The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), which includes in its goals, the promotion of high-quality research into medical education, invites ASME Members (including undergraduate student members and employees of institutions that are members of the Association) to submit a bid for a small grant to support a research study in the field of medical or other healthcare education. ASME welcomes submissions from new as well as established researchers. ASME particularly welcomes applicants from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
Some educational research projects require modest amounts of funding to cover expenses such as focus group attendance, travel, and simulated patient fees. These grants are intended to assist such projects. The grants are not intended to supplement the natural support that institutions should give to individuals and therefore cannot be used to pay course fees, computing equipment, overheads, research assistants/associates and similar. The grants may be used for transcription costs, however, these cannot exceed £16.00 per hour. Small Grant funding must not be used for conference attendance.
All recipients of the Small Grants award will be contractually obligated to produce an end-of-project report to the ASME Board and to make, via open licence, any teaching/learning resource produced, available via ASME’s website to its membership.
The maximum award per individual or project under the scheme will be £5,000 or equivalent (bids for smaller amounts of funding are welcomed and encouraged). Successful applicants will be invited to submit an application for presentation at the Annual Scholarship Meeting (ASM) after their project has been completed. Please note that registration, travel and accommodation for the ASM are NOT covered by this award.
Applications should be made via the online submission form. Your submission should be no more than 500 words (excluding references) and clearly outline:
- Brief critique of background literature and justified need for the project
- Description of project including:
- Aim and research question(s)
- Justification for the choice of methodology
- Projected outcomes
- Timetable to start in mid-2023 and ideally to finish within 6 month timescale
- Costed justification of funding required
If the above criteria are not met, then the submission will be rejected due to the instructions not being adhered to. The Education Research Committee may ask for a more detailed proposal from those short-listed.
We particularly welcome applicants from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.
Applicants should refer to our FAQ page to answer most questions about ASME award submissions
An example marking sheet can be downloaded here: Small Grants 2023 Assessment Sheet
Is my application suitable for this award?
We welcome your application. Please look carefully at the criteria provided to be sure your applicant team and application meet the stated criteria. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on whether specific applications or application ideas meet the criteria, since this is group decision made by a panel of reviewers, but do let us know if the criteria are unclear.
Can I query the assessors’ decision regarding my application?
The assessors’ decision is final for all awards and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome, other than providing the applicant with the result and the assessors’ feedback.
2023:
Stephanie Bull, Agalya Ramanathan, Laura Knight, Priscilla Reddy, Jo Horsburgh, Medical Education Innovation & Research Centre, Imperial College London. Stakeholders responses to a scoping review that explores a sense of belonging in medical students.
Niamh Coakley, University College Cork, Ireland. Interprofessional collaboration in the workplace; observation and experiences of healthcare students.
Laura Knight and Ravi Parekh, Medical Education Innovation and Research Centre, Imperial College London. Widening Access to Careers in Community Healthcare (WATCCH): A Realist Evaluation.
Catherine Sweeney, University College Cork, Ireland. Silence Speaks: Understanding physician experience of silence in palliative care, a phenomenological study.
Lisa Wetzlmair, University of Exeter Medical School. (Not) feeling dismissed: How patients’ perspectives on teleconsultations can shape health and social care education.
Abdi Malik and Noah Clancy, University of Southampton. Induction experiences of international medical graduates in the NHS – A mixed-methods study.
2022:
Hannah Gillespie, Helen Reid & Kathy McCullen, Belfast. Queen’s University, “I’d like to phone a friend”: how can students use digital devices in OSCEs?
Anna Harvey, Newcastle University, A comparison of the perceptions of service-learning amongst medical students, nursing students and their clinical supervisors
Catherine Kennedy & Zoe McElhinney, University of Dundee, Exploring the training needs of GPs and GP trainees in relation to the Women’s Health Plan’s priority areas for action
Andrew Lunn, University of Central Lancashire, Does lowering the idea density of exam questions influence student performance? A two-arm single-blind, parallel randomised controlled trial
Elizabeth McCulloch, Exeter, University of Exeter Medical School, Exploring the Attitudes of UK Medical students in Choosing a Career in Psychiatry: A Realist Evaluation
Mia Ottman, Bristol Medical School, An exploration of the perceptions held by senior Paediatricians regarding trainees with dyspraxia
2021:
Helen Church & Dr Stevie Agius, University of Nottingham, Foundation 3 Year Jobs: Evaluating their impact on postgraduate medical training
Gillian Scanlan & Dr Cate Kennedy, The University of Dundee, Striving to be an Excellent Healthcare Professional and an Excellent Parent: Exploring the Stories of UK Doctors and Nurses
Taona Nyamapfene, Dr Joanne Butterworth & Professor Mike Eaton, University of Exeter Medical School, General Practitioners’ Perceptions of Training in Shared Decision-Making: A Qualitative Study
Zahra Jaffry, Alexander Schade, Jim Harrison, Bart’s Health, Improving the Management of Open Fractures in Malawi
Michael Page& Dr Elizabeth Carty, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, QMUL, Exploring marginalisation and agency in Specialty Doctors’ experiences of appraisal and professional development – a phenomenological investigation
Hugh Alberti, Newcastle University Louise Younie (QMUL), Sophie Park (UCL), Lindey Pope (Glasgow), Lauren Hall (Newcastle)& Penny Wilson (Newcastle), Students and tutors’ experiences of student-led remote consulting
Eva K Hennel, Sören Huwendiek, University of Bern, Insitute for Medical Education, Department for Assessment and Evaluation (AAE), Supervisors in multisource feedback: what do they need to best support residents?
Robert Bain, Jack Filan, Simone Soars, James Lee & Anna Goulding, Newcastle University, Understanding Barriers to Academic Careers in Undergraduate Medical Education.
Ana Baptista, Imperial College London, What does personal tutoring contribute to professional identity development in undergraduate medical students?
2020:
Catherine Farrelly, Natasha Doran, Sarah Bradley, University of Exeter, “What are student perceptions of how frequent-look OSCEs affect student wellbeing compared with infrequent OSCEs?”
James Groves, James Cai, Dr. Amali Lokugamage, Dr. Faye Gishen, Dr. Will Coppola, University College London, “Investigating the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on medical student stress and well-being”
Anna Rosselli, Rakesh Patel, Pamela Hagan, Gillian Doody, University of Nottingham, “Well-being during transition in medical school: a realist inquiry”
Nariell Morrison and C Blackburn, University of Warwick, “Bridging the gap: Understanding the barriers to performance for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic graduate-entry medical students in the United Kingdom”
Rachel Lee and Mrs Manju Nair, Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, Wales, “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?”
Dr Megan Brown, Dr William Laughey, Mr Alex MacLellan, Mr Tim LeBon, Prof Gabrielle Finn, Hull York Medical School, “Can Stoic training develop empathic reserves and increase resilience in medical students? A mixed-methods pilot study.”
2019:
Toni Robinson, Keele University, “How do medical students’ experiences inform their opinions of general practice and its potential as a future career choice? a realist synthesis”
Anne-Marie-Reid, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, “Students as research partners”
Kirsty Alexander, University of Aberdeen, “Fostering effective academic/practitioner knowledge in widening access to medicine”
Alice Moult, Keele University, “Exploring patients’ perceptions of communication skills: A qualitative study”
Anna Richmond, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, UG Medical Education Department, “In what ways do educational interventions develop analytical and non-analytical clinical reasoning ability in medical students”
Jennifer Cleland, University of Aberdeen and NHS Education for Scotland, “Gains and consequences of broad-based training: A qualitative study”
2018:
Valerie Farnsworth, University of Leeds, Leeds Institute of Medical Education, “Water metaphors to help us rethink how we support student transitions into medicine” Click here for project report
Gerens Curnow, University of Exeter, “Is there a problem in PBL? The International Student Perspective”
2017:
Clare Morris, QMUL, ‘Not a doctor’: physician associates (PA) and professional identity formation
Ruairi Connolly, NUI Galway, Stakeholders’ perceptions of a widening access to medical school outreach initiative
Evangeline Stubbing, University of Aberdeen, The intersection of early and developing professional identities in medical students
Rhiannon Hoggins, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Student experiences and staff perceptions of the primary care placement in the Physician Associate programme to a UK medical school
Sebastian Stevens, Plymouth University, The impact of clinical team networks on multi-source feedback assessments for UK General Practitioners: A social network analysis
Shaun Qureshi, University of Edinburgh, Exploring barriers to effective education and supervision of doctors-in-training
2016:
J Cleland & D Gimlin, University of Aberdeen – Learning to (Body) Labour: an Analysis of ?Body Work? in the Training of Medical Students
C Leitner, MC McNeill, AJ Allan & K Mattick, University of Exeter & Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital – Medical Aspirations and Planning Parenthood – The Experiences of Future and Foundation Doctors
H Alberti, University of Newcastle – Barriers and facilitators to teaching undergraduate medical students in primary care: The GPs perspective