Awards, Honours and Prizes

Purpose

The Intensive Care Society recognises that there are those practicing intensive care medicine deserving of special recognition for their contributions to the specialty. This document has the aim of clarifying the awards and special recognition that is available and to clarify the criteria and application process for receiving these special awards.

Nomination process

Any member can suggest nominations for awards to be formally considered by the Council through the Head of Secretariat or the Honorary Secretary. Dates by which applications should be received are specified below and will be notified through the Journal of the Intensive Care Society (JICS) and through the e-Newsletter.

The process meets all requirements related to discrimination legislation.

Criteria for awards

The awards are described with their criteria for awarding as shown below. Successful recipients will be listed on the Society website.

Honorary Membership

The award of Honorary Membership is considered for those who have made sustained and significant contributions to the practice of critical care medicine at national and/ or international level over a sustained period of time. The contribution could be as a result of clinical commitment, innovation, the instigation or completion of research, education or administrative endeavor. It is open to both medical and non-medical or non-specialist candidates. The application and citation should include examples of the candidate’s contributions and their outcomes.

Suggestions for Honorary Membership will be discussed and voted on in the September meeting of Council, therefore applications and citations should be received by 1 September each year. Nominations should be submitted to the Honorary Secretary in writing, and endorsed by two ordinary members of the Society. Following Council approval, the Honorary Secretary will invite a Member to write a citation of up to 500 words which will be uploaded in full on the ICS website and printed in the State of the Art meeting Delegate's Handbook. Honorary Memberships will be awarded at the State of the Art meeting in December, at the Awards Ceremony. Recipients will be introduced and either the full or an abbreviated citation read by the President of the Society, and will receive a medal to keep. Recipients may be invited to make a brief acceptance speech. Honorary Members will not be expected to pay a membership subscription following their election to Honorary Membership, will have the registration fee waived to attend any future Society events and if already a member, will retain the same rights and privileges.

Honorary Members are:

Distinguished Membership
These are intended to acknowledge the contribution made by members of the Society to the development of intensive care services at a local or regional level. Examples of this achievement might include outstanding service in research, its development or in teaching, setting up a new service, onerous or continuing commitment over long periods of time.
Distinguished Members will receive a Certificate of Honour, and their names will be added to the Society's Role of Distinguished Members. The award will be announced at the Society’s State of the Art Meeting and a framed certificate will be presented.
Nominations must be made by two Society members and agreed by the local Regional Adviser in Intensive Care Medicine. The nomination will need to be accompanied by a citation of up to 500 words. Nominations are not normally considered for members of less than 15 years standing. Nominations should be submitted to the Honorary Secretary by the 1 September each year.
Distinguished Members shall be elected upon the recommendation of local peers and Council and the agreement of a majority of the members present. They retain their membership entitlements.

No membership subscription shall be payable by Distinguished Members but will continue to pay the required fees to attend the Society’s events.

Distinguished Members are:

The Whitaker Award
Tony Whitaker was a valued ICS member who was renowned for his legendary and often unpredictable questions or feedback at annual meetings, which usually produced valuable discussion for the speakers and audience. Tony died of pancreatic cancer in 2006 and provided a donation to the Society in his will that has been used to create the Whitaker Award. The recommendation from his family and friends was that because of Tony’s enthusiasm for diving, that the award holder should posses a diving belt with their name engraved.
In accordance with Tony Whitaker’s reputation for being controversial and prepared to take a different perspective, the Whitaker Award will be awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the intensive care community with the recognition that these were unpredicted, unusual, or different in a way that makes them genuinely extraordinary. This could include different areas of interest or expertise, including novel technical developments, academic achievements, amendments to clinical care or innovative changes in practice that increase patient safety or quality of care. There are no specifically set criteria but there should be convincing evidence that achievements are exceptional and appreciated.
Nominations should be sent to the Honorary Secretary by 1 September each year. There will only be one award holder each year – and if appropriate nominations are not made there may be occasions when the Award is not given. Nominations will be considered by Council at the September Council Meeting. A citation will be prepared and uploaded on the Society’s website and in the State of the Art Delegate’s Handbook. The successful nominee will be notified in writing and invited to the State of the Art meeting Awards Ceremony to receive their award and the citation, either in full or abbreviated, will be read out at the ceremony.

The nominee will keep the Whitaker Award for one year. Previous award winners are:

The Intensive Care Society President’s Award
This award is to recognise people who have made a significant contribution to intensive care medicine in its wider sense over a specific project or time period, and is open to individuals who are not members of the Society. The President makes a recommendation to Council no later than the November Council meeting.

The award is exceptional rather than annual or per term and depends on the emergence of suitable individuals.

The President will write the citation which will be uploaded onto the Society's website and printed in the Delegate Handbook. The citation is read out in full or an abbreviated version at the Awards Ceremony and the award is in the form of a Gold Leaf embossed certificate. The individual has the registration fees waivered for the day of the Awards Ceremony and is invited to attend the Speakers' Dinner.

Intensive Care Society President's Award holders are:

Eponymous Lectureships
The lectureships acknowledge both the contribution to the advancement of critical care medicine by the lecturer but also the contribution of Drs Hanson (Gillian Hanson Lecture) and Gilston (Gilston Lecture) to the development of critical care in the United Kingdom. These are awarded to established senior clinicians, academic experts or pioneers in their fields who have advanced the science or art of critical care practice.
Nominations will be decided at the September meeting of Council and are normally nominated or invited from within Council in consultation with the membership, who are welcome to suggest suitable candidates through the Head of Secretariat or Honorary Secretary. They are delivered at the Society’s State of the Art Meeting.

The Gillian Hanson Lecture
Dr Gillian Hanson was a Consultant in intensive care medicine at Whipp’s Cross Hospital. Following her death, her family made a donation to the Society to commemorate her contributions to the specialty. Where possible, lectures relate to Dr Hanson’s particular interests, i.e. the clinical aspects of caring for patients including history, examination and interpretation of physical signs, and relationships with nursing colleagues. It is given by outstanding invited figures in the field of intensive care medicine or allied specialties. The lecturer is invited by Council and usually determined in the September meeting. If members wish to nominate a speaker, they should contact the Honorary Secretary by 1 September with their suggestion.

The Gillian Hanson Lecture is normally delivered at the winter State of the Art meeting, biannually in rotation with the Gilston Lecture, in the same session the Society’s awards take place. Ten seats are reserved for members of Dr Hanson’s family and invited guests to attend. The Speaker is presented with a decanter and invited to the Speakers’ Dinner.

Gillian Hanson Lectures have been delivered by the following:

The Gilston Lecture
Dr Alan Gilston founded the first national organisation for intensive care, the Intensive Care Society, in 1970 and was a consultant at the National Heart Hospital from 1967-1990. The Gilston Lecture named in his honour is delivered biannually in rotation with the Gillian Hanson Lecture at State of the Art. The Speaker is presented with the Gilston medal before the start of the lecture.

Gilston Lecturers have been delivered by the following:

Research Committee Awards
The ICS is committed to supporting research and especially to promoting the research and young intensive care doctors early in their careers. The awards are intended to be pump-priming grants that will lead to further and more substantial support from other grant-giving bodies. The grants are open to members and non-members of the Society. For further details, please visit the individual awards pages of the Society’s website.

The Young Investigator Award
The definition of “young” is left intentionally open and generally means those either in training or soon after appointment to a substantive post. Equal weighting will be given to quality clinical research projects and laboratory-based projects that have a relevance to the field of intensive care. Priority for funding will go to those distinct small projects where the “Young Investigator” plays a principal role and where the project will build research capacity.
The Society has only modest funds available each year and therefore limits the maximum for individual grants to £15,000. The Society is recognized as an NIHR portfolio partner. In 2010 a total of £60,000 was awarded.
Part-funding proposals (in conjunction with other grant sources) will be considered but must be accompanied by a clear indication of how ICS funds will be allocated and contribute to the overall project. Lower priority will be given for applications merely seeking top-up to larger projects.
Applications will undergo an extensive review process involving both internal and external reviewers. In September the committee will review the applications and reviews and depending on the circumstances should arrive at a decision. However in exceptional circumstance applicants may be required to participate in a further stage of the selection process. This would usually entail clarification by written (email) communication. The final decision to award will be made by the committee and acknowledged in writing. Feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants.
The following aspects of the proposal are scored:
• Originality of work
• Quality of study design/methods
• Proposed statistical analysis
• Feasibility within timescale
• Relevance to intensive care
• Chance of obtaining subsequent substantial funding
• Overall compliance with the aims of the Young Investigator Award.
This score remains confidential to the committee. The decision of the Research Committee will be final and binding. There is no appeals process. The Research Committee will expect a written report at the conclusion of the project along with copies of any publications that arise. It is a condition of the award of a grant that the Intensive Care Society is acknowledged in all presentations and publication of work resulting from the research. A written report at the conclusion of the project, and an annual progress report is required on the anniversary of the award. Applicants are expected to submit a holding slide of their presentation at the Winter State of the Art Meeting.

Young Investigator Award 2011 Winners
Rebecca Ingram, Queen’s University Belfast
Simon Scott, University of Leicester
Michael O’Dwyer, Bart and the London Queen Mary School of Medicine

The Gold Medal
The Research Committee wish to promote and encourage the presentation of the best critical care science in the UK at our national scientific meetings. Young (or new in their career) investigators with limited budgets have to make difficult decisions about where to present their work. With many international meetings, new and original work at the forefront of UK intensive care research is not being made available to a national audience. To increase interest, awareness and debate, the Society actively fosters our future scientists, recognises and applauds what is currently being achieved.

The Intensive Care Society Research Gold Medal is awarded annually to a new investigator who has shown excellence in science relevant to intensive care practice so that their work is more widely appreciated.

The award process also allows a number of finalists to achieve recognition through formal presentation at a national meeting in front of their peers. The award is presented annually at the winter State of the Art Meeting. The award is open to all young (or new) investigators involved in Critical Care research in the UK up to and including Consultants or equivalent within 2 years of appointment. They must be proposed by an ICS member. They must have done a reasonable body of work that would usually have either been presented at this or other equivalent scientific meetings, published in abstract form or published as full papers. A single study addressing a limited question, unless supported by the applicants own pilot or developmental work, would not on its own represent a “body of work”. The applicant should normally have completed the equivalent of one year’s full time research (for example work contributing to a higher degree).

Applicants are invited to present a “body of work” by producing a concise fully referenced summary to a maximum of 1,000 words (excluding references). Up to two figures or tables may be included. State your contribution to this work and over what period it has been undertaken. Outline the original hypothesis and background, the questions you have addressed and the methods your have used. Discuss your results and the conclusions drawn and explain how this has advanced our understanding of this area and its relevance to intensive care. For format please follow the general principles given for research abstracts available on our web site (although of course this will be longer).

The finalists’ 1,000 word summaries will be published in JICS following approval of the author. In exceptional circumstances authors may submit a modified version for publication in JICS if the inclusion of some data might preclude later publication in a scientific journal.
The finalists will be selected by a panel of judges drawn from the Research Committee. They will review the summaries using similar criteria as for abstracts or research. They will look for a clear and logical description of the work and its outcome.
• Originality and relevance to intensive care.
• The background and hypothesis for the work.
• Quality of study design/methods that have been used and how this evolved as the work progressed.
• A summary presentation of results that are used to support a discussion and critical appraisal of the work.
• Appropriate use of statistical analysis including mention of any weaknesses.
• Conclusions that reflect the outcome of the research and its impact on the care of the critically ill.

Finalists will be informed in the week commencing in September of the year of application.
Finalists will present a 20 minute lecture with 10 minutes for discussion which will be available in the Research Forum at the ICS State of the Art Winter. Judging will be performed by a team of Chairpersons using standard criteria. Excellence will be recognised through the quality, originality and relevance of the work combined with excellence in presentation skills.
The following five point criteria will be used to judge the 30 minute presentation and questions.
• Spoken presentation that is clear, with a good argument that leads from aims to conclusions in a logical manner.
• Plan of work that has an evidence supported hypothesis/rationale, sound design and appropriate use of methods and that is both original and has relevance to intensive care.
• Accurate and sound presentation of results & conclusions with appropriate use of figures and statistics that can be justified and resolutely defended.
• Discussion arising from questions answered clearly & constructively without evasion. Clear ideas on where these findings lead and implications for future research or practice.
• Excellence in use of audiovisuals that enhances and does not distract from the findings
All finalists are also encouraged to present research posters on the day – prizes are subject to funding each year. . All finalists will be given free meeting registration costs, plus up to £200 towards travel and accommodation based upon receipts. All finalists will be invited to the Speakers' Dinner and receive recognition.
The award winner will hold the title for one year of “Intensive Care Society Research Gold Medal Holder”, and be presented with a certificate embossed with a gold emblem.

Gold Medal winners:
2008 Mr Alex Dyson, University College London
2009 Dr Thelma Craig, Belfast
2010 Dr Andrew Conway Morris, University of Edinburgh

The Travelling Fellowship
The Research Committee agreed to suspend this award for a further 3 year period and would be reviewed end of 2014.

The Medical Student Essay Prize
The Medical Student Essay Prize and a prize of £200 will be awarded for the best medical student essay on a topic relevant to critical care. The applicant should be an undergraduate student in a recognised UK medical school / university in November of the year of application. Applications may also be submitted from students undergoing intercalated courses of study.
The essay must be on an aspect of critical care relevant to research/audit/training and could be a literature review. Extra credit will be given for any original material included, e.g. summary of a project the student has been involved in, although this is not a pre-requisite. The essay should be around 5,000 words excluding references; submissions greater than 7,000 words are discouraged. Submissions may include relevant figures / tables / diagrams where these improve the clarity of the text, but should not be included where the added value is minimal. Marks will be awarded for relevance to critical care, originality, scientific value, clarity and good style.
The winning essay will be considered for publication in the Journal of the Intensive Care Society and all essays will be considered for upload on the ICS website, so students should take care to avoid copyright infringement in any figures used. Plagiarism will result in the entry being disqualified. The prize will be judged by the Research Committee and conferred by Council. The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered in to. Applicants will be notified of the results in January following submission.

Submissions are due in electronic format only (Word .doc or .docx, .rtf or compatible) the last week in November of the year applied in, for the attention of the chair of the research committee via the secretariat. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Medical student essay winner
2008 Roxana Curtis, St George's University of London
2009 Justin Healy, University of Manchester
2010 Daniel Kelly, Brighton & Sussex Medical School & Liming Qiu, Barts & the London School of Medicine and Dentistry

2011 Awards