Medical Student Essay Competition
Submissions for the 2025 Competition will be open between 12th December 2024 - 12noon on 24th February 2025
Medical students are invited to submit a 1500-word essay for the competition on the following title:
"Is it now time to introduce a national prostate screening programme in the UK?"
Read the Guidance Notes
Word limit: 1500, excluding title, abstract (no more than 200 words) and references. The word count includes words used in figures & figure captions, tables, appendices, footers and in-text citations. It is important to read the for full information on the format of the essay. Essays may not be accepted if they do not meet the required form
Students must be undergraduates enrolled at a medical school in either England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland on the closing date. Entries from students attending a medical school in overseas countries will not be eligible. The author of the essay judged to be the most outstanding in each medical school will receive a prize certificate and will be entered into the national competition.
The prize for the winner of the national competition is £750 with £500 for the runner-up. The national winner and runner-up will be presented with their certificates at the BAUS Annual Scientific Meeting, and BAUS will give them guest registration for the conference.
2024 Competition - National Winner & Runner-up
The 2024 Medical Student Essay competition was entitled:
What is the role of Artificial Intelligence in Urology at present and what does the future hold?
... and was organised by Mr Ben Ayres, St George's Hospital, London
Winner: Ranya Kumar from University of Cambridge
Runner-up: Srishti Rentala Venkata from University of Oxford
2023 Competition - National Winner & Runner-up
The 2023 Medical Student Essay competition was entitled:
What steps can be taken in urology to recover from the COVID pandemic? How do we address health inequalities exposed by the pandemic? How do we promote good urological health?
... and was organised by Mr Ben Ayres, St George's Hospital, London.
Winner: Grace Olatunde from Aston Medical School, Birmingham.
Runner-up: Ken Mackay from University of Aberdeen
Due to the reduced number of entries this year, no list of regional winnners is supplied
2022 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2022 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled:
The healthcare sector generates about 8% of our greenhouse gases, with much coming from the operating theatre. What steps can urology as a specialty take to become more sustainable?
... and was organised by Mr Ben Ayres, St George's Hospital, London.
National Winners
Winner: Amelia Crew (below left) from University of Leicester Medical School
Runner-up: Chirag Rao (below right) from University College London Medical School
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
Amelia Crew ** (Winner) |
Leicester |
| East of England |
Mohammad Tanzil Rujeedawa
Sophia Louise Barry
Elizabeth Alarcon-Clark |
Cambridge
Anglia Ruskin
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Kate Eustace |
Dublin |
| London North |
Chiragh Rao * (Runner-up)
Bing Jie Chow |
University College London
Barts & The Royal London |
| London South |
Toby David Lauffer
Miłosz Hubert Wojtowicz |
Kings
St Georges |
| North East |
No award(s) made for 2022 |
|
| North West |
Alexander Lockie |
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
No award(s) made for 2022 |
|
| Scotland East |
Albana Krasniqi
Sirindhra Suepiantham |
Aberdeen
Edinburgh |
| Scotland West |
Rebecca Coltart |
Glasgow |
| South Central |
Roshan Karthikappallil
Calvin De Louche |
Oxford
Southampton |
| South East Coast |
Nidhi Vivek |
Brighton & Sussex |
| South West |
Joshua Drinkwater |
Bristol |
| Wales |
Shie Wei Chan |
Cardiff |
| West Midlands |
No award(s) made for 2022 |
|
| Yorks & Humber |
Eleanor Claire Mary Hills |
Sheffield |
2021 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2021 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled:
How has COVID-19 changed undergraduate Urology teaching? What innovations have been most successful? Has anything been lost?
... and was organised by Mr Ben Ayres, St George's Hospital, London.
National Winners
National Winner: Lucinda Motie from University College London Medical School
Runner-up: Emily Finbow from University of Sheffield Medical School
Highly Commended: Papakas Wijeyendram from University of Southampton Medical School & Lavesh Mirpuri from Leeds School of Medicine
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
No award(s) made for 2021 |
|
| East of England |
Chien Lin Soh
Gabija Klyvyte |
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Richard Walsh
Hayley Power |
University College Dublin
University College Limerick |
| London North |
Pieter Jan Eyskens
Lucinda Mottie *** (Winner) |
Barts & The Royal London
University College London |
| London South |
Pinky Kotecha |
King's College |
| North East |
Anna Ainsworth |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Conor Gillespie |
Liverpool |
| Northern Ireland |
No award(s) made for 2021 |
|
| Scotland East |
Nikhil Agarwal |
Aberdeen |
| Scotland West |
No award(s) made for 2021 |
|
| South Central |
Papakas Wijeyendram * (Highly commended) |
Southampton |
| South East Coast |
No award(s) made for 2021 |
|
| South West |
Emira Mahrin
Harrison Boult |
Bristol
Peninsula (Exeter & Plymouth) |
| Wales |
Arouba Imtiaz
Naomi Nandra |
Cardiff
Swansea |
| West Midlands |
Anushka Shanmugarajah |
Birmingham |
| Yorks & Humber |
Lavesh Mirpuri * (Highly commended)
Emily Finbow ** (Runner-up) |
Leeds
Sheffield |
2020 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2020 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled:
How should urological undergraduate education be best delivered in an expanding and busy undergraduate curriculum?
... and was organised by Mr Toby Page (Newcastle).
National Winners
National Winner: Fortis Gaba from the University of Edinburgh Medical School
Runner-up: Natasha Alford from University of Bristol Medical School
Highly Commended: Akshay Narayan from University College London Medical School
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
Kevin Ko
Yasmin King |
Leicester
Nottingham |
| East of England |
Pat Lok
Jenny Cao
Omar Ali |
Anglia Ruskin
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Peggy Miller
Rachel Lai Fat Fur
Donnchadh Walsh |
Galway
RCSI
University College Dublin |
| London North |
Alex Deighton
Amar Rai
Akshay Narayan * (Highly-commended) |
Barts & The Royal London
Imperial College London
University College London |
| London South |
Emilia Shingleton
Mark Thomas |
King's College
St George's |
| North East |
Jordan Ng Cheong Chung |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Victoria Porter
Fayaz Elsawy |
Lancaster
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
Megan McConnell |
Queen's University Belfast |
| Scotland East |
Fortis Gaba *** (Winner)
Alexsabdra Skroban |
Edinburgh
St Andrews |
| Scotland West |
Omar Salim |
Glasgow |
| South Central |
Ebtehal Moussa
Sam Sussmes |
Buckingham
Oxford |
| South East Coast |
Theresa Chadehumbe |
Brighton & Sussex |
| South West |
Natasha Alford ** (Runner-up)
Muntasha Quddus
Richard Molyneux |
Bristol
Peninsula (Exeter)
Peninsula (Plymouth) |
| Wales |
Ellen Davies
Jonathan Kirk |
Cardiff
Swansea |
| West Midlands |
Yasmin Nikookam
Connor Henry-Blake
Hannah Blades |
Birmingham
Stafford
Warwick |
| Yorks & Humber |
Rebecca Williams
Dhikishitha Nagara
Nithin Balasubramanian |
Hull/York
Leeds
Sheffield |
2019 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2019 Medical Student Assay Competition was entitled ...
Is there a role for kidney cancer screening on the NHS?
... and was organised by Mr Toby Page (Newcastle).
National Winner & Runner-up
The 2019 winner was Kiran Saini (below left, Oxford University School of Medicine, and the runner-up was Shashwat Singh (below right, University of Edinburgh.
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
Joher Rashid
Yasmin King |
Leicester
Nottingham |
| East of England |
Gus Rottenberg
Juliet Coutts |
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Engracia Yap
Ahmad Kareem Aly
Johnny Thornton |
RCSI
University College Dublin
Limerick |
| London North |
Thomas Fisher
Usama Ali
Tobi Rotimi |
Barts & The Royal London
Imperial College London
University College London |
| London South |
Alexandros Sklavounas
Mark Thomas |
King's College
St George's |
| North East |
Kimberley McDonald |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Katie Cheung
Shannon Jordan
Ellen Waller |
Lancaster
Liverpool
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
Nicola Melarkey |
Queen's University Belfast |
| Scotland East |
Joanne Martin
Shashwat Singh ** (Runner-up) |
Aberdeen
Edinburgh |
| Scotland West |
No award(s) made for 2019 |
|
| South Central |
Kiran Saini *** (Winner)
Charlotte Woodward |
Oxford
Southampton |
| South East Coast |
Nidhii Desai |
Brighton & Sussex |
| South West |
Lee Keng Siang
Rhianedd Preece |
Bristol
Peninsula (Exeter/Plymouth) |
| Wales |
Fizah Nadiah Dato Mohd Hamid
Bethan Carter |
Cardiff
Swansea |
| West Midlands |
Adam Sinker |
Warwick |
| Yorks & Humber |
Krishnanth Ganesan |
Sheffield |
Charlotte Woodward
(Southampton)
Thomas Fisher
(Barts & Royal London)
Krishanth Ganesan
(Sheffield)
Usama Ali
(Imperial College)
2018 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2018 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
How can UK urologists justify the expense of using the latest technology within a nationally funded health system?"
... and was organised by Mr Toby Page (Newcastle).
National Winners
Sacha Moore, University of Southampton Medical School and Mikolaj Kowal, University of Manchester School of Medicine (pictures to follow).
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
No award(s) for 2018 |
|
| East of England |
Kevin Soon Hwee Teo
Caolan Stowe |
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
No award(s) made for 2018 |
|
| London North |
Nikhil Mayor
Norbert Banhidy |
Barts & The Royal London
Imperial College London |
| London South |
Alexander Light |
King's College London |
| North East |
Ellen Louise Meredith |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Arunchalam Soma
Kursheed Khan
Mikolaj Kowal *** (Winner) |
Lancaster
Liverpool
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
Leila Rezvani |
Queen's University Belfast |
| Scotland East |
Georgios Kounidas
Thinekrishna Anbarasan |
Aberdee
Dundee |
| Scotland West |
Gladys Lou |
Glasgow |
| South Central |
Ebtehal Moussa
Nithesh Raanasinha
Sacha Moore *** (Winner) |
Buckingham
Oxford
Southampton |
| South East Coast |
Willie-Henri Quah |
Brighton & Sussex |
| South West |
Jasmesh Sandhu
Ahmed Chowdhury |
Bristol
Peninsula (Exeter/Plymouth) |
| Wales |
Megan Simpkins
Loukas Kouzaris |
Cardiff
Swansea |
| West Midlands |
No award(s) made for 2018 |
|
| Yorks & Humber |
Ella Heath |
Sheffield |
2017 Competition - National & Regional Winners
The 2017 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
Urological technology - where will we be in 20 years?
... and was organised by Mr Toby Page (Newcastle).
Images below show winners of the national essay competition, Mostafa Beshr (below left - Leicester University Medical School) and Rye Yern Yap (below right - University of Sheffield Medical School) with Mr Toby Page (below centre):
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
Mostafa Beshr ** *(Winner)
Victoria Nicholas |
Leicester
Nottingham |
| East of England |
Xue Wang
Declan Murphy |
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Martin Safarii Aketch |
RCSI |
| London North |
Poojah Shah
Darryl Ethan Bernstein |
Imperial College London
University College London |
| London South |
Ashleigh Ellen Draper |
King's College |
| North East |
Mark Hanson |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Nicholas Johnn Strouther
Yanish Seeram Poolovadoo |
Liverpool
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
Matthew Shaun O'Connell |
Queen's University Belfast |
| Scotland East |
Jamie Leask |
Dundee |
| Scotland West |
No award(s) made for 2017 |
|
| South Central |
No award(s) made for 2017 |
|
| South East Coast |
No award(s) made for 2017 |
|
| South West |
Waheed-Ul-Rahman Ahmed |
Peninsula (Exeter) |
| Wales |
Thomas Chandy
Omar Sadiq |
Cardiff
Swansea |
| West Midlands |
Munir Abdukhder |
Birmingham |
| Yorks & Humber |
Rye Yern Yap *** (Winner) |
Sheffield |
Images of the presentation of certificates to some of the regional winners of the competition are shown below:
Mark Hanson
(Newcastle upon Tyne)
Matthew O'Donnell
(Queens' Belfast)
2016 Competition - National & Regional Winners
National Winners
The 2016 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
What role should simulation play in the selection and training of urologists?
... and was organised by Mr Nick Rukin (Wolverhampton).
The winners of the national essay competition were Andrew Robinson, Keele University School of Medicine, and George Miller, King's College London School of Medicine (image not currently available)
Download Andrew Robinson's essay
Download George Miller's essay
Regional Winners
| REGION |
NAME |
MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| East Midlands |
Suraj Pathak |
Leicester |
| East of England |
Sebasztian Tullie
Bruno Gnaneswaran |
Cambridge
Norwich |
| Irish Republic |
Sarah Quigley
Mervyn Huston
Andrea McCarthy |
Galway
Trinity College Dublin
University College Dublin |
| London North |
Adrian Tollitt |
University College London |
| London South |
George Miller ** (Winner)
Angela Lam |
King's College London
St George's |
| North East |
John McCullough |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
| North West |
Taufiq Khan
Katahrine Dart |
Liverpool
Manchester |
| Northern Ireland |
Sean McMahon |
Queen's University Belfast |
| Scotland East |
Yinan Zhu |
Dundee |
| Scotland West |
Jia Hong |
Glasgow |
| South Central |
Kiloran Metcalfe
Sacha Moore |
Oxford
Southampton |
| South East Coast |
Laura Denning |
Brighton & Sussex |
| South West |
Philippa Sargent
Francis De Castro |
Bristol
Peninsula (Exeter/Pymouth) |
| Wales |
No award(s) made for 2016 |
|
| West Midlands |
Carol Wong
Andrew Robinson ** (Winner) |
Birmingham
Keele |
| Yorks & Humber |
Tom Malik |
Sheffield |
We have recorded the presentation of certificates to some of the regional winners of the competition in the image(s) below:
Bruno Gnaneswaran
(Norwich)
Philippa Sargent
(Bristol)
Kiloran Metcalfe
(Oxford)
Sacha Moore
(Southampton)
Francis de Castro
(Plymouth)
Adam Tollitt
(London North)
2015 Competition - National & Regional Winners
National Winners
The 2015 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
Social media in urological teaching & training: a new era or passing fad?
... and was organised by Mr Ian Pearce (Manchester) and Mr Kieran O'Flynn (Salford).
The winners of the national essay competition were Tim Napier-Hemy, (pictured left below) University of Liverpool Medical School, and Joel Ward, (pictured right below) Oxford University Medical School.
Download Tim Napier-Hemy's essay
Download Joel Ward's essay
Regional Winners
Certificates have also been presented to some of the regional winners of the competition - see the image(s) below:
Stuart Gallagher (Norwich)
Mitchell Burden (Sheffield)
Lucy Loughrey
(Queen's Belfast)
2014 Competition - National Winners
The 2014 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled...
This house believes that the UK government should implement a screening programme for prostate cancer
... and was organised by Mr Ian Pearce (Manchester) and Mr Kieran O'Flynn (Salford).
The winners of the national essay competition were Sarah Williams, St George's Medical School, and Katherine Turner, Bristol University Medical School.
Download Sarah Williams's essay
Download Katherine Turner's essay
2013 Competition - National Winners
The 2013 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
Investigation and management of haematuria
... and was organised by Mr Ian Pearce (Manchester) and Mr Kieran O'Flynn (Salford).
The national winners of the essay competition were Mueez Waqar, University of Liverpool Medical School and Alex Luen Hua Loh, University of Edinburgh College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine.
Both essays have been published in the British Journal of Medical & Surgical Urology (now The Journal of Clinical Urology) and are available for download below:
Download Mueez Waqar's essay
Download Alex Luen Hua Loh's essay
2012 Competition - National Winners
The 2012 Medical Student Essay Competition was entitled ...
Medical management of symptomatic benign prostatic enlargement"
... and was organised by Mr Ian Pearce (Manchester) and Mr Kieran O'Flynn (Salford).
The national winners of the essay competition were Wazir Haja Sahabudeen, University of Bristol Medical School and Harriett Latham-Cork, Peninsula College of Medicine.
Both essays have been published in the British Journal of Medical & Surgical Urology (now The Journal of Clinical Urology) and are available for download below:
Download Wazir's essay
Download Harriett's essay