February Bulletin

Posted on:

Phrase 'Hello February' on a white piece of paper with red decoration in the background

World Cancer Day – 4 February 

Rare Disease Day – 28 February 

Other national campaigns this month 

Action for happiness calendar – ‘Friendly February’ 

Introduction

Welcome to the February bulletin!

On 17 January 2025, it was the National Foundation Doctors Presentation Day, held this year at Sheffield United Football Club. For over a decade, UKFPO has worked with colleagues to put on the presentation day, where current Foundation Programme doctors present work that they have done during their Foundation training. This includes QI projects, original research, case reports and other things of interest. I would like to thank the UKFPO team for working so hard and showing such enthusiasm in organising the presentation day and I’d like to thank all the judges and those who helped with the admin, for helping to make it such a stimulating and enjoyable day.

It is one of my favourite days of the year when it comes to my UKFPO work. It is so heartening to me, as I start thinking about my advancing years and eventual retirement, to see such excellence demonstrated by Foundation Programme doctors, and makes me feel very optimistic about the future of our profession. This year, we had over 500 submissions and the standards of the oral presentations and posters was extremely high. Well done to everyone who submitted their work, whether it was presented or not.

We were privileged to have Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer at NHS England, to judge one of the poster categories, and also give the keynote speech. Navina said:

“I was delighted to see foundation doctors showcasing innovative and exciting work in sustainability, education and quality improvement and felt a real hope for the future of our medical profession in the UK. I had the pleasure of delivering the keynote speech at the end of the day to 300 foundation doctors, educators and other faculty, where I spoke about the importance of respect, continuous learning, curiosity and the value of self-care.”

There are more details about the National Foundation Doctors Presentation Day on our website. The oral presenters that were judged to be the best have been invited to contribute to a future webinar, so please look out for that. If you are a current F1 doctor, it’s worth having a think about projects that you could do between now and October/November 2025, when UKFPO will be asking for submissions for the 2026 National Foundation Doctors Presentation Day.

As ever, look after yourselves and each other.

Best wishes

Dr Mike Masding, Co-chair of the UKFPO

Reflection

Projects

Have you thought about taking up any projects this year? Have a look at some of our resources to help generate some ideas:

Preparing for F1

Over the past few years, we have been collecting stories and advice from foundation doctors on learning and thriving in the Foundation Programme – have a look at our Preparing for F1 webpages. This information is not just for those new to the Foundation Programme – it can be a helpful way for those of you in the Foundation Programme to reflect on your own experiences and on how you can support colleagues just starting out.

Spotlight on educational resources

SCRIPT – Safe prescribing

You should all have access to the SCRIPT eLearning programme, which we hope you are finding useful. We have recently published a webpage explaining what SCRIPT is, how to access it and who to ask for help if you need it: SCRIPT – Safe prescribing eLearning programme.

Webinars

Recordings

To view any of our previously held webinars or to see any upcoming webinars we have planned, visit our webinars webpage. Coming up are webinars showcasing the work of the NFDPD 2025 oral presentation winners, explaining the ARCP process and exploring patient safety – further information will be available shortly.

Opportunities and events

Humans of the Foundation Programme 

Submission form is now live! See our ‘Humans of the Foundation Programme’ webpage for further details and to view published articles.

New articles published this month: 

UKFPO Fellowship 2025-26 application 

Application window opens 24 February 2025. Have a look at our UKFPO Fellowship webpages to find out more about the role of a UKFPO Fellow!  

Dasha Ibrahim and Jie Fei Lau, our current UKFPO Fellows, are hosting a live online Q&A session for those interested in applying to the UKFPO Fellowship. 

Date: Thursday 13 February 2025 

Time: 10:00-11:00 

You do not need to pre-register, simply select this link to join the Q&A session at 10:00. You can add this event to your calendar.

BSACI Medical Scholarships Scheme 2025 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 2025 at the ICC Wales on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 October. The scholarships scheme is open to FY2 doctors, Clinical Fellows and IMT doctors in the UK. The deadline to apply is Monday 28 April 2025. 

See the BSACI medical scholarships scheme 2025 poster for more details. 

Elearning for healthcare update

Review the January 2025 elfh update