Introduction

The Foundation Programme is a two-year, work-based training programme which is intended to bridge the gap between medical school and Specialty/General Practice training. The Foundation Programme is part of the continuum of medical education. It ensures that newly qualified doctors develop their clinical and professional skills in the workplace in readiness for Core, Specialty, or General Practice training. The Foundation Programme aims to ensure that all doctors deliver safe and effective patient care and aspire to excellence in their professional development in accordance with General Medical Council (GMC) guidance.

The four UK health departments determine the number of places available each year based on workforce planning across the continuum of postgraduate medical education and training.

Two-year training programmes are designed to ensure all foundation doctors undergo a balanced programme, which enables them to meet the competences and outcomes set by the GMC as described in the Foundation Programme (FP) curriculum.

It is important to note that the NHS is a constantly changing organisation and even after being matched to an individual training programme, there will be situations when placements within that programme may change because of service redesign, working time directive regulations or national directives (UK-wide).

The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) manages the application process, publishes guidance on training and promotes the consistent delivery of the programme across the UK. Working with stakeholders, the UKFPO enables the sharing of good practice to help raise the standards of training. The UKFPO is funded by and accountable to the four UK governments.

The F1 training year enables medical graduates to begin to take supervised responsibility for patient care and consolidate the skills that they have learned at medical school.

Satisfactory completion of the F1 year will result in the award of a Foundation Year 1 Certificate of Completion (F1CC). Upon satisfactory F1 completion recommendations are submitted to the GMC for F1 doctors to be granted full registration.

F2 doctors remain under clinical supervision (as do all doctors in training) but take on increasing responsibility for patient care. F2 doctors begin to make management decisions as part of their progress towards independent practice. F2 doctors further develop their core generic skills and contribute more to the education and training of the wider healthcare workforce, for example nurses, medical students, and less experienced doctors.

At the end of the training programme, F2 doctors will have begun to demonstrate clinical effectiveness, leadership and the decision-making responsibilities that are essential for hospital and general practice/specialty training. Satisfactory completion of F2 will lead to the award of a Foundation Programme Certificate of Completion (FPCC), which indicates that the doctor is ready to enter a Core, Specialty or General Practice training programme.