Bulletin – July 2026

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Picture of the word 'July' with yellow and orange letters and the sun, yellow and orange stars, sea waves and a pair of flip flops surrounding it

Alcohol Awareness Week – 6-12 July 2026

Disability Pride Month

Other national campaigns this month

Action for happiness calendar – Jump Back Up July

Introduction

Welcome to my last blog of the 2025-26 UKFP training year. Although I know that some of you will continue to be training in the same year of the Foundation Programme, most Foundation doctors will be going on to the next step in your medical career, whether that’s moving from F1 to F2, starting a training programme, taking on a trust post, going to work abroad or taking a break. Whatever you will be doing from August 2026, on behalf of the UKFPO team I wish you the best of success.

A time to reflect

Whatever it is you’ll be doing, it’s a good time to reflect on what you’ve learnt and how you’ve developed as a doctor over the past 12 months.

People learn in different ways, and at different speeds. Some thrive in a typical pedagogical model, learning in a classroom from someone who may know more than them; others learn by finding out something themselves; some learn through demonstration and practice. I suspect that the majority of doctors learn well through a combination of all of these.

However, what really matters is not necessarily what you’ve learnt – but how you have developed your professional practice, how you use what you’ve learnt to help patients, colleagues or the wider service. This is what I think of when I say ‘how you’ve developed’.

Compared to when you started as a doctor, you will have developed your skills in working with patients and their families and carers, other doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. You will have come to realise that there are a lot of ‘grey’ areas in medicine, and that dealing with uncertainty and risk are a fundamental part of good professional medical practice. You will have asked for help lots of times, which good doctors always do when they are not sure how to proceed, and you will have made some mistakes along the way. All of this is part of how doctors learn and develop.

Reflecting on all this will help you to clarify the good bits about being a doctor, the parts of the job that you’re good at, the things that would be good to improve. Sometimes, noting this down will give you a list of knowledge, skills and behaviours that would be good to develop in your next post – the beginnings of your next PDP!

Career intentions – F2s please note!

As you will see below, our F2 Career Destinations Survey is now open. This is for those who are about to move on from F2, a survey to tell us about your career intentions. Over the past couple of years, the survey data has been very influential in driving some changes to recruitment processes for specialty and GP training. So if you’re an F2, please give up 5 minutes to complete the survey – the more people who do so, the more we know about what’s going on!

Take care of yourself and each other.

Dr Mike Masding
National Clinical Director
UKFPO

Notices and announcements

F2 Career Destination Survey (CDS) 2026 – Now open!

The CDS is now open for all eligible F2 doctors to complete, closing on Thursday 13 August 2026. If you are eligible, you will have received the survey link from your foundation school team on Monday 29 June. Please take 5 minutes to fill in this important survey! You will receive a confirmation of completion, which you can include in your e-portfolio.

The UKFPO has run an F2 CDS since 2010 – have a look at the insightful reports from these surveys on our Reports webpage. The CDS had to be discontinued during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and we were finally able to bring it back in 2024, by piloting a new, shorter version. The published results from the 2024 and 2025 surveys have already contributed to the development of policy changes.

Spotlight on educational resources

SCRIPT elearning – Module spotlight

As we enter the summer months, we can expect the arrival of (hopefully) warmer weather. Patients, particularly those with comorbidities, are more likely to present with dehydration and renal dysfunction.

These are key modules, especially as these topics have been identified by foundation doctors as areas for further learning:

  • Fluids: The Principles – covering the basic principles of fluid management including calculating fluid requirements.
  • Practical Prescribing of Fluids – specifically for adult patients, including indications for intravenous fluids and which fluids to prescribe in a variety of clinical situations.
  • Renal Dysfunction – exploring the use of medicines in patients with renal impairment, both AKI and CKD, through three case vignettes.

All foundation doctors have free access to SCRIPT. You can sign up and access SCRIPT here: https://foundation.safeprescriber.org/login

A case based introduction to genomics and its relevance to your everyday practice – Monday 28 September 2026 1:30pm-4:30pm

The South West Genomic Medicine Service (based in south west England) is offering an interactive online case-based introduction to genomics for UK foundation doctors. Attendance is free and you need to sign up to receive joining details. All the information is available on our ‘A case based introduction to genomics’ events page.

The NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England positions genomics as a core pillar for shifting care from reactive treatment to proactive prevention. The plan emphasises that by 2035, genomics will be an integral, daily part of NHS care.

Key genomic initiatives:

  • Universal Newborn Genomic Testing: Genomics England will complete the Generation Study to inform a national roll out, targeting over 200 rare genetic conditions
  • Cancer Care: Comprehensive genomic testing will be routine to guide personalised treatment choices
  • Rare Diseases: Rare genetic conditions are diseases caused by DNA mutations, generally affecting fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. While over 7,000 unique conditions exist, they collectively impact millions.
  • Pharmacogenomics: Integrating genetic testing into over 40s NHS health checks to tailor prescriptions and prevent adverse drug reactions
  • R14 genetic test is NHS rapid whole genome (or exome) sequencing test. It is used for acutely unwell babies and children (typically in NICU or PICU), where immediate results are required to guide emergency clinical treatment

All of the initiative topics will be included in the agenda on 8 September – sign up to ‘A case based introduction to genomics’

Webinars

Coming up

We encourage all UKFP stakeholders to attend, including foundation doctors, foundation supervisors, medical education teams and foundation school teams!

See our Webinars page for recordings of all UKFPO 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

The MCA Quality Improvement Prize 2026 – deadline 31 July 2026

This Medical Council on Alcohol (MCA) competition is open to all resident doctors in any specialty working in the UK, in any non-consultant training grade. You should report a completed audit, clinical governance or quality improvement project on an alcohol-related health harm topic and reflect current best practice guidelines/evidence. The topic can reflect the full range of interventions from prevention to detection to treatment. The MCA QI Prize is held every 2 years.

Closes: 31 July 2026

For full competition details, see the 2026 MCA Quality Improvement Prize webpage.

Humans of the Foundation Programme

New article 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.

Foundation elearning project (elfh) update

Review the June 2026 elfh update