2012 College Address: fifty years as a psychiatrist

His Excellency, the Honourable Peter Underwood, Governor of Tasmania, President of the College, Fellows and Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, I became a psychiatrist 50 years ago this month, that is, I received the Diploma of Psychological Medicine from the University of Melbourne. It has been a very interesting 50 years. I chose psychiatry because I was fascinated by patients' stories and because I thought that the biochemistry of schizophrenia was about to be discovered, given that there was an article describing the onset of hallucinations and delusions from using denatured adrenalin for asthma that seemed to point to the biology of the disorder. In the next 15 minutes, I will cover four topics: the importance of leadership, the scope of psychiatry, our work with the neuroses, and the importance of the clinician's illusion. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2013.