LAUSR

Last year the PIF expanded its annual essay competition and held an exclusive competition for prevocational doctors followed by the competition for medical students. These competitions allow prevocational doctors and medical students (or recent graduates) to explore a psychiatry-related topic through a 1000–1500 word essay. The writers of the top three essays from each competition receives prizes of $1000, $500 and $250 respectively. The practice of psychiatry involves consideration of many factors, both general and specific to the individual. The topic of 2020 essay competition for medical students was ’The role of place in mental illness’, allowing the entrants to define the ‘place’ in their own context. The assessment panel comprised of members of the PIF Advisory Group, and the Chair of RANZCP Section of Rural Psychiatry, selecting the winning essays from amongst 44 highquality entries.