UKFPO Bulletin
July Bulletin
Alcohol Awareness Week – 9-13 July
South Asian Heritage Month
Other national campaigns this month
Action for happiness calendar – ‘Jump Back Up July’
Introduction
Welcome to my last blog of the 2024-25 training year as the faculty measure it. Although I know that many 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 locally-employed post, going to work abroad or taking a break.
Whatever it is you’ll be doing, it’s a good time to reflect on how you’ve developed as a doctor over the past 12 months.
Compared to when you started, you will have developed your skills in working with patients and their families/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 what to do, and you will have made some mistakes along the way. All of this is part of how doctors learn and become better.
Whatever you will be doing from August 2025, on behalf of the UKFPO team I wish you the best of success.
As ever, look after yourselves and each other.
Best wishes
Dr Mike Masding, UKFPO National Clinical Director
Notices and announcements
UKFPO 2024-25 Fellow Reflections
Jie Fei Lau
My tenure as a UKFPO Fellow has been deeply rewarding. I have had the privilege of representing the UKFPO at national meetings and conferences, co-chairing the Foundation Doctors’ Advisory Board, and co-delivering the UKFPO webinars. These experiences have enabled me to advocate for improved training opportunities for foundation doctors and to support the sharing of best practice across all four nations.
A personal highlight was piloting my project, “Humans of the Foundation Programme”, which explores the power of storytelling and medical humanities in fostering reflection and connection among foundation doctors.
I would highly recommend the UKFPO Fellowship as a unique and bespoke leadership development opportunity for any foundation doctor seeking to make a meaningful impact in postgraduate medical education and training.
Dasha Ibrahim
Spending a year as the UK Foundation Programme National Fellow has been an invaluable experience, offering a unique insight into postgraduate medical education. I’ve had the privilege of representing foundation doctors across all four nations, ensuring their voices are heard in shaping national developments. Through leading and supporting key projects, I’ve collaborated with internal teams and external organisations to improve Foundation Training. My role has included chairing the Foundation Doctor Advisory Board, contributing to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and presenting ongoing work from the Foundation Programme. I’ve also helped feed foundation doctors’ views into the current Postgraduate Medical Training Review. This fellowship has significantly developed my leadership skills and deepened my understanding of system-level change. It’s been a transformative year, and I look forward to continuing my work to improve training for resident doctors and ultimately enhance patient care as I progress through my career in healthcare. I shall greatly miss the team and everyone that I have worked with as part of this role and am thankful for all the work the UKFPO do to support all the foundation doctors.
Spotlight on educational resources
As the end of the training year nears, many of you will be thinking about what you’re going on to do next year, whether that’s more foundation training, core/specialty training, other work in the NHS or other types of activities. We have collated many resources on our Careers webpage to support your planning.
You may also be thinking about what skills or competences you want to work on this summer. We have collated resources about safe prescribing, sustainability and QI and reflection that you may find helpful.
Webinars
Coming up
All previous webinar recordings are available on our webinars webpage:
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
F2 Career Destination Survey 2025 open!
The F2 Career Destination Survey (CDS) 2025 is open until Thursday 14 August 2025. All current F2 doctors due to complete FP this summer should have received a link to complete the survey from their foundation school. If you are an F2 doctor, 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.
Humans of the Foundation Programme
See our Humans of the Foundation Programme webpage for details of this exciting creative writing initiative, including the submission form for articles of your own, and published articles.
New articles published this month:
- ‘Starting F1 as an IMG: A Journey of Growth’ – Dr Elaaf Elmedani
- ‘On call: panic mode activated’ – Dr Peter Crabtree
- ‘A Shift’ – Dr Favour Nich
- ‘The Musical Medic’ – Dr Laura Smith
Elearning for healthcare update
Review the June 2025 elfh update