Ms Kristel Leung won the prize for her story "A Final Bargain"

The BCMJ is pleased to announce the winner of the 2015 J.H. MacDermot Prize for Excellence in Medical Journalism for the best article or essay by a student author: Ms Kristel Leung of the UBC Medicine Class of 2016. Ms Leung won for her evocative story of cherished relationships and life’s difficult moments, “A Final Bargain” (BCMJ 2015;57:158-159 [9]). 

Among many interests Ms Leung enjoys storytelling, drawing inspiration from her experiences in and out of the medical world, and endeavors to spark conversation and connect readers through her writing. In her spare time she also enjoys biking, photography, and playing board games. Ms Leung will be graduating from UBC’s Vancouver Fraser program and will embark on the next stage of her training with the Internal Medicine program at the University of Ottawa. 

The $1000 MacDermot prize recognizes a BC medical student’s significant achievement in medical writing (article or essay) and honors Dr John Henry MacDermot (1883–1969), a former editor of the Vancouver Medical Bulletin and the BC Medical Journal, and a past president of both the Vancouver Medical Association and the then-BCMA.

The BCMJ welcomes submissions from student authors, and awards writing prizes for the best BC med student submissions accepted for publication. BC medical students are encouraged to submit everything from full-length scientific articles, essays, and blog posts to humor, reflections, or criticism in order to experience the challenges and rewards of medical publishing. For more information about the awards, past winners, and how to submit content to the BCMJ, visit bcmj.org/jh-macdermot-writing-awards [10].