Foundation Recruitment

There are 284 linked F1 and F2 foundation programmes in Northern Ireland.  Some Trusts are undergoing major reconfiguration of services and occasionally services are moved due to unforeseen circumstances. Posts in some programmes may change in location prior to August 2023. There are five Health and Social Care Trusts or Local Education Providers (LEP) in Northern Ireland who contribute to the education and Training of foundation doctors.

• Belfast HSC Trust
• Northern HSC Trust
• Southern HSC Trust
• South Eastern HSC Trust
• Western HSC Trust

Each Trust has a Director of Medical Education who is the doctor who is responsible to the Deanery for the quality control processes within each Trust with respect to all doctors in training posts which may be Foundation, General Practice or Specialty.

There have been substantial changes to the previously published list of available Foundation Programmes from August 2023 to 2025. Brand new specialties have been included which have not been available to Foundation doctors in the past including Anaesthetics, Rehabilitation Medicine and Palliative Medicine.

Foundation Programmes 2023 – 2025 – UPDATED

The Northern Ireland Foundation Applicant Range of Scores for 2023 – 2025

Timetable for  Foundation Programme Recruitment:

25 August 2022	FP Registration opens on Oriel
07 September – 21 September 2022 (12pm Midday)	National application Period for FP 2023
09 March 2023	Applicants informed of allocation to Foundation School
13 April 2023	Match Programme Results Released

Applications are invited for nine Specialised Foundation  Programmes in the Northern Ireland Foundation School commencing August 2023.  Please see below for details of the programmes

F2 Specialised Programmes 2023 -2025

Successful applicants can complete a Certificate/Diploma in Academic Medicine through Queen’s University Belfast, details of which are available below:

Certificate/Diploma in Academic Medicine

How does the Application Process work?

The eligibility criteria for the Foundation Programme and the Specialised Foundation Programme (AF2) are the same. All final year UK medical students are therefore eligible to apply but must show the potential to fulfil a demanding academic role while still achieving clinical competencies.

The person specification for recruitment to the national Foundation Programme is used as an absolute minimum. It is important that candidates consider their interests and research the possibilities available before making application.  Specialised Foundation posts and eligibility will be advertised on the UK Foundation Programme Office website (www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk)

Selection criteria for the research posts:

1. Applications will be reviewed by a joint panel from QUB and NIMDTA
2. The selection criteria to be applied for shortlisting will be:
   1. i) Evidence of academic activity during their undergraduate training.
   2. ii) Medical School Decile score of 44 or greater (excluding any additional points which may contribute to Educational Performance Measurement) Specialised Foundation Programme Shortlisting Criteria 2023
   3. iii) Please note, White Space Questions will not be used as part of the selection process
3. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for interview which will be conducted virtually
4. Candidates should review the list of disciplines available (SF2 Disciplines) and provide their top 3 positions in rank order when they attend for interview (Further information regarding the disciplines can be found here)
5. Doctors will be appointed, according to their interview score, to the disciplines available
6. Doctors cannot undertake a research placement in a specialty which overlaps with F2 clinical placements i.e, if Oncology is part of four months clinical placement at F2 this should not be chosen as a research interest.
7. While there are no F2 programmes which contain both a Surgical and an SFP placement, there are lots of disciplines available which would allow for experience in Surgery.

Application for these specialised posts is made through Oriel via the national scheme, UKFPO – Specialised Foundation Programme FAQs – UK Foundation Programme

Interview Format: Due to the current pandemic, interviews will be conducted via Zoom. The interview will be a 20 minute station with a mix of Clinical and Academic questions. There will be no scenarios for you to read before you begin your interview.

Candidate Feedback

Candidates may request feedback on Longlisting, Shortlisting and the Interview by submitting this form:

Feedback Template

Written feedback, other than the information identified below, is not provided.  Verbal feedback is also not provided.

The following information will be made available:

• Longlisting/Shortlisting  – Comments regarding Essential/ Desirable Criteria
• Your score per station at Interview
• Your total interview score
• Maximum Interview score available
• Your appointability and the minimum score required for appointability

Completed Feedback Templates should be forwarded to foundation.nimdta@hscni.net.

Requests for scoresheets / interview notes will be dealt with under the Subject Access Provisions of the Data Protection Act.  For details of how to make a request, please visit our Data Protection and Freedom of Information Page.

Information in relation to the appeals process will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Timetable for Academic Foundation Recruitment:

25 August 2022	Academic and general applicants register and enrol on Oriel
07 September – 21 September 2022 (12pm Midday)	Complete national application form on Oriel and Select the NI SUoA also
5 and 6 December 2022	Northern Ireland Foundation School Interviews
From 11 January 2023	Academic Foundation Programme offers made. All offers must be accepted or declined on Oriel by the stated deadline

The Northern Ireland Foundation School is no longer appointing to priority programmes.

Doctors in training require details about the programmes and posts they are applying for, where they will be working and their conditions of employment.  This Code of Practice lays out the agreed set of information that Deaneries and employing Trusts should provide to doctors in training at each stage of the recruitment process.

Code of Practice – Provision of Information for Postgraduate Medical Training

The timeline for F2 Standalone Recruitment starting in August 2023 is to be confirmed.  This will be updated when the information is available.

Applications are made through the Oriel System.

If you have any queries regarding this programme, please contact UKFPO team via helpdesk@foundationprogramme.nhs.uk or visit https://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk for further information.

Please note applicants  who are currently working as part of the two-year programme or have successfully completed the F2 year and  received a Foundation  Achievement of Competency Document (FACD) / Foundation  Programme Certificate of Completion  (FPCC) are not eligible to apply for F2 stand-alone  posts. Current F1 trainees  are advised  to consider  alternate  guidance  in relation  to options  for applying for an Inter-Foundation  School Transfer (IFST).

For further information please refer to the UKFPO website.

RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK

Information for applicants from the EU

You will be aware that the UK is no longer part of the European Union.  This means staff from the EU, EEA and Switzerland will now require a visa to work and study in the UK.  The HSC continues to welcome and value staff and trainees from Europe as it does the whole world. The link below explains the documents you will now require to demonstrate your right to work and study in the UK.

Understanding your right to work in the UK: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens (accessible version) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, need to regularise their status to continue living and working in the UK beyond 30 June 2021 and should have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. The deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021. The Home Office will continue to accept applications where there are reasonable grounds for missing that deadline.

Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status): Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The UK has introduced a new points based immigration system that applies to anyone who wants to come to live, study or work in the UK. If you are new to the UK and wish to take up employment or study you will need to have the correct visa.  The link below gives more information on the routes available you.

Applying for a visa to come to the UK – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For further information about applying for a CoS/Visa, please refer to  Immigration – Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency (nimdta.gov.uk)

Trainees can usually only delay their start date for Statutory reasons such Parental leave or Sick leave in line with GMC Guidance.

During these exceptional times, NIMDTA has introduced a Delayed Start Policy for August 2021 which details a select few non-statutory reasons for a delayed start. These are failure to obtain GMC Registration due to the cancellation of the PLAB examinations, Immigration Restrictions or Travel Restrictions.

Delay Policy – Covid 19 Related Requests

As per the policy, requests for delay will only be considered if they have been submitted using the “Application to Delay of Commencement of Foundation, Hospital or GP Specialty Training as a result of Covid19” form (Appendix A). Completed applications should be emailed to the relevant team via the below email addresses: Foundation: foundation.nimdta@hscni.net