Modern health care systems today are marked by rapid changes in various fields such as ethics, politics and economics, therefore leaders in psychiatry have to focus these topics as additional challenges. To face these aspects and to cover the growing international character of professional self-awareness, special organizations for trainees and young psychiatrists are a useful instrument to give young professionals a voice in the evolution of training, research and clinical practice standards. By those means, young psychiatrists and trainees, consequently, can take influence on their own future, destiny and carrier progress.

Several international organizations where established to focus the needs and rights of psychiatric trainees all over the world: the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT), based on the UEMS (Union of European Medical Specialists) that was founded in 1958 and followed by the constitution of the European Board of Psychiatry in 1992, as well as the Wold Association of Young Psychiatric and Trainees (WAYPT) and the Young Psychiatrists’ Council of the World Association of Psychiatry (WPA YPC). To act as powerful and independent associations, they have to rely on committed and courageous youg psychiatrists and trainees who communicate national and regional standards and characteristics as well as critical aspects and thereupon provide the opportunity to learn from each other. In this way young psychiatrists and trainee associations represent an outstanding and strong advocacy of colleagues at early career stages.

To set up a national trainee organization, whether as a committee within the national psychiatric association or as independent national psychiatric trainee organization, several needs have to be covered right by the start: the establishment of a national network of trainees who then get in touch with national leaders in the field of psychiatry is mandatory. The founding process will be continued by presenting and promoting the organization on national conferences, to constitute and define structure and leadership as well as to organize future funding and to implement profitable cooperations with national and international young trainee and research institutions.