We’re encouraging medical students to submit an essay of a maximum 1,000 words on the question: Why does biodiversity matter to healthcare and what should we do about it?”

The shortlisted finalists will be judged by Mr Packham, the broadcaster, environmental activist and animal welfare campaigner.

His recent TV credits include Earth for the BBC, and Is it Time to Break the Law for Channel 4. 

He is an ambassador for numerous wildlife and environmental NGOs, and organises his own independent campaigns, recently including ‘No New Oil‘ and ‘Restore Nature Now‘.”

Broadcaster, environmental activist and animal welfare campaigner Chris Packham is to judge the shortlisted finalists in our essay writing competition (Credit Jo Charlesworth)

Please ensure essays are in font size 12, are double spaced, are in Harvard or Vancouver style referencing with a maximum of five references.

The first prize is £300, with two £100 prizes for the two runners-up.

The top three essays will also be considered for publication in the BMJ Leader blog.

The closing date for entries is 30 April.

The competition is free to enter and you must be a DAUK member to enter. Membership is free for medical students.

Visit the membership section of the DAUK website for more details. 

Essays should be submitted via the DAUK website by visiting  https://form.jotform.com/240785695420059  

Last month, the UKFPO decided to allow SJT resits to students who had their exams terminated prematurely by Pearson Vue. While we are glad that the UKFPO listened to our letter and responded to the concerns expressed many medical students and doctors on social media, these students had by this point been left for over a month with the state of their future careers in medicine placed in limbo – yet there was no apology, and resits were offered only as a ‘gesture of goodwill’. 

DAUK remains concerned that without accountability and careful consideration of how this situation was allowed to unfold, students cannot be confident that similar situations will not happen again in the future. Unfortunately, it seems that this is not an isolated incident – just this year there have been repeated issues, including problems with Oriel during Academic Foundation Programme (AFP) applications, a lack of information about when the SJT booking system would open, and technical errors that initially prevented students from booking tests with reasonable adjustments. 

On this basis, DAUK would like to push for student representation within UKFPO, to enable students to have some say in the major decisions that affect the first two years of their training as doctors. A more collaborative relationship, and a clear point of contact within UKFPO with a defined role, could pave the way for more support, clarity and transparency in the application process. 

Please let us know if this is something you’d like to see!