Congratulations to Dr Kathryn Drew, who has been awarded the 2025 NSW Branch Meritorious Service Award for her outstanding contributions to psychiatry.

Dr Drew was nominated by over 100 NSW psychiatrists for this award, which underscores the profound impact she has had on our profession and the high regard in which her colleagues hold her.

Dr Drew is a senior psychiatrist and health service leader with over 25 years of experience in clinical psychiatry and medical leadership across metropolitan, regional, and rural settings. Following completion of training and working as an early-career psychiatrist in Victoria, Dr Drew relocated to NSW in 2006, where she has maintained her commitment to public mental health care.

Throughout her career, Dr Drew has driven system-wide improvements in mental health care, medical workforce sustainability, and patient outcomes. Her leadership has been instrumental in implementing strategies for recruitment and retention of senior and junior medical staff, the expansion of training pathways, and the development of robust workforce planning frameworks. These initiatives have yielded tangible service improvements, including significant reductions in emergency department length of stay, seclusion and restraint practices, and enhanced integration of mental health care with emergency and community services.

An advocate for education and professional development, Dr Drew has held roles as Director of Training and Site Coordinator of Training. She was the NSW Director of Advanced Training for Adult Psychiatry from 2013–19 and commenced her term as the Chair of the NSW Branch Training Committee in 2022.

As her nomination letter states, “Dr Drew’s leadership was quiet, ethical, and deeply anchored. She created safety for her staff – emotional, intellectual, interpersonal. She nurtured without coddling, mentored without controlling, and inspired by examples”.

Over the past year, these commitments have seen Dr Drew at the forefront of advocacy for NSW public mental health services. She considers this time as the most significant in her career and notes it has led to the formation of important relationships with like-minded psychiatrists who are determined to lead change in mental health services.

We hope that you will join us at the NSW Psychiatry Soirée on Saturday 1 November at Doltone House, Hyde Park to celebrate Dr Drew’s contributions.