POGP bursaries, awards and prizes

Dame Josephine Barnes was a  leading English obstetrician and gynaecologist. She became the first female president of the British Medical Association in 1979, but the year prior to this became president of the POGP (ACPOG as it was know then). She held this post with ACPOG for 18 years and was instrumental in the creation of this bursary. 

Ownership of the bursary

The bursary is owned by  POGP and used by its members for educational and research needs and for promoting pelvic, obstetric and gynaecological physiotherapy in this country and abroad.

Applications to the bursary

Application forms are available electronically from the POGP website. Applications will be considered every six months with closing dates 31st January and 31st July each year. You must be a member (full or affiliate) of POGP to apply.

Applications can be retrospective or anticipatory.

In all cases, the maximum amount granted shall be £1000, and there is no minimum amount that shall be awarded.
 

Complete the online application form

NB. Please return both the application form (immediately above) AND the registraton form (top of the page) to awards@thepogp.co.uk. 

Use of the bursary

It will be made available for use in the following ways:

1. Partial or full funding of courses
2. Enable a member to travel abroad where they would be acting as an ambassador for POGP and also promoting of women's health and/or continence.
3. Provision of seed funding for a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) section of research

Criteria for selection

All applicants must:  

• Be a paid-up Full or Affiliate member of POGP
• Fill in/complete the necessary online registration and application form.
• Give concise reasons for application, explaining the benefits to women's health, the Association, the patient, and/or physiotherapy generally
• Provide a Curriculum Vitae
• Explain the relevance to the applicant's career development and future Continuing Professional Development
• Provide a precise breakdown of expected expenses i.e course fees, travel, subsistence
• Seek the cheapest travel and accommodation (within reasonable limits, i.e block travel bookings by agreed carriers, block hotel bookings, APEX and cheap return tickets)
• When travelling abroad, provide evidence of adequate insurance cover
• Provide a précis of the course content or an abstract of the lecture or poster presentation
• Provide evidence of acceptance on the course or an invitation to speak
• Submit the application before the agreed deadline

 Further application to the Dame Josephine Barnes will only be considered 2 years after the date of the last application.

Testimonials

“I was the recipient of the Dame Josephine Barnes Bursary in July 2017. It was a straight forward application process, with excellent support and communication from the POGP team. I was thrilled to receive the full £500 bursary.

The funding I received was used to contribute to the cost of the Post Graduate Certificate in Continence at the University of Bradford. I completed this course in 2019.

I would highly recommend applying for this bursary to support your learning and continuing professional development.”

Sarah, POGP Member

Margie Polden, FCSP, worked at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, where she initiated and developed physiotherapy in obstetrics and gynaecology, and within ACPOG - now POGP - made an enormous contribution to the education of physiotherapists and other professionals.

Through her work and books, Margie influenced and educated numerous physiotherapy students.

After her death in 1998 many members of POGP wished to honour Margie and this was made possible through the generosity of Margie's family. This has enabled the creation of the Margie Polden Memorial Fund, which supports the Margie Polden Memorial Lecture and the Margie Polden Bursary.

The Margie Polden Memorial Lecture

This will be delivered at the POGP conference and will be from a guest speaker chosen by the Executive Trustees of POGP.

The Margie Polden Bursary

A bursary was set up in memory of Margie by the generosity of her husband to fund a place at the POGP conference for a student or newly-qualified physiotherapist. This bursary will be awarded annually to an applicant who is able to demonstrate an interest in the field of pelvic, obstetric, and gynaecological physiotherapy and is keen to develop that interest further.

The applicant should be a pre-registration physiotherapy student, or have qualified during the same year as the conference. 

The bursary funds both the conference fee and accommodation costs, however it does not fund the travel costs for the recipient.

Criteria for Selection

Please note: the next POGP conference is scheduled for autumn 2025.

Applicants must be:

1. A pre-registration physiotherapy student or a physiotherapist who has qualified during the same year as the conference.

Applicants must:

1. Complete the online application form  and usually by 31st July of a conference year. 
2. Provide an anonymised personal statement as requested on the application form.

NB. Please send your completed application form AND your awards registration form to awards@thepogp.co.uk.

Anne Bird was chairman of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (now POGP) from 1985 to 1988. As superintendent of the physiotherapy department of Bristol Royal Infirmary she created a centre of excellence for obstetric and gynaecological physiotherapy. The Anne Bird Prize commemorates the life of Anne Bird by encouraging and recognising in others those qualities which she valued.

The Anne Bird Award will normally be awarded annually to an individual, or individuals, who show overall excellence, professionalism and empathy in their educational development within the POGP. The successful nominee may have also made a special contribution to an POGP post-registration course or to physiotherapy in pelvic health.

Each nominee will be nominated by a POGP member.

Nominations should be completed by using the online nomination form by 31st July each year. Applications will be reviewed by the POGP trustees.
 

Criteria for Nomination

• Nominee must be a Full or Affiliate member of POGP. 

Nomination Documents Required

• Nomination form
• Awards registration form

Complete the online Nomination Form

Testimonials

“Winning the Anne Bird award in 2014 was such a lovely surprise. I was nominated for launching social media platforms for POGP and it’s great to see how well they are doing today. I would really encourage any POGP member to vote for someone they feel deserves the Anne Bird award!”

Rebecca, 2014 Anne Bird Prize Winner and POGP Member
 

"I was so honoured (and surprised) to win the Anne Bird Prize in 2016 for the work I'd done helping to co-ordinate the development of 4 new POGP Workshops. Being on the POGP Education Sub-Committee at the time, I'd met and got the opportunity to work alongside so many wonderful pelvic-health physios, and had learnt so much from them all, that this was the icing on top of the cake. There are so many brilliant Women's Health physios doing such great things for our profession, its lovely to have an award like this to recognise some of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. "

Camilla Lawrence, 2016 Anne Bird Award Winner

"I was awarded the Anne Bird prize early in my career and it had a tremendously positive effect on me. I was working as a sole women’s health physiotherapist at an acute hospital and decided to advance my knowledge by signing up for the then ACPOG post qualification course. There was a one week residential plus one year of assignments with tutor visits observing my clinical work.  We returned for a weekend of feedback and handing in of the rather large stack of typed files showing research justification for all my clinical work, case studies and reflection pieces. I felt it a year well spent; a wonderfully supportive experience in which I had learnt so much. It had been hard work especially with a 2 year old and working full time but I felt it essential for my role.

Unbeknown to me, as it is anonymous, my tutor Arline Ashton had nominated me for the Anne Bird prize. I was so surprised to be awarded it at the conference dinner, but hugely grateful and happy. The award allows for nominations of excellence in POGP courses alongside showing values of empathy and compassion; the very values Anne Bird had herself and inspired in others. To think that my tutor had seen some of this excellence in me was hugely motivating and humbling.

It really was a spark that fired my passion even more to develop as a women’s health physiotherapist and also be get involved in POGP as an organisation. I will always be grateful for the support and nurturing of my tutor Arline Ashton and of the award she nominated me for. I have tried my best to promote the values of Anne Bird, which embodies POGP itself, all through my career. Kindness, empathy, care, excellence; they are as important now as they were when I was just starting out and I am truly grateful for having been encouraged early in my career.

I would encourage others to read about Anne Bird and to seek to nominate where they see this excellence and compassion."

Shirley Bustard, Anne Bird Award Winner

The award will fund one place on each of the following entry level POGP short courses:

1. Childbearing Year
2. Female Urinary Dysfunction  
3. Lower Bowel Dysfunction

Early career pelvic health physiotherapists may not find it easy to receive funding to apply for courses to help their clinical and professional development. Much of their learning may be through experience, and training within their workplace. Rotational physiotherapists who may be interested in pelvic health may also not be able to become members of professional networks or external organisations due to competing demands for their resources.

POGP encourages and advises completion of its series of short courses as part of career development for a physiotherapist interested in working in the specialism of Pelvic Health.

The course is named after Ruth Hawkes FCSP who during her first tenure as POGP (then ACPWH) Chair in 2000 founded the organisation’s short courses. She has continued to support their development whilst in her various roles of Education subcommittee chair and her second tenure as POGP Chair. She believes strongly in the role of the organisation in mentoring, supporting and nurturing physiotherapists who show an interest in pelvic health physiotherapy.

Ruth remains an active full member of POGP.

Criteria for application

The award is aimed specifically at the physiotherapist (early career and rotational) interested in a career in pelvic health physiotherapy who is not a member of POGP or who alternatively is a registered student and new graduate member who has qualified as a physiotherapist. The award is exclusively for physiotherapists based in the UK who are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) working in either the NHS and/or the private sector.

The successful applicant will be expected to join POGP and commit to a further 2 years membership.

The award will be offered twice each year.

Implementation of the award

The award will be overseen by the board of Trustees supported by the administrator and the POGP awards panel.

The selection of the successful applicant rests with the POGP board of Trustees.

The decision of the POGP board of Trustees is final. In the unlikely event of a problem arising, the trustees have the right to withdraw the award from the applicant at any time. This includes where the applicant has not become a member of POGP prior to starting the courses.

The unsuccessful applicant may apply again for the award and will be considered the following year or thereafter.

The award is valid for a period of two years. During that time the awardee will be expected to book their place on each course. Where possible the preferred choice of date and venue of the successful candidate will be offered.

It is anticipated that the dates of the courses booked may extend beyond 12 months.

Application procedure

A registration form and  application form is available electronically from the POGP website (see below). Applications will be considered twice annually and should normally be submitted, via POGP email, to the chairman before the closing date of January 31^st and July 31st each year.

To support their application, the applicants will include:

• a personal anonymised statement (maximum 500 words) that gives reasons for applying, explaining the benefits to their own clinical practice and any anticipated benefit to the patient, and/or physiotherapy generally
• anonymised Curriculum Vitae

Ruth Hawkes Early Career application form

NB. Please return both the application form AND the registraton form to awards@thepogp.co.uk. 

Exclusions

• Applications received after the deadline
• Physiotherapists who are not registered with the HCPC
• Previous POGP members or long- standing members of POGP
• Physiotherapists not working in UK

POGP wants to support and encourage early career researchers, and members actively engaging with research projects. The progression of research and evidence-based teaching underpins our vision, and we want to strengthen and develop pelvic health physiotherapy.

An annual fund of £15,000 is available to support between one and three projects, one of these is awarded in memory of Dr Jo Laycock, and the project outlined in this application should pertain to the field of continence.

Dr Jo Laycock was one of the first physiotherapists to gain a PhD in pelvic health physiotherapy in 1991. She recognised from the start that patient-centred care was important, and that research was essential to build the evidence base and supporting science for future generations of patients and professionals. Throughout her professional life, she balanced the essentials of good practice: teaching and learning from others; listening to patients; and gathering evidence. The PERFECT scale that she devised remains the most widely used measure of pelvic floor muscle function in research and clinical practice.

Jo received many honours over the course of her lifetime, including a CSP Fellowship, an OBE and an ICS Lifetime Achievement award in 2011. This research grant honours the memory of a long-standing and highly valued POGP member, and leader in the field of pelvic health physiotherapy. It is intended to continue to drive new knowledge and excellence in patient care in her name.

Criteria for application

• The research grant applicant must be a physiotherapist, member of the POGP, registered in the UK with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and in good standing.
• The research must be related to pelvic health physiotherapy.

Applications for 2024 are now open.

The closing date has been extended to Monday 11 November 2024, 17:00 (previously 30 September 2024).

Results to be announced in December 2024. 

Application documents

Before submitting an application, please read carefully the guidance notes document included below. Once you have completed the application form and the summary of planned research document, please send them, along with the supporting documents listed in the application form, to  info@thepogp.co.uk.

Guidance notes for a POGP research grant application

POGP research grant application form

Summary of planned research

Testimonials

“I am very grateful to have been a recipient of the POGP Research Grant in 2023. The grant supported the research component of my Advanced Clinical Practice MSc at Brunel University where I led an E-Delphi consensus study for my dissertation. This was my first piece of independent research and confirmed my aspirations to work as a clinical academic. I am now embarking on an NIHR Pre-Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship. Thank you POGP!”

Virginia Rivers Bulkeley, Research Grant Winner 2023 and POGP Member