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Create your own psychiatry student society
Why establish a psychiatry society at your university?
Psychiatry societies are a fantastic way for medical students across Australia and New Zealand to:
- Provide a free, accessible, and low-cost way for local medical students who share an interest in psychiatry to come together and extend their interest and knowledge in a safe space
- Help medical students access networking and career advice from psychiatrists and trainees
- Design and deliver local events and activities for medical students
- Help grow academic and professional practice area interests
How to set up a university psychiatry society?
- Identify medical students at your university across all the year levels that are interested in a career in psychiatry
- Consider whether there’s an opportunity or a requirement for your group to be formalised under your university’s medical student society (if you have one)
- Consider the governance structure that your group should take as well as any legal responsibilities you may have
- Form a committee/working group that will oversee the society’s events and activities. You might like to think about allocating roles for individuals to be responsible for leading the society, finance/accounting, media and communications, event planning, administration, membership, and IT support
- Consider external sources of funding and support to deliver activities and events, such as:
- Your university medical faculty
- Whether you should charge a small membership fee to be a part of your society
- Co-hosting events with other university societies
- Potential sponsors
- Hosting fundraising activities and events
- Applying for a grant from the Psychiatry Interest Forum (PIF)
- Develop an annual prospectus for potential sponsors complete with a breakdown of the funding opportunities for all events and activities scheduled
- Communicate with members and the broader community about your psychiatry society
- Create a webpage
- Join social media platforms
- Spread the word advertising your new psychiatry society (via email, announcements in lectures, posters on campus)
- Create a newsletter or e-publication
Ideas for opportunities your psychiatry society can offer
- Hosting educational events – such as webinars, seminars, workshops, forums, exam revision sessions, journal clubs, specialty nights, Blue Week events, and taking part in university career fairs and expos
- Hosting MedFest or film nights that increase interest in and awareness of mental health and psychiatry and reduce stigma through the medium of mental health themed films
- Hosting social events and activities
- Providing career advice and information about further training pathways
- Offering networking opportunities with members, psychiatrists and/or trainees
- Sharing external learning opportunities or event details
- Sharing journal articles
- Establishing a book club
- Revision and other curriculum support groups
- Providing newsletters and social media groups
How can the Psychiatry Interest Forum help university psychiatry societies?
We can support your society by:
- Providing funding for your educational and psychiatry-careers related events
- Providing advice on how to plan and host psychiatry careers activities or events
- Sharing information about how to apply for the RANZCP training pathway, individual sponsorship opportunities, and other relevant psychiatry news
- Connecting you with other psychiatry societies in your area
Connecting a representative from your psychiatry society to our Psychiatry Interest Network Group of representatives just like you from our Australia-wide to network to share ideas, positive outcomes, and challenges, and to offer peer support. Just email us at pif@ranzcp.org to join.
