An Imperial College London student has won a prominent essay prize in the field of urological technology.

The British Association of Urological Surgeons’ (BAUS) yearly competition sees essays submitted from medical students at UK undergraduate schools, including Imperial College’s School of Medicine.

Fifth-year MBBS in Medicine student Pooja Shah was selected as a winner from Imperial, and went on to take the regional prize for London North for her essay.

Judged initially by medical school and then by region, the competition selects two overall national winners who are awarded guest registration and a grant towards attending the BAUS 2017 Annual Conference in Glasgow, where they were awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Entrants to the competition had to be current undergraduate medicine students, and were invited to compose a 1500-word essay on the subject, ‘Urological technology – where will be in 20 years?’. The best essay from each medical school won a prize, alongside the entry of their essay into the national competition.

Dr Erik Mayer, a clinical lecturer for Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancer, presented the award to Pooja on behalf of the BAUS at the College’s South Kensington campus, saying: “It’s a real achievement for Pooja, both to have won the competition for entries from Imperial and even more so to have topped the regional winners list.”

“To produce a winning essay alongside undertaking the breadth of the medicine degree is a major accomplishment, and we are, as a Faculty, extremely proud of Pooja’s work and resulting success.”

Now undertaking a placement in obstetrics and gynaecology at Chelea and Westminster Hospital as part of the six-year MBBS programme, Pooja has not yet decided which field of medicine or surgery she will specialise in after her degree, but says she found the process and investigation involved in researching the essay very rewarding.

“It was a great opportunity to examine this field of surgery in a more in-depth way, so I was really pleased to be able to enter this essay competition. I would encourage other students to take up every chance like this through their time at Imperial – you never know which one might set you on the right career path!”

Looking at the field more broadly, September is Urology Awareness Month in the UK, organised by The Urology Foundation. The Foundation aims to raise awareness of urological diseases and to fundraise for research into their prevention. Diseases of the kidneys, bladder, prostate and male reproductive systems are becoming more common in the UK, and Urology Awareness Month aims to promote good urology health care practices by working with local communities.

You can find more information about Urology Awareness Month and ways to get involved at The Urology Foundation.

You can find out more about the essay competition and history of the organisation at the British Association of Urological Surgeons.