in community teams
  • co-production
  • health disparities and inequalities e.g. for Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups
  • social psychiatry – prevention, relational practice and resilience
  • COVID-19 and its impact on general adult patients

Key criteria

All entries will be scored under the following headings:

  • method(s) and timescale(s) for the project
  • description of the ways in which the project aligns with the Faculty’s priorities
  • description of the project outcomes reporting
  • description of the ways in which the project will develop in the future and how any learning will be disseminated

Submission

Submissions will be by application form

Successful applicants may be invited to present a poster at our annual conference or submit an article for our newsletter.

You will also be required to submit a 1,000 word report within six months of the end date of the project.

If you require any additional information, please email us.

Closing date

Sunday 18 April 2021

2019

Name(s)

Project title

AkanumaThe art of nonverbal communication skills for mental health practitioners
BennettQualitative study: Have Foundation doctors found that their rotation in psychiatry has affected their development as doctors?  In what way?
Dale & FinamorePatterns and Costs of Health and Social Care Service Use by People with Severe Personality Disorders in Core Adult Mental Health Services
Evans et alA different perspective: using interactive virtual reality for Psychiatry training
Fitch et al“JudgeMental”; Mental Health Teaching in Secondary Schools delivered by Psychiatrists
Hughes et alLiverpool Psychiatry Summer School 2019
Kar & BarretoMetabolic syndrome in patients treated with antipsychotics: Exploring associated modifiable risk factors
Khan & SamiBridging the divide – screening for cognitive and psychiatric deficits in the neuroinflammatory disorders
Singh & LovejoySupporting the recovery of individuals under psychiatric care via public musical performance and curation of an arts-in-mental-health community
Townsend et alAssessing consistency and temporal evolution of psychopathological features in NMDA receptor-antibody encephalitis
Wisdom & SmithThe Breakfast Club

2017 & 2018

Name(s)

Project title

AbidIntegrating web-based technology to improve psychotherapy outcomes – a pilot study
BrownRelationship between reported childhood adversity and current glucocorticoid function in young people
Chopra and LawtonImproving the experience of patients and carers attending mental health tribunals in Scotland
Christodoulou and Au-YongThe effect of targeted education on the attitudes of hospital-based doctors towards psychiatry
Cooper and AguirreEvaluating the effect of brain food groups on people with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia: a preliminary mixed methodology study
Crimlisk et alFlourishing through your psychiatry undergraduate experiences
Croxford and LivingstoneOpen Dialogue: Design, implementation, and evaluation of an introductory pilot team training in the Haringey Psychosis Service, October 2016 - October 2017
Cunliffe et alConnected worlds: a video project introducing undergraduate students to creative therapeutic approaches and patient narratives on mental health
Dave et alQualitative study to explore the organisational practices associated with high rates of Clozapine prescribing in treatment-resistant schizophrenia in England
Dave, Bridgwood and WalkerIdentifying Indicators of a successful smoking cessation programme in community mental health services
JebreelDevelopment and evaluation of a recently established Balint Group for foundation trainees in an acute hospital setting: Impact on career choice
Lakin et alThe Mind Project (provisional title); producing fivc short documentaries looking at the physiology and effects on quality of life of five different mental health conditions and assessing viewer feedback.
Lister et alImproving training for core trainees in completing Suicide Risk Assessment and Management (SRAM)
ManleyHow and why are student perceptions of psychiatry influenced by the psychiatry placement at medical school? A qualitative study.
Mariner et alPeer Mentoring Service: Measuring the impact of peer mentorship on trainee experience and satisfaction.
Nirodi et alIntroduction of ‘bite-sized’ reciprocal health teaching on a mixed hospital site
PatelPsychEd: Student to psychiatrist in 60 minutes.
PerryDysglycaemia, inflammation and psychosis: Examining the interplay using a large UK birth cohort
Phillipson and TalukdarDevelopment of a polygene score predictive of weight gain in first episode psychosis.
Rajkumar et alLeadership styles used by mental health and acute hospital trusts consultants in East Midlands
Rigby et alPsychiatry ‘Boot Camp’ for doctors new to the NHS, new to psychiatry or those returning to practice.
Ryland et alCollaborative UK and European psychotherapy training project
SinghatehPilot workshop series: The use of applied drama techniques to improve communication and consultation skills
Smith and Mynors-WallisImproving quality of care for people living with bipolar disorder in Poole
Stokes et alDeveloping consensus criteria and treatment suggestions for multi therapy resistant bipolar depression (MTR-BD)
Tandon and WorwoodMulti-disciplinary team communication skills using simulated-learning

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 annual faculty conference and International Congress documentation each year.

Read more to receive further information regarding a career in psychiatry