Scope announced today the three winners of the Independent Prescriber Bursary Awards 2022. The final took place on Tuesday 12 July, where eight finalists presented their case studies and answered questions from the panel of judges led by Professor Nick Rumney, and that included Sarah Farrant, Louise Madden and Ailbhe Ní Ráighne.
The standard of the presentations and content was very high from everyone on the night, with Nick Rumney commenting: "It’s heartening to see the quality and ambition of applicants and how optometry can grow and contribute to patient care.”
The three winners are listed below. Each will receive a £1500 bursary to put towards their Independent Prescriber course fees.
Ganeshbabu Mahalingam, Bradford (Apex Eye and Vision care [Wakefield] / University of Bradford / Asda opticians [Hull, Shipley, Pudsey, Morley] & VE [Hull]):
Danielle Penney, London (Coton & Hamblin):
Faye Matthews, Rochester (Niall O’Kane Optometrists [part of Eye Academy]):
The five runners up were Anuj Patel, Bhavisha Patel, Ravindra Kassie, Sophie Mulroy and Jasmeen Khera, each receiving a £100 educational voucher in recognition for reaching the final.
Edel Duffy, Head of Medical at SCOPE, commented that she and the medical team are proud of the success of this initiative and are delighted that the award has garnered so much interest among optometrists wanting to upskill, which can only benefit patients. She added: "SCOPE hope to make this an annual award, so keep an eye out for the 2023 IP Bursary next year.”
