National Essay Competition for FY Doctors

For this annual competition, FY 1 & 2 UK doctors are invited to submit an essay about an ethical issue raised by an experience they have had as a foundation year doctor. Up to five cash prizes of £300 each are awarded. Besides this, the Robert Hillman Essay Prize of an additional £250 is awarded to the best overall entry. All winners will receive 12 months complimentary IME membership.

We are accepting submissions – the closing date is 23.59, Sunday 4th February 2024.

The Robert Hillman Prize, for the best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors National Essay Prize 2023, has been awarded to:

Ali El-Rhalibi for White lies matter: An examination of lying for good in clinical practice

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The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors National Essay Prize winners 2023 are:

Sheema Chaudhry for Patient vs Team – Who Should Decide?

Josephine Do for The weight of a medical error

Naveen Goddard for Patient Safety Incidents in the National Health Service: The Boundaries of Corporate Versus Individual Culpability for Failing Institutions

Antonia Mentel for Better safe than sorry? The struggle of doing less

Victoria Yang for Defining a life worth living: Capacity and Best Interests in a patient with Personal Disorder

Congratulations to all our winners!

The Robert Hillman Prize, for the best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors National Essay Prize 2022, has been awarded to:

Gauri Saxena for Slipping through the cracks: mental capacity in the context of coercion

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The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors National Essay Prize winners 2022 are:

Jun Yu Chen for Upholding professional values of honesty, integrity and accountability as a new doctor in the NHS

Charlotte Galvin for ‘Let me find someone else who can help you with that’ – Conscientious Objection in Healthcare

Elias Jamieson for Assessing capacity in the detoxing patient  

Arham Sahu for A shock to the system: ECT in severe depression

Ryan Wolff for Is Age Really Just a Number? Admission to ICU in Times of Scarcity 

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

The Robert Hillman Prize, for the best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2021 has this year been jointly awarded to:

Joe Berry for Capacity in the aftermath of trauma
and
Denise Tan for Disclosing a near-miss ‘Never Event’: A retained surgical swab

The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize winners are:

Madeline Charles-Rudwick for The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth? The Use of Deception in the Care of Patients with Dementia

Alexander Miller for Prescribing; More than Meats the eye

Emma Pearson for Considering the Importance of Relatives in End of Life Decisions

Kaif Qayum for Are we playing God? Do we need to revise the abstinence mandate for alcoholic liver disease patients to be eligible for liver transplantation?

Akanksha Thumbe for Suicidal ideation and the capacity to self-discharge 

Joshua Winton for Confidentiality Issues from the Heart of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Congratulations to all our winners!

Essay Prizes awarded for 2020

The Robert Hillman Prize winner for best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2020 is:

Duranka PereraResisting data fabrication in neurosurgical academia

The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize winners are:

Natasha GraceWhat a girl wants: the ethical implications of an elective amputation in a minor

Nicholas HengTo resuscitate or not to resuscitate – that is the question

Anna Hutchins – Patients and placebos: an ethical, professional and legal analysis of the response to patients requesting antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections

Tumbi OtudekoPrison health – you have the right to remain healthy

Essay Prizes awarded for 2019

The Robert Hillman Prize 2019 for best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize is:

Caitriona CoxUnwise or misunderstood? The challenges of judging patient understanding

The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2019 winners are:

Natasha GraceThe other side of the glass: An ethical analysis from the patient’s perspective

Harry Heath – Dear Dr Google: The influence of search engines on consultations

Priya KhetarpalThe Doctor’s Narrative – Should it be shared?

Eunice XingWith Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Responsible Use of ‘Evidence’ Based Medicine

Essay Prizes awarded for 2018

The Robert Hillman Prize 2018 for best overall entry in The Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize is:

Kishen Patel – “I’m sorry there is nothing more we can do.” A closer look at the most final of statements

The other Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2018 winners are:

Anita Chithiramohan – Patient-centred care and the learning experience of the medical student. The ethics of pedagogy in a teaching hospital

Peter Johnstone – Decisions, decisions: Searching for the chimera of autonomy

Christine Bolton – Battery or Negligence: Calling it Oncall

Michael Houssemayne du Boulay – The buck stops with you

Congratulations to all our winners.

Essay Prizes awarded for 2017

Robert Hillman Prize 2017 for best overall entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize

Joshua ParkerJunior Doctors & Moral Exploitation

The Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctor Essay Prize 2017 

Alistair WardropeOf amputation & autonomy

Jennifer HallA tortured mind: Self harm in psychiatric care

Matthew StoneCardiac Arrest: Is there any role for placebo resuscitation?

James van OppenGiving medical treatment against a patient’s wishes

Essay Prizes awarded for 2016

Robert Hillman Essay Prize 2016 for best entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize

Joshua ParkerWar and Peace: Conflicts of Conscience in the Junior Doctors’ Strike

The Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2016 

Yanrong JiangSundowning and DoLS: Ethical Dilemmas in Managing an Acutely Delirious Patient as a Junior Doctor

Lucy MichaelStumbling in the Dark

Essay Prizes awarded for 2015

Robert Hillman Essay Prize 2015 for best entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize

Bryony CoupeThe four principles or the four pillars? Reflecting on and learning from ethical issues as a junior doctor.

The Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2015 

Anngona GhoshNot to Add Insult to Injury: Honesty is the Best Policy

Julia HarringtonCapacity Assessment in the Emergency Department: 50 Shades of Grey?

James Morgan – A Junior Doctor’s Duty To Inform

Laura Pugh – What the Patient Needs When the Relative Wants

Essay Prizes awarded for 2014

Robert Hillman Essay Prize 2014 for best entry in the Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize

Frances ButcherA Hard Sell: Admitting a patient to the ICU

The Institute of Medical Ethics Foundation Doctors Essay Prize 2014 

Johanna AnderssonAn Exploration of compassion through narrative and reflection

Priyanka ChadhaUndocumented Migrants’ Access to Healthcare: Why Are We Still Having The Discussion?

Michael NewmanConfidentiality: A juxtaposition of medico-legal and ethical perspectives in a case of HIV

Hilary ThorntonWhere hearts may break: the conflict of best interests

Essay Prizes awarded for 2013

The Robert Hillman Prize winner for best overall entry 2013 is:

Aimee Rowe Reflective Practice

The other Essay Prize winners are:

Rebecca SherlockWithholding information from patients: A junior doctors experience

James McGowan – The Liverpool Care Pathway in a 21st Century National Health Service: Old Ethics, New Challenges

Rammina Yassaie – How much should we tell our patients and who are we to decide?

Sophie Newton – A patient refusing lifesaving treatment