The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), annually invites members (including undergraduate student members and employees of institutions that are members of the Association) to submit bids for small grants (up to the value of £5,000) to support a research study in the field of medical or other healthcare education. ASME welcomes submissions from new as well as established researchers. The Small Grants are awards overseen by ASME’s Education Research Committee.
We are pleased to announce the following recipients of awards from the 2020 round of applications:
Catherine Farrelly, University of Exeter (and co-authors Natasha Doran, Sarah Bradley) with the submission:
What are student perceptions of how frequent-look OSCEs affect student wellbeing compared with infrequent OSCEs?
“I’m absolutely honoured to be a recipient of one of the ASME Small Grants Awards for 2020. Receiving this generous contribution towards our project will allow us to outsource transcription, freeing up valuable time for data analysis and understanding of our data. We hope the results will inform assessment practices at Exeter for the benefit of our students and will hopefully be of interest to the wider medical education community. As a novice researcher leading the project, I’m thrilled to be taking my first steps into the world of medical education research and it’s great to have the support of ASME with this project; on behalf of the whole team, thank you so much.”
Anna Rosselli, University of Nottingham (and co-authors Rakesh Patel, Pamela Hagan and Gill Doody), with the submission:
Well-being during transition in medical school: a realist inquiry
“Being awarded an ASME Small Grant is fantastic, as it will help me to complete my PhD research. It is also great to receive support for my research topic, and I look forward to sharing my findings in due course.”
Nariell Morrison, University of Warwick (and co-author C Blackburn) with the submission:
Bridging the gap: Understanding the barriers to performance for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic graduate-entry medical students in the United Kingdom
“I am honoured and delighted to have been awarded the ASME Small Grant 2020 to further my research into a very important area of study – differential attainment in Medical Education. It is hoped that the findings of this study will inform the future development of academic and student support strategies for medical students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds across the UK. I would like to thank ASME for their generous support of this study as well as my supervisor, Dr Clare Blackburn. I look forward to presenting my paper at the ASM 2021.”
Rachel Lee, Royal Gwent Hospital, (and co-author Manju Nair) with the submission:
Traditional clinical verses simulation training for basic obstetric ultrasound competency: which is more effective for trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology in Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) – formerly the Wales Deanery?
“This grant from ASME will be used to carry out research into the benefits of simulation for training in ultrasound scanning in obstetrics. This is an area of medicine that it is notoriously difficult to get training in, and yet is vital to provide high quality and safe patient care. I am hopeful that my research will demonstrate the usefulness of simulation in this area, and validate the necessary cost of simulation equipment, benefiting both trainees and patients alike. Without the grant it would not have been possible to carry out the research and I am very grateful.”
Megan Brown, Hull York Medical School (and co-authors William Laughey, Alex MacLellan, Tim LeBon, Gabrielle Finn) with the submission:
Can Stoic training develop empathic reserves and increase resilience in medical students? A mixed-methods pilot study.
“I am absolutely delighted to hear our project has been awarded funding by ASME! This grant will mean we can undertake a project that previously would have been difficult to resource. I am thrilled that the project concerns practically bringing philosophy to life within medical education, and am excited to see where this might lead. I would like to thank all my co-authors for their hard work, my supervisor for her unwavering support, and ASME for this opportunity.”
James Groves, UCL (and co-authors James Cai, Amali Lokugamage, Faye Gishen, Will Coppola) with the submission:
Investigating the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on medical student stress and well-being
“Our group, based at University College London, is passionate about investigating the potential of Mindfulness to fortify the wellbeing of medical students and doctors within the oft-stressful setting of a career in clinical medicine. As NHS workers encounter an unprecedented challenge in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that this is a theme that has never been more important. In the current project, ASME’s funding will be instrumental in allowing us to take our bespoke e-learning Mindfulness platform – ‘MBBS Explore Mindfulness’ – and deliver it directly to medical students in a COVID-secure manner, whilst investigating its effectiveness in reducing their stress. We are proud and grateful for the ASME’s support.”
