Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2019 | Page 27

AWARDS FEATURE
The Pearson Award supports an activity for an individual professional or student RCOT member that forms part of their
education, research or continuing professional development.
The two recipients are Niamh Kinsella, a lecturer at Queen Margaret
University, who used the award to support dissemination of her research into
person-centred occupational therapy with people living with dementia, at
RCOT’s annual conference; and Lorna Sankey, an occupational therapist
at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, who used the award to
complete a two-day course with Harrison Training on neurological upper
limb rehabilitation.
The Constance Owens Early Researcher Award is new for 2019, and provides funding from The Constance Owens Trust
to enable an individual occupational therapist to begin to participate in research, through a pilot or preliminary research activity
relevant to occupational therapy, and which will have a likely impact on outcomes for service users and/or carers, and the
effectiveness of the occupational therapy service.
Dr Charlotte Brooks, a lecturer and Macmillan cancer rehabilitation lead at the University of
Southampton, won the award and said: ‘I was delighted to be awarded the Constance Owens Early
Researcher Award. I plan to use it to conduct a qualitative study exploring the impact of cancer related
fatigue on occupational engagement. This will inform my clinical work with cancer survivors with fatigue,
future research questions and funding bids. The award will enable me to develop as an independent
researcher.’
There were two recipients of the RCOT Student Award for Entrepreneurship, a new award for 2019, providing support
towards a pre-registration student entrepreneurial activity, for example: a project, community engagement activity or new
service development, with a focus on the relevance of the activity to the development of occupational therapy and the benefit to
service users.
Jade Hearson and Rachel Rule co-founded Sense-Aware, a project that
created a bespoke sensory hub within Plymouth for children, young people
and adults wanting to access a space for sensory circuits, and will use the
award to purchase an interactive projector.
Rachel said: ‘The whole Sense-Aware team are over the moon to have
won this award from RCOT. What started as a student fundraising venture
has blossomed into a whole community project – all with a focus on
improving support for young people experiencing difficulties with their mental health. We are so grateful – thank you!”
Jade added: ‘I hope to encourage other students (and professionals) to think outside the box, be innovative and show that
occupational therapists make great entrepreneurs, and there is no time like the present whilst facing uncertainties with the ever-
changing health system!’
APPLY FOR 2020 AWARDS NOW
Applications are open for the 2020 RCOT awards for learning, development and research. The same categories as in 2019 will
apply, with two additional awards available for the Constance Owens Liverpool Award for Service Development. Applications
will close on Tuesday 29 October. For more information, visit: www.rcot.co.uk/rcot-awards.
OTnews October 2019 27