Valuable prize up for grabs for medical students
Medical students can win a £300 prize by creating a teaching session about speaking up and raising concerns, in a competition run by the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Medical Schools Council (MSC).
The fourth annual professionalism competition invites students from across the UK to create a teaching session on speaking up and raising concerns, a key part of the two organisations’ joint guidance: Achieving good medical practice.
Phil Martin, the GMC’s Assistant Director of Education Policy, said:
‘Speaking up about concerns, whether about patient safety, a colleague’s behaviour, or your own health and wellbeing, is an important part of being a doctor. But we know it isn’t easy.
‘That’s why we’ve chosen speaking up as the theme of this year’s professionalism competition to encourage students to think about and demonstrate an understanding of this important subject.’
"Speaking up about concerns, whether about patient safety, a colleague's behaviour, or your own health and wellbeing, is an important part of being a doctor. But we know it isn't easy."
Phil Martin
Assistant Director of Education Policy
The winner of the competition will receive £300 in shopping vouchers as well as the opportunity to present their session at a medical education conference. Their winning session will also be shared with all UK medical schools as a teaching resource.
Last year Hattie Greig, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Dundee, claimed first prize with a ‘Trip Advisor’ inspired workshop aimed at helping doctors reflect on how they practise medicine.
This year’s entrants are asked to focus their session around at least one of three themes: Patient safety issues on placement, unprofessional behaviour of peers and health care professionals, and health and wellbeing of peers and health care professionals.
Clare Owen, Assistant Director for the Medical Schools Council, said:
‘Experienced professionals can find raising concerns difficult and students can find it even more difficult as they are often not a formal part of clinical teams. This why it is important for them to learn ways of tackling the issue whilst still studying and where they can access support from their medical school.
‘We have every confidence that medical students will rise to the challenge of creating sessions to educate their peers about this difficult area of professional practice. Every year we are impressed by the quality of entries and the creativity and insight students bring to the task.’
The competition runs until 20 September 2019. Eligible medical students must send their final submissions to student@gmc-uk.org. The full competition details and how to enter.
