UKFPO Bulletin

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March Bulletin

Image of the word 'March' written in green with green clovers decorated on it.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month 

Nutrition and Hydration Week – 16 – 22 March 

International Women’s Day – 8 March 

Other national campaigns this month 

Action for happiness calendar – ‘Mindful March’ 

Introduction

Welcome to the March edition of the UKFPO bulletin. For many of you currently in the Foundation Programme, this is the last month of your current post. I hope that you have learnt a lot during this time, from and with your colleagues. Please make sure that you get your named clinical supervisor report completed before your post finishes and reflect on what you’ve learnt and how you can evidence this through writing your Summary Narrative. 

Dealing with uncertainty….. 

In this month’s blog, I am going to give some thoughts about uncertainty in medicine. 

….. in applying for the Foundation Programme 

As you read this, the original date for the allocation of 2-year Foundation Programmes should have been and gone. However, I apologise on behalf of the UKFPO that this has not happened, because of the bill currently going through Parliament looking at the prioritisation of UK medical school graduates and others for both foundation training and specialty training. 

I appreciate that the uncertainty about when programmes will be allocated is not helpful for our applicants. We will try to keep you informed as much as we can, and it is important that you read the information it is available in the UKFPO website here and frequently look for updates, which we will publish as soon as we know what will be happening.  

….. in starting as a Foundation Programme doctor 

Last year, we celebrated 20 years of the Foundation Programme, and in celebrating that landmark, I reflected on my first few days as a doctor back in the early 1990s. It was scary to start as a doctor then, and I am sure it is not that much different now, albeit that there is a lot more support for new Foundation Programme doctors than I had at that time. 

It was a time of great uncertainty, with the realisation that dealing with the complexity of real life people was very different from how it was presented in the textbooks of the time. I would hope that some of the changes we have made to how doctors start their career, such as the introduction of shadowing periods, has helped Foundation doctors to deal with uncertainty better. 

However, survey data continues to suggest that some groups may not be as prepared for their Foundation Programme training as others, and it is important that we find out why this may be. The GMC are looking at this, and the UKFPO is very happy to collaborate with this vital work. Please see below for details of how you can contribute to a GMC research project looking at F1 preparedness. 

….. in working as a doctor 

This winter seems to have been even more busy than usual for the NHS, and it is a testament to the hard work and resilience of Foundation and more senior doctors, as well as the multidisciplinary team, that so many patients receive high-quality care. The high demand for care has shown the importance of being able to deal with uncertainty – how to prioritise care, how to ensure safe care in non-standard locations, decision-making about the escalation of treatment and sometimes its withdrawal.  

At the National Foundation Doctors Presentation Day in January, Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer in England, gave an excellent explanation of changing demographics, both in the UK and in other countries, and developing technologies that will have a major effect on your future careers. These changes mean that dealing with uncertainty will be a fundamental ongoing part of medical practice, and how you think about this may be worth reflecting on in your portfolio. 

As ever, look after yourselves and each other. 

Best wishes 

Dr Mike Masding, UKFPO National Clinical Director 

Notices and announcements

F1 Preparedness Focus Group Recruitment – Take part in GMC focus groups 

How well prepared did you feel for F1? 

The GMC are undertaking research into why Black and Asian doctors are reporting feeling much less prepared to start their foundation year compared with their white counterparts. They’ve found that the gap is widening. To find out more, the GMC wants to hear from F1 doctors from different ethnic groups to understand their experiences of starting work as a doctor. 

Dr Anuradha Ponnapalli, Clinical Fellow at the GMC, is recruiting for participants in online focus groups. This is part of a research project aiming to find out how organisations across the health services can better support new doctors. 

The session will take around two hours, and you’ll receive a certificate of attendance that you can use in your portfolio. Sign up here: Take part in the GMC focus groups 

Any questions, get in touch with fairtrainingcultures@gmc-uk.org 

UKFPO research requests policy 

A reminder to all colleagues that we host information both about existing research and the agreed process for surveying UK FD doctors on our website. Note that any research project or survey involving access to FDs must be approved through that country’s governance process – before UKFPO is contacted. 

Research – UK Foundation Programme 

Applications for access to Foundation Programme doctors for research projects and surveys

Spotlight on educational resources

SCRIPT eLearning – Module Spotlight 

Did you know that NICE guidance now recommends a combination of modified-release metformin and an SGLT2 inhibitor as first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus? 

With around 4.5 million people in the UK living with diabetes, it’s important you feel confident about the treatment options you’ll be prescribing on the wards and in the community.   

For a refresher on diabetes prescribing, the SCRIPT ‘Diabetes: Antihyperglycaemic Medicines’ module is a great place to start. It covers the key prescribing information on medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and summarises the new NICE guideline recommendations.  

All foundation doctors have free access to this resource. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can register at: https://foundation.safeprescriber.org/login.

Webinars

Upcoming webinars 

See our Webinars page for recordings of our most recent webinars. 

If there are any specific topics you think we have missed or you wish for us to cover in our educational webinar series, please send your suggestions to foundation.educationandsupport@nhs.net 

Opportunities and events

Humans of the Foundation Programme 

New articles published this month: 

See our Humans of the Foundation Programme webpage for more information, including how to submit your own article. 

We invite honesty and openness, and also encourage you to consider the impact on your employer, foundation school and colleagues. Please discuss any specific issues or challenges you are experiencing with your local team, and seek support when needed. 

UKFPO Fellowship – Recruitment for August 2026 

We are currently recruiting two F1 doctors to serve as UKFPO Fellows for the duration of their F2 year (August 2026 to July 2027). Applications open today, Monday 2 March at midday, and are capped at 100, meaning that if we receive 100 applications whilst the application window is open, no new applications will be accepted. The application window will close when we get to our cap or at 9am on Monday 9 March – whichever is sooner. Details of how to apply, and the link to the online application form, are on our UKFPO Fellowship microsite. 

BSACI Medical Scholarships Scheme 2026 for doctors interested in Adult Allergy and Clinical Immunology 

BSACI is offering financial support to resident doctors to facilitate their ability to attend the BSACI Annual Conference 2026 at the ICC Wales on 11-13 October 2026. The BSACI medical scholarships scheme 2026 is open to FY2 doctors, Clinical Fellows and IMT doctors in the UK. The deadline to apply is Friday 29 May 2026. 

Elearning for healthcare update

Review the February 2026 elfh update