Meet the 2023 EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Winner!
Jeanette Anderson, Leader of the Edgar Stene Prize Jury, interviews Shauna O'Connor, Stene Prize Winner, on her winning essay, "Your daughter has arthritis, trust me”.
Read the full essay watch and listen
2023 EULAR Edgar Stene Prize topic:
“How better communication with my doctor improved my life with an RMD”
See the list of EULAR PARE Member Organisations
Congratulations to the 2023 winner and finalists!
First prize
“Your daughter has arthritis, trust me”
by
Shauna O'Connor
"Don’t try to blend in. Your pain will still be there whether you say something or not. The difference is, it doesn’t have to be that bad. You deserve to have adjustments made in your life to make things less difficult. Ask for help with long queues, ask for the exam support in university, ask about the medication you are being prescribed, ask for any and all supports available to you. I plan to keep using my voice, because at the end of the day it is my future and I believe it deserves to be as pain free as possible."
Read the full essay watch and listen
Runner-up
'
The Waiting Room
'
by
Stefanie Hulst
"What do you want to do?” With that one simple question he gave me ownership back over my treatment, and my life. He pointed his pen to a strange balloon-like structure between the bones of my wrist on the computer screen. “The MRI you asked me to do clearly shows a ganglion.” A fluid-filled cyst in the wrist joint capsule, he explained. "Unfortunately, it’s in a location we can’t get to, so we can’t remove it." He looked at me and waited patiently for the explanation to sink in. Then I asked: "What are my options?"
Third place
'
Between hope and trepidation'
by
Annette Vogt
"This situation and others showed me what a difference good communication makes and how I feel so much better as a result. For people on the outside these may seem like trivial questions. “How did your exams go?” “Are you on holiday now?” or “What are you doing for your holidays?” That shows me that I’m not just viewed as a patient with a disease, I'm viewed as a real person with goals and projects in my life."
Thank you to all participants for your contribution!
See quotes from all other participant essays
Meet the EULAR Edgar Stene Prize 2023 Jury
Names listed from left to right:
- Zoltan Szekanecz, Scientific Member Societies Vice President
- Jeanette Andersen, Leader of the EULAR PARE Editorial Board, PARE Committee Member and Leader of the Stene Prize 2022 Jury
- Hristina Bankova, Stene Prize winner 2020
- Joana Vicente, EULAR Young PARE member
- Anette Slåtta, Vice Chairman of BURG, the Youth Organisation of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association
- Leticia Leon, Health Psychologist PhD Researcher, Rheumatology Unit, Hospital Clinico San Carlos
Related Information
Stene Prize Booklets
Access the Stene Prize booklets from previous competition editions to read the inspiring and moving stories from its winners:
EULAR in the context of persons living with RMDs
EULAR exists to reduce the burden of RMDs on individuals and society, and to improve treatment, prevention and rehabilitation outcomes. It demonstrates the impact of RMDs on society, the economy and individuals – including families and loved ones.
The EULAR family gives its time to share experiences of living or working with a condition, and to raise awareness of the need for early diagnosis and the right treatment at the right time.