Established in 1974 as a tribute to the late IBMS member Cyril Sanders MBE, the award was an annual competition by technical demonstration, open to any member or student of the IBMS who was not qualified for statutory registration with the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM).

With the replacement of the CPSM with the Health Professions Council (HPC), now known as the Health and Care professions (HCPC), qualification for statutory regulation changed and the award lapsed. 

The award was revised in 2018 and, in keeping with the original concept, it is now focussed on voluntary registration with the Science Council through the category of Registered Science Technician (RSciTech).

Revised Cyril Sanders Memorial Award

The award is now granted for the best CPD review by an IBMS member who is a Registered Science Technician (RSciTech).

This is in line with its original purpose as a prize for pre-registration biomedical scientists, or those not eligible for registration. 20 RSciTech registrants have their CPD records reviewed in November each year and have three months to complete the review.

Any RSciTech registrant not called for a CPD review can still be considered for the award by sending their CPD records to be reviewed.

Judging the Award

All reviews that the CPD review assessment team consider that meet RSciTech standards are submitted for an annual Science Council CPD Award.

Any that they consider to be of a very high standard are also submitted for the Cyril Saunders Memorial Award based on the criteria that they: 

  1. Clearly demonstrate all the required CPD standards for maintenance of the RSciTech award.
     
  2. Highlight they have undertaken activities that go over and above the minimal standards and clearly demonstrate CPD that has benefited the overall service and users.

The IBMS Council, a member of the assessment team and the Professional Support Services Manager will then make judgement for the Cyril Saunders Memorial Award.

The prize

The winner will be awarded a certificate and a cash prize of £100 which will be presented at a regional or local level by the IBMS members Council Member.