One of BJPsych Bulletin’s core aims is to be of educational value to trainees, psychiatrists and other clinicians. The journal has established this prize to engage trainees and highlight Praxis, the trainees’ section launched in 2019. Additionally, trainees often bring fresh insights and innovative ideas, and we envisage the Praxis Editorial Award as a medium for trainees to spark positive changes in perspectives, practice, and healthcare services.
Prize
The winning article will be published in the Praxis section of BJPsych Bulletin. In future, non-winning articles will be made available online in the RCPsych Archives as a historical reference.
Frequency
Annually.
2023 Competition is now open!
We are pleased to announce the topic for the 2023 Praxis Editorial Award competition: “What could UK psychiatry learn from other countries?”
Please send us your entry by 31 January 2024. The result will be announced in June/July 2024. Enquiries about the competition can be sent to BJPBulletin@rcpsych.ac.uk
We believe that trainees often bring fresh insights and innovative ideas, and we envisage the Praxis Editorial Award as a medium for trainees to spark positive changes in perspectives, practice, and healthcare services. Therefore, in shortlisting, particular emphasis will be given to the degree of creativity and original thought.
Who can enter
Single authors only (no multiple authorship allowed). We encourage entries from all medical students and doctors who are pre-consultant level, from any specialty and any country. This includes Specialty Doctors and Associate Specialists (SAS), Foundation, Core and Higher Trainees. Senior doctors (consultant level or equivalent) are not permitted to enter.
Rules
- Eligible authors are invited to submit an editorial (opinion type piece) on a specific topic. The topic will be announced each year.
- The article should be the candidate’s own work (single author only) and must not have been published elsewhere.
- The use of Chat GPT and other AI platforms is not permitted and will lead to disqualification.
- The article should be between 1000 – 1500 words and should be written in an editorial or essay style. There should be no more than 15 references (in Vancouver style). Tables are not allowed. One figure is allowed (but not required), and any words in it will count towards the total word count. Please include an unstructured summary of no more than 100 words in the article itself but do NOT include author details in the article itself. We encourage authors to think creatively but articles should include opinion informed by existing literature.
- This prize is judged by a panel, however the article itself will not be peer-reviewed.
- No prize will be awarded, at the discretion of the judges, if a sufficient standard is not reached.
- The prize will be awarded annually at the RCPsych International Congress.
- Entries should be sent by email to BJPBulletin@rcpsych.ac.uk. Please include in the body of your email (not in the article) author details for publication: name, current post and affiliation, and an email address.
- The winner must not divulge the result of the competition without prior agreement with the journal.
2022 Competition
The topic for 2022 was: “How can we overcome health inequalities in psychiatry?”
Read the winning article: How can we overcome health inequalities in psychiatry?
Read the blog: How can we overcome health inequalities in psychiatry?
All entries were anonymised before being considered by the BJPsych Bulletin Editor-in-Chief and the BJPsych Bulletin Praxis Editor. The criteria for shortlisting was based on creativity/originality, readability/quality of writing, quality of argument/supporting evidence, and structure/organisation. We thank the judges for their time, care and for making this competition possible: Chris Wroe, Cornelius Katona and Shubulade Smith.
2021 Competition
The topic for 2021 was: “Is the biopsychosocial model dead?”
Read the winning article: The biopsychosocial model: not dead, but in need of revival
Read the blog: Reviving the biopsychosocial model in practice: a challenge for all psychiatrists
All entries were anonymised before being considered by the BJPsych Bulletin Editor-in-Chief and the BJPsych Bulletin Trainees' Section Editor. The criteria for shortlisting was based on creativity/originality, readability/quality of writing, quality of argument/supporting evidence, and structure/organisation. We thank the judges for their care and for making this competition possible: Chris Abbott. Derek Bolton and Linda Gask.
2020 Competition
The topic for 2020 was “Is climate change a mental health crisis?”
All entries were anonymised before being considered by the BJPsych Bulletin Editor-in-Chief and the BJPsych Bulletin Trainees' Section Editor. The criteria for shortlisting was based on originality, quality of writing, quality of argument and supporting evidence, and structure/organisation. We thank the judges for their care and invaluable help: psychoanalyst Anouchka Grose, Professor of Biology - Professor Alex Ford, and Higher Trainee in CAMHS and former sustainability scholar Dr. Katherine Kennet.
Read the winning article by Daniel Romeu: "Is climate change a mental health crisis?"
Dr Romeu's article is in the BJPsych Bulletin special issue on climate and mental health.
2019 Competition
The topic for 2019 was "A day in the life of a psychiatrist in 2050". All entries were anonymised before being considered by the BJPsych Bulletin Editor in Chief and the BJPsych Bulletin Trainees' Section Editor. Based on originality, quality of writing, structure of argument and supportive evidence/referencing four top entries were sent to the judging panel.
We thank the judges for their invaluable help: Mr Simon Rose, Dr Kate Lovett, Dr Ian Hall and Dr Ross Runciman.
Read the winning entry by George Gillett published in the June 2020 issue: "A day in the life of a psychiatrist in 2050: where will the algorithm take us?"