Foundation Programme Selection

Abstract

New doctors intending to work in the United Kingdom (UK) should complete the Foundation Programme. This two- year schedule of rotations ensures core competencies are achieved before doctors enter further training. The first foundation year (FY1) is intended for medical graduates to begin taking supervised responsibility for patient care. Completion of FY1 will usually lead to full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) and automatic progression to a further year of training. Doctors take on additional responsibility in the second foundation year (FY2) and its successful completion results in the award of a Foundation Achievement of Competence Document (FACD). The FACD indicates that a doctor has achieved the competences necessary to begin one of the many core or specialty training programmes. Selection to the Foundation Programme is overseen by the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO). This organization is responsible for allocating final- year medical students to their new foundation schools. Allocation to foundation schools depends on a score achieved by each student. Applicants through the UKFPO must rank all foundation schools (Units of Application) during the online application process. The system begins with the highest- scoring applicant and assigns them their first- choice foundation school. It does the same for the second highest- scoring applicant and continues in this vein. Once the system reaches an applicant whose first- choice foundation school is ‘full’, they are assigned their second choice, and so on. Therefore, the key determinants as to whether an applicant is placed in their first- choice location are their UKFPO ‘score’ and the popularity of their chosen foundation school. The ratio of first- choice applicants to places varies every year, but some foundation schools (e.g. Oxford and those in London) are almost always oversubscribed. Therefore, it is important to understand how scores are assigned and maximize your performance on these measures. Until 2012 entry, student preferences were allocated according to two measures: 1. Position within their medical school cohort by quartile. Quartiles were determined locally by each medical school with only general guidance from the UKFPO. 2. Answers provided on an application form which asked about academic achievements but weighted most points towards short essaytype answers.