The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), which includes in its goals, the promotion of high quality research into medical education, annually invites Members (including undergraduate student members and employees of institutions that are members of the Association) to submit bids for small grants 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 under-represented 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. All recipients of the Small Grants award are 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 is £5,000 or equivalent (bids for smaller amounts of funding are welcomed and encouraged)
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 awards:
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?
“We are delighted to be awarded an ASME Small Grants this year. This project sets out to explore how educators might incorporate digital devices in Objectively Structured Clinical Examinations. Our hope is that this work will help educators create assessments which more closely reflect the day-to-day work of clinicians, whilst exploring the tensions between assessment and clinical practice.” @gillespie_hj, @drhelenreid, @kathymcullen1
Anna Harvey, Newcastle University, A comparison of the perceptions of service-learning amongst medical students, nursing students and their clinical supervisors
“Myself and the whole team at the MedEd Collaborative are delighted to have been awarded an ASME Small Grant for a project focusing on similarities and differences in the approach to the practical training of nurses and doctors, and what the professions can learn from one another. The Collaborative also aims to use this project to develop our approach to collaborative qualitative research, giving junior clinical education academics opportunities to learn about qualitative research methods and gain practical experience of qualitative analysis.” @a_c_harvey_b and @MedEdCollab
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
“We are very grateful for the award of this ASME Small Grant and welcome the opportunity to explore the issue of women’s health in relation to General Practice. We hope that our work will create some valuable insights into the ways in which the priority areas for action in the Women’s Health Plan are addressed within General Practice and to make recommendations for any areas where additional training or information is required.” @CafKennedy & @zoe_mcelhinney
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
“I was delighted to be awarded this small grant for my study to improve the linguistics of exam questions. Going through the application process alone was really valuable for focusing the research question and study plan and being awarded the grant was the icing on the cake and a real confidence boost. Having ASME’s backing has also made a big difference in promoting the study to students and has helped us recruit across 11 universities in the UK. It is my hope that this work will improve the equity of written healthcare exams, ensuring we are testing students’ core ability and understanding, receiving this award was a great stepping stone on the way to that.” @lunn_andrew @LJMUPharmacy
Elizabeth McCulloch, Exeter, University of Exeter Medical School, Exploring the Attitudes of UK Medical students in Choosing a Career in Psychiatry: A Realist Evaluation
“I am extremely grateful to ASME for their support in this award as well as my supervisors. This is an incredible opportunity for an early career researcher. We feel this project has the potential to unearth new and significant understandings of medical students’ decision-making in choosing psychiatry. It is hoped the findings will be influential for policy and practice and I look forward to presenting at the ASM 2023.”
Mia Ottman, Bristol Medical School, An exploration of the perceptions held by senior Paediatricians regarding trainees with dyspraxia
Our recipients will be invited to present at the ASME Annual Scholarship Meeting (ASM) after their project has been completed.
