Medical Student Essay Prize
Applications for the 2022 Medical Student Essay Prize are now closed.

For this year's prize, medical students from the UK and Republic of Ireland were invited to submit an essay, no longer than 1,000 words, answering the following question: 'How can we make Trauma & Orthopaedics in the UK more Eco-friendly?'. There is a limit of one essay entry per student.
The winning essay will receive the following:
- BOA-recognised certificate
- £100 prize money
- Travel and overnight accommodation at the BOA Annual Congress paid for by the BOA
The BOA also wish to recognise the exceptional submissions we receive with a highly commended certificate.
Sulaiman Uppal, a fifth year medical student at the University of Oxford, is the winner of the 2021 BOA Medical Student Essay Prize. You can view his essay here. You can also read the other top rated 2021 essays on the Transient Journal.
FAQs
How do I submit my essay?
You will be required to submit an essay application form along with your essay. The essay application form is linked on the BOA Medical Student Essay Prize webpage; please complete this and send it, along with your essay, to [email protected] There is a limit of one essay entry per student. We do not accept essays which are co-authored.
In the application essay form you will be required to confirm:
“I certify that the attached material is my own work. I also certify that I have formally certified or formally acknowledged the words and ideas of others.”
Am I eligible?
The competition is open to all medical students in the UK or Republic of Ireland. If you have submitted in previous years but you are still a medical student, you are welcome to re-enter the competition for the 2022 prize.
Medical Students from the UK or Republic of Ireland who are studying abroad are not eligible to submit an essay.
We do not accept essays which are co-authored.
Is There a Word Limit?
The maximum word count for the essay is 1000 words. The essay title and references/figures/tables (including in-text references) are not included in the word count, but any accompanying text i.e. the name of the table if stated above/below it, will be counted in the Word Count. Appendices are not encouraged but may be used to present relevant additional information referred to in the essay. We usually receive a large number of submissions and the people marking the essays are not expected to read Appendices and therefore these should not be used to display details which are essential to your work.