Joint winners triumph in Wesleyan RSM Trainee of the Year finals

Colorectal trainee surgeon Doctor Jonathan Evans and neurology trainee Dr Peter Jenkins have been named joint winners of the Wesleyan RSM Trainee of the Year Award for 2017/18.

In a hotly contested final, held at the RSM on 17 January, the two doctors competed with three other finalists to take the award for their work in the areas of colorectal cancer and traumatic brain injury.

The Wesleyan RSM Trainee of the Year competition is viewed by trainees and their trainers as one of the most prestigious prizes in its field. It is unique in its scope in that it covers all specialties and all trainees, at whatever level of their career. For the RSM it marks the culmination of the Society’s annual prize programme, which includes over 70 prizes available for those in clinical training worth up to £60,000.

During the final awards evening each finalist presented their work to a distinguished panel of judges for 10 minutes followed by questions from the panel and audience.

After being named as joint winner Dr Evans said: “It was an absolute pleasure to be selected to present for this award. The presentations by the other trainees were excellent and on such a variety of topics that I do not envy the judges having to decide between them. It is also an honour to share first prize with Dr Jenkins; his presentation of the data from his clinical trial was exceptional.”

Dr Jenkins said: “It was a great honour being able to present at this prestigious event. It was also nice to be able to present my research to a wider medical audience and to hear about the research going on in areas of medicine I rarely encounter. Given the standard of the other presentations it was amazing to be selected as a joint winner.”

Dr Katie Samuels (RSM Orthopaedics Section) was awarded third place and the runners up were Dr Egho Ireo (RSM Digital Health Section) and Miss Catherine Zabkiewicz (RSM Surgery Section).

The judges were Dr Fiona Moss, Dean, Royal Society of Medicine; Professor Roger Kirby, Chairman, Academic Board, Royal Society of Medicine; Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief, British Medical Journal; and Professor Pali Hungin, Wesleyan Advisory Board and BMA Past President.

After announcing the winners, RSM Vice President Mr Martin Bailey, said: “This was a fascinating evening of scientific and clinical exploration. All our five finalists presented to an exceptionally high level and handled the sometimes challenging questioning from the judges with aplomb. Their energy and enthusiasm for their chosen area of investigation was inspirational and we will follow their careers with great interest.”

Carol Boston, Managing Director, Wesleyan Financial Services, said: “Wesleyan is proud to have supported the Trainee of the Year awards at the RSM since 2010. The finals evening is a celebration of the fantastic work that medical trainees across the UK are carrying out to develop novel ideas and new research with the ultimate aim of improving patient care. We congratulate all five finalists and wish them well in their future careers.”