Winners & Entries

- Dr Remi-Adele Kaz, Highly Commended Entry of the Junior Doctor Prize   To answer this question, I have chosen to create a self-portrait. The 4 women that I am sitting with are an amalgamation of the hundreds of women doctors who have invested their time in me throughout my medical training so far to shape me into the doctor that I am today. These include women with chronic health conditions, who are pregnant or breastfeeding,and BAME women. They represent women doctors of all sexualities ...

"The Healing Force: Women Doctors as the Solution to the NHS Workforce Crisis" By Dr Aarushi Dadhich, Winner of the Junior Doctor Prize In the heart of a bustling hospital, amidst the rhythmic hum of machinery and the hushed voices of patients, there lies a formidable force of healing – women doctors. They are the unsung heroes, the silent champions who stand at the forefront of the battle against the relentless NHS workforce crisis. In their white coats and stethoscopes, they represent not ...

Why women doctors are the solution to the NHS workforce crisis Dr Anupriya George Pandeth, Highly Commended Entry for the Junior Doctor Prize To the uninitiated, this would be yet another warm, humid night in August. But as I prepare to enter the belly of the beast, I am a mess of thoughts and feelings. I am almost ready to turn around, to give in to my fear and leave. Oblivious to my struggle, the beast stands before me, ready to swallow me whole. In the discomforting calm of the night, I ...

Why women doctors are the solution to the NHS workforce crisis ‘Why women doctors are the solution to the NHS workforce crisis' Dr Ramsha Nabeel, Highly Commended Entry of the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2023     In a dire time of need Less doctors around to be seen Comes a time for action For more women doctors, a vital faction   Compassionate, gentle and oh so keen So much potential, it's time to be seen The time has come to chase Their skills, their brilliance we must embrace   In ...

Was, is and will Medicine be sustainable? - Elizabeth Humberstone After taking a history and examining the patient in Bed 2, I take off my gloves and plastic apron, and throw them into the clinical waste bin. From there, they’ll be incinerated. It’s a simple act, and one I repeat many times as a medical student on the wards. Yet even the smallest medical interventions have a drastic environmental impact. A single full blood count, for example, has been estimated to produce the same mean CO2 ...

Was, Is and Will Medicine be Sustainable - Japjee Parmar “It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness.” [1] I chose to begin with this ode to ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ owing to how eloquently its title works as an allegory to sustainability, especially in the context of healthcare. Two cities, one in the present and one in the past. One harbouring the developed nations, one the developing ones. Two cities, distant yet not ...

‘During the cost of living crisis, how can medical students best manage their money?’ - Aisha Jan Whilst there may be more significant topics of discussion in Medicine, I choose to talk about the struggles of a medical student. Rarely are we given the opportunity to write about how we can improve the daily lives of our colleagues or discuss the financial challenges they may be facing. The aim of this essay is to consider the psychosocial importance of finances before giving practical advice to ...

During the Cost-of-living Crisis, how can medical students best manage their money? - Lani Robinson The cost-of-living crisis presents an immense threat to health and wellbeing, which medical students are not immune to. This question erroneously assumes that (1) there is a one-size-fits-all solution to financial hardship experienced by medical students and (2) economising presents a modifiable way to mitigate the impact of this crisis. This not only unfairly assigns personal responsibility ...

‘Whole Person Care?’ Dr Rosie Cleere -  Winner of the Prose entries of the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2022 To any passer-by, my father had become an empty shell. His flesh seemed to slide from his bones and his eyes retracted into small pools of purple. His once luscious curls seem to limp across his forehead. Every element of his surrounding felt languid too, hot and dense with the smells of cleaning products and stale gravy. There is a strange pathetic fallacy to hospitals, how the corridors ...

Perspective   Highly Commended Prose Entry Winner for the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2022 By Daisy Jefferies You wouldn’t understand the problem is medically complex and the latest research tells us the best treatment option so don’t keep telling me that it is impossible to sleep on the ward and the dog is home alone and the wedding is next week and family are worried and the pain is awful There are more important things to think about (now read from bottom to ...

        Dr Reiltin Tynan -  Winning Artistic Entry  of the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2022 'Whole Person Care?' He will not see the daybreak, Nor will his kin hold his hand; But his journey down the river Styx, Will be watched closely from the land. His monitors will announce his flight, The doctor summoned to his side; His chest will rise and fall one last time His final heartbeat softly amplified.  He won’t be held closely, or embraced, No window opened for his soul to ...

        Highly Commended Artistic Entry Winner for the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2022 'Whole Person Care?' By Sarah Sillito ‘More Than A Foot’ A completely edible ischaemic-looking foot made with a lemon Madeira sponge, iced with marzipan and fondant icing, airbrushed colouring and marzipan toenails. ‘Isn’t it just a lot of horrible feet and amputations?’ A slight look of horror crosses most faces when I tell people I want to be a vascular surgeon. As one of the smallest surgical ...

      Wonder wov(m)en, 2019, Acrylic on canvas Highly Commended Artistic Entry Winner for the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2022 ' Whole Person Care?'   By  Ann Gupta   Medicine is more than treatment; it is healing. In the spirit of 'Whole person care', the principal theme of this painting is Convalescence – an opening towards healing and hope. In the first half of the canvas, the blue represents the state of melancholy of a mother who has lost her child. I leave out her eyes to capture ...

  “The Elephant in the Office: Challenges faced by Women of colour in the workforce and how to tackle them”                                                                                                                    Essay by Kah Yann Cheah                                                                                                                       The term “girlboss” surfaced in the early 2010s, beginning as a slogan to empower women to achieve their career goals. The ...

Women are advancing in the workforce, yet unique challenges are faced by various communities. What are the challenges faced by women of colour and how can we tackle these? Essay by Felon Mahrous Hospital dress policies vs. the hijab: the best of both worlds There is no doubt that women in the healthcare profession are overcoming the gender hierarchy and flourishing in their medical careers, however, not all women are advancing in the workforce at the same pace. From medical students to ...

    COVID-19 has thrown a stark light on inequalities in healthcare. What are the challenges that we face and how can we tackle these to move towards a more diverse and inclusive society, that is fit for the future?   Essay by Adaeze Chikwe  The COVID-19 pandemic was a harrowing time for many worldwide, and we are still seeing the devastating effects of the pandemic to this very day. It was this chaotic and catastrophic environment that highlighted the already present health inequalities ...

COVID-19 has thrown a stark light on inequalities in healthcare. What are the challenges that we face and how can we tackle these to move towards a more diverse and inclusive society, that is fit for the future? Essay by Sylvia Manimaran  “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." - Martin Luther King (March 1966) The COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years has seen the pre-existing healthcare inequalities embedded in society further ...

                Artistic Winner of the MWF Junior Doctor Prize 2021 by Afra Jiwa    This piece was created on a tablet, as this is the new normal! It depicts six different characters each having been affected by the pandemic. The scenes show them sharing their feelings and concerns about returning to ‘normal’.  Each of the characters have similarities and differences; they span differences in gender, age, race, class, religion and disability. Comparing the scenes is intended to highlight ...

Conversations Across the Table by Emma Wauchope   So, you want to do surgery, that’s great, good for you. The world is your oyster, you can do anything you choose to do With that confidence in your heart and the fire in your eyes. Have you sought some advice from those already on the rise? What are your aspirations, which specialities have you thought through? I’m doing ENT, so my fiancé can have a career in ortho too. I picked something supportive for when I want to have a baby, ...

                      Who Runs the World? by Beth Holmes    In January 2020 I was in the middle of my first year of medical school, grappling with anatomy, histology and physiology. Little did I know that a viral pandemic was gathering pace around the world that was going to change my life and those of millions of others. Two months later and I was starting my first shift as a heathcare assistant in a local emergency department. My university course had been suspended, so, keen to get ...

COVID: Lessons for me, lessons for the world  by Kethaki Prathivadi Bhayankaram  “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations These words of the great Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius feel particularly relevant for the current situation. With the announcement of the first national lockdown in March 2020, we entered a period of uncertainty, in terms of understanding a new disease that has spread worldwide as well ...

Junior Doctor Prize 2020 - Artistic Winner  by Dr Victoria Evans       It feels pertinent to celebrate the BAME NHS workforce, who have been one of the hardest-hit by the covid-19 outbreak, whilst also suffering the more insidious pandemic of systemic racism, both inside and outside the workplace. There have been multiple reported incidences of racial profiling in the UK. In America, police brutality has recently been described as one of the leading causes of death in young black males, ...

    Junior Doctor Prize 2020  - Prose Winner  by Dr Alaa ...

‘What are the healthcare inequalities faced by the LGBTQ+ community and how can we help address these?’ by Eleanor Murray,  Medical Student , University of Shefflield     “Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.” – Barbara Gittings The NHS principle that ‘Everyone Counts’ is written into the constitution to protect minority groups from discrimination during their interaction with the health service. ...

Junior Doctor Prize 2019 - Artistic Winner  by Dr Kirsten Sellick      The 'Invisible Women': Gender bias in medicine through a patient's lens  Vision of Luxury – Synopsis: I have sculptured my very own vision of luxury; a striking female figure standing proud, adorned in beautiful clothing created only of genuine luxury materials. While this statement may appear to be in jest given the objects used for my conception, it is true that tampons, pads, and other menstruation products are ...

Junior Doctor Prize 2019 - Prose Winner  by Dr Rebecca ...

- Winner: Amelle Ra, Medical Student, University of Liverpool “I believe most conscientiously and thoroughly that women as a body are sexually, constitutionally and mentally unfit for the hard-incessant toil, and for the heavy responsibilities of general surgical practice. At the same time, I believe as thoroughly that there is a branch of our profession – midwifery – to which they might be admitted in a subordinate position as a rule.”1 - Dr Bennett, the Lancet, 1870 With the Lancet ...

The BBC comedy sitcom ‘upstart crow’ depicts a young Shakespeare at the beginning of his career, struggling to establish himself in Elizabethan England’s theatre scene. In the pilot episode the script for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ nears completion, yet the playwright struggles to find a suitable male actor to play Juliet in the first performance. Kate – the daughter of Shakespeare’s landlord and an aspiring actress – offers an alternative to the norm by playing Juliet herself: Kate: ...