Medical Student Essay Prize
Twice a year the BSDS sets and essay title on a topic related to dermatological surgery and offers a prize for the winning essays.
The BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize (previously titled Undergraduate Essay Prize) is open to anyone who has medical student status at the time of application or who graduates that year.
The title for the next Essay Prize is:
“Use your creativity to show us how you would safely and efficiently train a medical student to perform an ellipse excision”
This could take the form of:
- A PowerPoint lesson plan (maximum 3 slides)
- An instructional video (real life or computer animated – maximum 5 minutes)
- An artistic presentation (drawings/photographs/combination of) (No PDF please)
The prize for the winning essay will be £300.
BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize Application Form – July 2024
Deadline for submissions: 31st July 2024
Previous Essay Prize Winners
Click to View Previous Essays
- 2023, July – “How can we ensure valid consent in dermatologic surgery in the era of teledermatology and one-stop clinics?” – Zoe Hemsley, Cambridge University.
- 2023, January – “What are the most important priorities for skin surgery and skin cancer research and why?” – Mohammed J Ali, Hull York Medical School
- 2022, July – “You’re on mute! – Potentials and pitfalls with remote teaching in skin surgery” – Jessica McKeever, University of Dundee
- 2022, January – “What beneficial changes has the pandemic made to dermatological surgery?” Sukhmunni Johal Oxford University
- 2021, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnose skin cancer in the future?” Laura Leeves, Kings College London.
- 2021, January – “How do we optimise operator safety during dermatological surgery?” Mahaveer Singh Sangha University of London Medical School
- 2020, July – “How do we optimise patients experience of dermatological surgical procedures?” Anastasia Constantinou, University of Cambridge
- 2020, January – “How can dermatological surgery become
more environmentally friendly?” Chaplin Catriona, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry - 2019, July – What will dermatological surgery look like in 2050? For this submission, the essay format had been changed to a 5-minute long video. Outcome Details coming soon.
- 2019, January – “Which doctors would make the best skin surgeons? Can we predict ability prior to training?” Pimentel-Velazquez Diana, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
- 2018, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnosis skin cancer in the future?” Selvendran Sara, Imperial College London
- 2018, January – “Skin cancer and patients’ use of Dermatology apps – a cause for concern or the future of healthcare provision?” Yi Jia Teo, University College Cork School of Medicine, National University of Ireland
- 2017, July – “Should NHS patients have access to scar management?” Kelsey Aimar, University of Nottingham
- 2017, January – Two prizes awarded: “If Mohs skin surgery is the ‘gold standard for non-melanoma skin cancer treatment’, why doesn’t eveyone have it?” Ali Ansaripour, Kings College London GKT School of Medical Education and Antonio Ji Xu, Oxford University Medical School
- 2016, July – “Discuss the technological advances in dermatological and reconstructive surgery that have had the greatest impact on skin cancer patients” Joseph Jayasundera, King’s College London
- 2016, January – “Discuss the impact of targeted molecular skin cancer therapies on dermatological surgery”
Anna Ascott, Barts and The London - 2015, July – “How should we measure the “best” outcomes for skin cancer surgery?”
Mahdi Saleh, Keele University - 2015, January – “There is no need to treat any skin cancer with Mohs surgery – discuss“
Monty Lyman, University of Birmingham - 2014 – “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”
Joseph Colclough, University of Glasgow
2014 – “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”
Katherine Farquhar, University of Glasgow - 2013 – “Skin Cancer and Vitamin D“
Verity Williams, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London. - 2012 – “Skin cancer surgery: who should do it and why?“
James Womersley, Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth. - 2011 – “Rising skin cancer incidence: current and future impact on dermatological surgery“
Sarah Gentry, University of Exeter and Plymouth College of Medicine. - 2010 – “The role of technology in dermatological surgery“
George Coltart, Oxford University. - 2009 – “What is the role of the dermatologist in the management of Skin Cancer?“
Justice Reilly, Glasgow University Medical School. - 2008 – “The impact of climate change on skin cancer“
Laura Thomas, Imperial College.
2008 – “The impact of climate change on skin cancer“
Rory Honney, Oxford University. - 2007 – “Discuss aspects of healing in skin surgery“
Faisal Ali, Oxford University. - 2006 – “Surgical and emotional scars of skin cancer“
Daniel Todkill, Warwick University
