2025 has been another remarkable year for the RANZCP Psychiatry Interest Forum (PIF). Now in its 13^th year, PIF continues to provide medical students and prevocational doctors valuable insights into psychiatry careers through a diverse range of opportunities, events and activities.

Membership growth 

968 medical students, junior doctors and other medical practitioners joined PIF in 2025, and our overall membership has now reached 5954 members in Australia.

PIF remains an effective and critical program contributing to the psychiatry training pathway in Australia. 77% of trainees (293 out of 381) entering the RANZCP Fellowship Training Program in 2025 were former PIF members. 2365 Australian PIF members have joined the Fellowship Program since 2014.

As we continue to engage and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PIF members, 50 more joined last year, bringing the total up to 210 members. Since 2014, 44 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PIF members have entered the RANZCP Fellowship program.

2025 highlights 

• 226 members participated in seven activities, including the PIF program at the 2025 Congress, the PIF Retreat in Melbourne, two PIF-facilitated networking activities hosted by the University of Newcastle and University of Tasmania, and three Introduction to Psychiatry short courses hosted online, in Perth (metro) and at Mt Gambier (rural) locations.
• 93 members were supported to attend a Branch, Faculty or Section conference across Australia.
• Over 2300 students engaged via 41 PIF-sponsored events across 15 different Australian universities.
• 27 members attended Rural Readiness events hosted across six Australian locations: Bunbury, Cairns, Darwin, Hahndorf, Port Macquairie and Shepparton. The networking functions and workshops were delivered by the Rural Psychiatry Training Pathways team and funded by Flexible Approach to Training in Expanded Settings grant funding. Read more about PIF initiatives to support rural psychiatry.
• 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members were supported to attend the full Australian Indigenous Doctors Association Conference in Sydney.
• In partnership with the Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA), 10 medical students were supported with rural placement bursaries and 16 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students were supported to attend three major AMSA events hosted in Sydney, Perth and Hobart.
  
  

PIF members reflect on their experiences: 

“[Attending the Congress] experience has truly solidified my passion for the field. My earlier exposure to mental health during placements sparked this interest, but attending Congress has deepened it and confirmed that psychiatry is the path I want to pursue.”

Participant at the PIF Program at Congress, Gold Coast

“This rural placement provided deeper understanding of the role I hope to fill in future as a psychiatrist in the Northern Territory and who wants to work collaboratively and ethically with all patients and their families, regardless of their level of English, distance from specialist care, or complexity of their condition. I have been able to foster my love for mental health with the connections I make during my placement with the psychiatrists and mental health workers.”

PIF Rural Psychiatry Placement Bursary recipient coordinated via AMSA

“Throughout the [PIF] Retreat, engaging discussions with leading psychiatrists and subspecialists offered invaluable insight into the multifaceted nature of a psychiatric career…This experience has further motivated and inspired me to picture my journey to become a compassionate clinical psychiatrist, an innovative researcher in neuropsychiatry, and a knowledgeable academic.”

Participant at the PIF Retreat program, Melbourne

“One of my highlights was hearing what each of the psychiatrists enjoyed about their careers. As a medical student, it can be very difficult to gauge whether you enjoy a field of medicine due to novelty or because it would be a good fit. Many of the reasons they enjoyed their job were the same things I enjoyed during my placements in psychiatry, which has been a big encouragement. My determination to chase a career in psychiatry was strong beforehand, and the short course further cemented my dreams.”

Participant at the PIF Introduction to Psychiatry Short Course, Perth

Acknowledgements

The PIF team extends its sincere gratitude to College President, Dr Astha Tomar; President Elect and Chair of the PIF Advisory Group, Dr Angelo Virgona; and members of the PIF Advisory Group for their ongoing governance, direction and guidance. We thank our dedicated Fellows and trainees who generously contribute their significant time and expertise to make each PIF event successful. Lastly, our thanks to all PIF members for their dedication, energy and yearning to be the next generation of psychiatrists.

We look forward to building on this momentum in 2026, creating even more opportunities for aspiring psychiatrists.

The RANZCP has received Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing funding under the Psychiatry Workforce Program (PWP) to deliver the PIF Australia program.