RACP Trainee of the Year Award
Nominations for 2026 open 15 May to 31 August 2025.
The RACP Trainee of the Year Award recognises a trainee who has made an outstanding contribution to the College, the community and/or trainee activities.
This prestigious prize is awarded by the RACP annually at the College Ceremony.
A/Professor Stephen Bacchi | 2025 recipient
Stephen is a neurologist with interests in clinical research, artificial intelligence, and education. His PhD focussed on clinical applications of machine learning in stroke and general medicine.
In 2024, Stephen undertook a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. He has >250 peer-reviewed publications across a range of medical and surgical specialties. Stephen plans to use pragmatic research, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, to improve patient outcomes across multiple specialties throughout Australia and internationally.
He strongly believes that people at all levels of seniority, and background, can contribute to the advancement of science and medicine. Stephen values diverse multidisciplinary collaboration and always enjoys discussing new and exciting ideas.
See our past RACP Trainee of the Year recipients.
Eligibility
A nominee must be an RACP trainee who has been in active training for a minimum of 3 months in the year the nomination is submitted.
Any trainee nominated for their contribution who is admitted to Fellowship after nominations have closed remains eligible for the Award.
A nominee must not:
- submit a nomination on their own behalf
- be a past recipient of the RACP Trainee of the Year Award
Any RACP Fellow or trainee can nominate a trainee for the Award.
Nominate
Read the Terms and Conditions for College meritorious awards and prizes by nomination before submitting a nomination.
Inform the nominee of your intent to submit a nomination.
Email a completed nomination form addressing the selection criteria to foundation@racp.edu.au together with:
- CV of the nominee
- two letters of support
- other relevant supporting documentation (optional)
Note: A nomination is not complete and cannot be progressed unless all required documentation is received.
Download nomination form (DOC)
The College Conflicts of Interest Policy (PDF) and Privacy Policy apply.
Selection criteria
The assessment of a nominee's contribution in relation to others is an essential part of the nomination. Provide a detailed evaluation of your nominee's:
Contribution
What extraordinary contribution has the nominee made to the College, Community and/or trainees over a sustained period?
Leadership
How has the nominee demonstrated significant leadership, mentoring and support of other trainees?
Advocacy
What significant involvement has the nominee played in policy development and advocacy?
Education and training
What significant contributions has the nominee made to education and training?
Selection process
When reviewing all nominations, the RACP Fellowship Committee takes into consideration whether nominees have:
- provided an extraordinary contribution to the RACP, community and/or trainees across the selection criteria over a sustained period of time
- shown commitment and dedication to the RACP that exceeds expectation
- engaged in a wide variety of services for the RACP on a regular basis
The Fellowship Committee reserves the right not to award the RACP Trainee of the Year Award if all nominations received do not meet the high standards required for this award.
For more information about the RACP Trainee of the Year, contact the RACP Foundation.
Related content
Terms and conditions
Past prize recipients
Division, Faculty and Chapter Awards & Prizes