In your 5th (Final) Year at university, you will be asked to apply to a Foundation School for the two initial years of your professional career often called FY1 and FY2.  Typically, Foundation programmes are partnerships between medical schools, the local Deanery (NIMDTA), and Health Trusts who are your employer for the 2 years.  The Foundation School may also provide a small number of posts for those interested in academic medicine.

Applying for a Foundation Programme

The Application System for Foundation Training is organised via the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO).  It is a national scheme which matches all new medical graduates in the UK to thrie programmes.  It is manged entirely online.  It is important to note the following processes of application to the UKFPO system

1. UKFPO user ID - this will be provided to you in 5th Year by the medical school
2. Academic ranking which will be in the form of a quartile value.  This will be forwarded to UKFPO with the online application form.  Your academic and application scores will be used to allocate your final ranking and allocation
3. Ranking your preferred schools - you will be asked to rank your choices of programme and these are part of the form.  The forms are ranked by panels of assessors and you will be notified of the Foundation School you have been allocated

At the start of Final Year, NIMDTA will organise an event to inform you of all aspects of the application process and how to complete the personal specification section which requires considerable time and effort.

What will the Foundation Programme be like?

The two Foundation Years (F1 and F2) are an introduction to your professional life and an excellent opportunity to decide and plan your future career.  It is very important to remember that you are now a qualified professional with responsibilities to your patients, your medical, nursing and paramedical colleagues, your employing Trust and the GMC.

You will have been selected to a Foundation School, hopefully of your choice when you will embark on a series of six attachments each lasting 4 months.  In F2, you may have the opportunity for attachment to General Practice, Public Health Medicine or an academic medical attachment.

Important tips for the transition from Foundation Year trainees themselves:

• You are now an employee and expected to work shifts within the European Working Time Directive for junior doctors - learn to be punctual and keep the correct hours according to your rotas
• You will be very tired initially until you get used to the new working patterns
• You will now be expected to conduct your life as a professional - watch the late nights!
• Dress smartly but comfortably
• Learn to be a good team worker from the start
• Be efficient!  Always carry an updated list of your patients and their problems and know your way around the wards.  Find out where everything is the first day
• Learn how the bleeps work and how to respond to bleep requests politely
• Develop a good working relationship with your nursing colleagues
• Learn how to do efficient handovers between shifts
• Do not "dump" tasks on new shift colleagues when you go off without an explanation
• Know your limitations and ask for support if you feel uncomfortable about a task
• Report illness in yourself early and let your colleagues know if you are going to be off sick
• Don’t moan about colleagues behind their backs