Name change: Supporting psychiatrists with international qualifications

Australia and New Zealand’s psychiatry workforce includes a significant proportion of psychiatrists with international qualifications. Their contribution to the College, profession, and community are vital and highly valued.

In 2008, the College established the Overseas Trained Psychiatrists’ Representative Committee (OTPRC) to formally represent and advocate for Affiliate Members and ‘overseas-trained psychiatrists’ within the RANZCP. The OTPRC reports to the Board and includes members from each Australian State/Territory and New Zealand.

Through the years, a focus for the OTPRC has been on ensuring fairness and preventing discrimination. This includes areas such as examinations where there remains a disparity between pass rates. More broadly, the Committee has been exploring ways to counter stigmatizing and discriminatory media portrayal of psychiatrists with international qualifications. Media reports often use “overseas-trained” to infer and perpetuate misconceptions about the quality of international qualifications.

As such, following Board approval, the OTPRC will undergo a name change, to the Australia and New Zealand Psychiatrists with International Qualifications Committee (ANZPIQC). 

The College recognises that challenging this stigma will require more than a change in Committee name, however we see this as an important step in supporting the appropriate recognition of our valued colleagues.