2012 Hippocrates Awards for Poetry and Medicine

One week to go to the 31st Jan deadline for entries to the 2012 Hippocrates poetry & medicine awards for unpublished poems on a medical theme of up to 50 lines written in English in either of 2 categories: an Open International Prize and a UK NHS-related Prize for an unpublished poem. With a 1st prize for the winning poem in each category of £5,000, the Hippocrates prize is one of the highest value poetry awards in the world for a single poem. In each category there is also a 2^nd prize of £1,000, 3^rd prize of £500, and 20 commendations each of £50.  Anyone in the world may enter the Open category. The NHS category is open to UK National Health Service employees, health students, and those working in professional organisations involved in education and training of NHS students and staff. The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine is a major supporter of the 2012 Hippocrates Awards, which are also supported by the Cardiovascular Research Trust.

For these entries, medicine may be interpreted in the broadest sense. Themes for prize entries may include the nature of the body and anatomy; the history, evolution, current and future state of medical science; the nature and experience of tests; the experience of doctors, nurses and other staff in hospitals and in the community.  Other topics might include experience of patients, families, friends and carers; experiences of acute and long-term illness, dying, birth, cure and convalescence; the patient journey; the nature and experience of treatment with herbs, chemicals and devices used in medicine. In the 2010 and 2011 awards, winning entries covered themes ranging from recollection of effects of his own stroke by New Zealand Poet CK Stead; to a relative’s experience of cancer; reflections on the early days of the NHS; and the impact of ageing.