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PIF Australia essay competition

Held annually, the PIF Essay Competition allows eligible PIF members to explore and discuss a specified topic on psychiatry and/or mental health through a written essay.

Essay entries are limited to 1000-1500 words and judged by an assessment panel of RANZCP members according to clarity of expression and logical presentation of argument, along with demonstrated evidence and originality.

The winning essay receives A$1000 and is published in Australasian Psychiatry, with 2nd and 3rd place receiving A$500 and A$250 respectively.

2023 Essay Competition

Psychiatrists have a crucial role to promote the health of individual patients as well as advocating for mental health services more broadly. As health advocates, psychiatrists' partner with patients, their carers and other professionals to bring about improvements in the design and provision of mental health care. 

With this in mind, the 2023 PIF Australian essay competition topic is – ‘A psychiatrist’s role in advocacy’.

How to submit

Essays must be submitted by 5 pm AEDT Monday 15 January 2024.  

Please read the Terms and Conditions below before entering the competition.

 Submit now

Terms and conditions

Eligibility
  1. Entrants must be:
    1. a current Psychiatry Interest Forum (PIF) member in Australia (or have an eligible PIF application pending); and
    2. a medical student (including a recent graduate who is yet to commence PGY1 year); or
    3. a medical postgraduate year 1 or year 2 doctor (PGY 1/2). 
  2. Trainees and Fellows of another specialty are ineligible to enter.
  3. Previous PIF Essay Competition winners (i.e. 1st place award recipients) are ineligible to enter.
  4. Only one essay entry per entrant is permitted. Co-authored entries will not be accepted.
  5. Submitted essays must reflect the original work of one eligible individual and must not have previously been published online or offline in any format. 
Entry requirements
  1. Essay entries must address the topic: ‘A psychiatrist’s role in advocacy?’
  2. The word limit is 1000-1500 words. Essay submissions that are greater than 10% above or below word limit (900-1650) will be deemed ineligible. The word limit includes all citations and quotes within the body of essay, but excludes the reference list, bibliography, or any appendices.
  3. Entrants should cite the academic and other literature on which their submission draws and include a short bibliography.
  4. All references must be formatted according to the Harvard system.
  5. The essay must be submitted in English as a Word document (.doc or .docx; PDF is not accepted).
  6. Essays must be submitted via the online form by 5 pm AEDT Monday 15 January 2024.  
  7. Entries received after this date and time will not be accepted.
Entry terms
  1. Essay authors retain ownership of their submitted essay.
  2. The winning essay authors agree to grant RANZCP the right to publish their work (either in whole or in part) in RANZCP publications, including Australasian Psychiatry, and on the RANZCP website.
  3. The RANZCP reserves the right to modify the format and content of essays for publication purposes.
  4. The RANZCP reserves the right to publicise the names of winning entrants, their location and their university or workplace in any RANZCP communications.
Assessment
  1. The assessment panel will comprise members from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
  2. Entries will be judged according to clarity of expression, logical presentation, demonstrated evidence, and originality.
  3. The RANZCP reserves the right to not award prizes if essay submissions are not considered appropriate.
  4. Results will be announced and winners will be contacted in the week of 19 February 2024. All outcomes are final. 
Prizes
  1. 1st prize, 2nd prize and 3rd prize winners will receive $1000, $500 and $250 respectively.
  2. The 1st prize winning essay will be published in an edition of Australasian Psychiatry.
  3. Prize money excludes GST and will be paid via bank transfer in Australian currency. 

Contact

For any enquiries, please email pif@ranzcp.org

The RANZCP has received Australian Government funding under the Psychiatry Workforce Program to deliver this activity.

Previous winners

2023 PIF Essay Competition

Winners will be announced in November.

2022 winning essays

Topic: What is the role of psychiatry in recovery from severe trauma?

Australian competition winners

First place: Georgina Digby
Second place: Toni Zhang
Third place: Angus Palfreeman

Last updated 01 December 2023