The RCM Small Research Awards are an exciting initiative, available only to RCM members. The aim of the awards is to create an opportunity for RCM members to undertake a research-based activity that could be of benefit to them in their career – from making connections with others who already work in research, by deepening their research knowledge in a particular area of practice, or by developing a brief research or service evaluation proposal that could then be developed further or implemented in the future.
New for this year – the Maternity Support Worker award!
RCM Small Research Award Winners 2024:
Dawn’s topic was on perinatal mental health (PNMH) and her proposal concerned how effective a weekly peer support group would be for women in comparison with a weekly group led by a midwife with PNMH training.
Fi reflected on her conversation with research midwife Luisa Lyons, who was an inspiring role model. Fi considered research as part of her career pathway and stated that it is a “superpower for growing knowledge and challenging assumptions through evidence”.
Katie’s proposal concerned the exploring the knowledge gaps midwives have in genomics and newborn whole gene sequencing (WGS) which would inform an educational package to support midwives in ethically gaining appropriately informed consent from parents.
Daniella’s proposal was whether a six-month Preceptorship for MSWs rather than just an induction be beneficial to the Trust as well as the MSWs themselves.
How to apply
The Small Research Awards are now closed. If would like to be informed when the 2025 Awards open, click here to fill in the form.
What people said last year:
‘The discussions I had in preparation for my Small Research Award submission have made me even more enthusiastic about a career path into midwifery research and I look forward to finding an area I can be as enthusiastic about as the researchers I have encountered are. I would also recommend to any other students or even midwives if there is someone whose work you are interested in, reach out! I’m sure they would be happy to talk to you and spread the word of their work! ‘
[Eleanor Smithson, student midwife award applicant, 2022]
RCM Small Research Award winners 2023
The winners of the 2023 RCM Small Research Awards were:
Student Midwife – Donna Jones, University of West of Scotland.
Early Career Midwife – Mhairi McLellan, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Midwife – Sian Rogers, Research Midwife at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation
You can see Donna, Mhairi and Sian’s videos about their winning entries here: