Mary Ward Essay Competiton for Traffic Medicine 2022

The National Office for Traffic Medicine is delighted to announce that the winner of the Mary Ward Essay Competition 2022 is Rachel Coomey, a fourth year undergraduate medicine student at Trinity College Dublin.

Her essay entitled "Long Covid: the long road ahead" excelled because it was exceedingly well-written and provided insights into this very topical issue that were firmly grounded in the empirical evidence. Rachel will receive €500 in prize money and will present her research at the Traffic Medicine research webinar on 5 May 2022.

Frederick Lee Xin Yang (School of Medicine, RCSI) and Neha Siddartha (School of Medicine, NUIG) were awarded joint second place. Laura Bruen (School of Medicine, UCD) and Hazel Brunton (School of Medicine, UL) were awarded joint third place.

We would like to thank all entrants for their insightful essays and their interest in Traffic Medicine!

The prize winning essays are available to read below.

Prize Winners 2022

First prize

Rachel Coomey (School of Medicine, TCD), "Long Covid: The long road ahead".

Joint second prize

Frederick Lee Xin Yang (School of Medicine, RCSI), "Driving: A vague future for Parkinson's"

Neha Siddhartha (School of Medicine, NUIG), "Youth, cannabis, schizophrenia and Fitness to Drive: A complex relationship"

Joint third prize

Hazel Brunton (School of Medicine, UL), "Women who walk"

Laura Bruen (School of Medicine, UCD), "Sláint agus Rothaíocht: the potential, or lack thereof, for cycling to offer indepence to those medically unfit to drive"

Previous Winners

2021

A full list of entrants and prizewinners is available here.

You can read the prizewinning entries below:

Joint first prize

Jane Fagan (School of Medicine, UCD), “Epilepsy and Traffic Medicine: Are current driving restrictions for people with epilepsy discriminatory?”.

Connor Kearns (School of Medicine, RCSI), “Adapt or perish: the driving experience in patients with rheumatoid arthritis”.

Joint second prize

Aoife Donohue (School of Medicine, UCD), “Exploring the potential role of simulated driving in assessing fitness to drive after stroke”.

Caoilfhionn Jordan (School of Medicine, UCD), “Concussion and Driving: Call for a New Framework to Assist Return to Driving”.

Joint third prize

Alannah Dolan (School of Medicine, UCD), “Driving: A modifiable risk factor that accelerates the journey towards poor health”.

Helena Scanlan (School of Medicine, TCD), “The intersection of traffic medicine and bipolar disorder - a patient-centred approach".

2020 

Réiltín Tynan from the School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway won the 1st prize in 2020 for an essay entitled 'The morning after the night before: Night-shift and the danger it poses to Irish road users.'

Kathryn Haley from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland won the 2nd prize in 2020 for an essay entitled 'Multiple Sclerosis and Traffic Medicine: Examining MS as a Cause for Concern in Irish Road Safety.'

Julia Ryan from the School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin won the 3rd prize in 2020 for an essay entitled 'Possibilities for Healthcare Professional Involvement in Older Adults Transitioning into Driver Retirement and Maintaining Health and Wellbeing.'

2019 

Edward Ahern, from the School of Medicine, University College Cork won 1st prize in 2019 for an essay entitled 'Cataracts and Traffic Medicine A Common Road Safety Issue Which we Fail to See'.

Olwyn Feely from the School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin won 2nd prize for an essay entitled 'Medical fitness to drive and our ageing population should we abolish medical testing in older drivers'.

Chai Shang Yuin from the School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway won a commendation for an essay entitled 'Lagging Behind – The Emerging Influence of Jet Lag on Road Safety'.

Take a look at the 2019 winning essays below:

1st prize: 'Cataracts and Traffic Medicine A Common Road Safety Issue Which we Fail to See' by Edward Ahern (UCC)

2nd prize: 'Medical fitness to drive and our ageing population should we abolish medical testing in older drivers' by Olwyn Feely (TCD)

Commendation: 'Lagging Behind – The Emerging Influence of Jet Lag on Road Safety' by Chai Shang Yuin

2017

Luke Wallis, 4th year student from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland won 1st prize in 2017. Luke won €500 and presented his findings at the National Office for Traffic Medicine Research study day on Health, Mobility and Road Safety Research on 14 March 2017 in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

Take a look at 2017 winning essays below.

1st prize:  Motor vehicle safety and pregnant women by Luke Wallis (RCSI)

2nd prize: Obstructive sleep apnoea and driving safety - implications for reduction in road traffic accidents by Michael Fitzsimons (UL)

Joint 3rd prize: Medical fitness to drive:  Steering the conversation towards obesity? by Niamh Boyle (UCD) Medical fitness to drive - The impact of benzodiazepines by Eithne Nic an Riogh (UCD)

Contact us