PIF New Zealand Essay Competition

• Entrants must be:
  • a current Psychiatry Interest Forum (PIF) member in New Zealand (or have an eligible PIF application pending); and
  • a medical student (including a recent graduate who is yet to commence PGY1 year); or
  • a medical postgraduate year 1 or year 2 doctor (PGY 1/2).
• Trainees and Fellows of another specialty are ineligible to enter.
• Previous PIF Essay Competition winners (i.e. 1st place award recipients) are ineligible to enter.
• Only one essay entry per entrant is permitted. Co-authored entries will not be accepted. 
• Submitted essays must be the original work of one eligible individual, written solely by the applicant without any assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) tools, machine learning systems, or automated writing software. By submitting an entry, you confirm that your essay is entirely your own work, has not been previously published in any format (online or offline), and complies with these requirements.

• Essay entries must address the topic: ‘Seeing the whole person beyond the diagnosis’
• 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.
• Entrants should cite the academic and other literature on which their submission draws and include a short bibliography.
• All references must be formatted according to the Harvard system.
• The essay must be submitted in English as a Word document (.doc or .docx; PDF is not accepted).
• Essays must be submitted via the online form by Monday 19 January 2026.  
• Entries received after this date and time will not be accepted.

• Essay authors retain ownership of their submitted essay.
• 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.
• The RANZCP reserves the right to modify the format and content of essays for publication purposes.
• The RANZCP reserves the right to publicise the names of winning entrants, their location and their university or workplace in any RANZCP communications.

• The assessment panel will comprise members from the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
• Entries will be judged according to clarity of expression, logical presentation, demonstrated evidence, and originality.
• The RANZCP reserves the right to not award prizes if essay submissions are not considered appropriate.
• Results will be announced, and winners will be contacted in the week of 23 February 2026. All outcomes are final. 

• 1st prize, 2nd prize, and 3rd prize winners will receive NZ$1000, NZ$500 and NZ$250 respectively.
• The 1st prize winning essay will be published in an edition of Australasian Psychiatry.
• Prize money excludes GST and will be paid via bank transfer in New Zealand currency. 

Topic: 'Addressing equity in psychiatric care’ including but not limited to, improving mental health care of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals, and in rural and remote areas.

First Place: Yuhan Chi

Second Place: Charlotte Blakey

Third Place: Margaret Su

Whakataukī: Naū te rou rou, Nāku te rou rou, Ka ora ai te iwi.

With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.

Topic: With this whakataukī (proverb) in mind, discuss mental wellbeing within the current global climate change

First place: Ria George
Second place: Jackie Hazelhurst
Third place: Angad Chauhan

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

First place: Thomas Swinburn
Second place: Emma Cadman
Third place: Nico Calderón-Hunt