Applying to the UK foundation programme from a European medical school

BMJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. i6592
Author(s):  
Robert Powell ◽  
Hannatu Lawan
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Are there differences between those doctors who apply for a training post in Foundation Year 2 and those who take time out of the training pathway? A UK multicohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e032021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cleland ◽  
Gordon Prescott ◽  
Kim Walker ◽  
Peter Johnston ◽  
Ben Kumwenda
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Workforce Planning ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Specialty Training ◽  
Time Out ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Training Post ◽  
Multivariable Regression ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

IntroductionKnowledge about the career decisions of doctors in relation to specialty (residency) training is essential in terms of UK workforce planning. However, little is known about which doctors elect to progress directly from Foundation Year 2 (F2) into core/specialty/general practice training and those who instead opt for an alternative next career step.ObjectiveTo identify if there were any individual differences between these two groups of doctors.DesignThis was a longitudinal, cohort study of ‘home’ students who graduated from UK medical schools between 2010 and 2015 and completed the Foundation Programme (FP) between 2012 and 2017.We used the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) to access linked data from different sources, including medical school performance, specialty training applications and career preferences. Multivariable regression analyses were used to predict the odds of taking time out of training based on various sociodemographic factors.Results18 380/38 905 (47.2%) of F2 doctors applied for, and accepted, a training post offer immediately after completing F2. The most common pattern for doctors taking time out of the training pathway after FP was to have a 1-year (7155: 38.8%) or a 2-year break (2605: 14.0%) from training. The odds of not proceeding directly into core or specialty training were higher for those who were male, white, entered medical school as (high) school leavers and whose parents were educated to degree level. Doctors from areas of low participation in higher education were significantly (0.001) more likely to proceed directly into core or specialty training.ConclusionThe results show that UK doctors from higher socioeconomic groups are less likely to choose to progress directly from the FP into specialty training. The data suggest that widening access and encouraging more socioeconomic diversity in our medical students may be helpful in terms of attracting F2s into core/specialty training posts.

What is the SJT?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Metcalfe ◽  
Harveer Dev
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Final Score ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Selection Of

SJTs are commonly used by organizations for personnel selection. They aim to provide realistic, but hypothetical, scenarios and possible answers which are either selected or ranked by the candidate. One such test will contribute half, or significantly more than half, the score used by applicants to the UK Foundation Programme. The test will involve a single paper over two hours and twenty minutes in which candidates will answer 70 questions. This equates to approximately two minutes per question. Your response to 60 questions will be included in your final score, while ten questions embedded throughout the test will be pilot questions which are designed to be validated but not counted in your final score. You will not be able to differentiate pilot from genuine test questions and should answer every question as if it ‘counts’. In one SJT pilot, 96% of candidates finished the test within two hours, which provides some indication about the time pressure. It is important to answer all questions and not simply ‘guess’ those left at the end. Although the SJT is not negatively marked, random guesses are not allocated points. The scoring software will identify guesses by looking for unusual or sporadic answer patterns. The SJT will be held locally by individual medical schools under invigilated conditions. Therefore, your medical school should be in touch about specific local arrangements. Each SJT paper will include a selection of questions, each mapped to a specific professional attribute. Questions should be evenly distributed between attributes and between scenario type, i.e. ‘patient’, ‘colleague’, or ‘personal’. The SJT will include two types of question: ● multiple choice questions (approximately one- third) ● ranking questions (approximately two- thirds). These begin with a scenario and provide eight possible answers. Three of these are correct and should be selected. The remaining five are incorrect. The example in Box 2.1 provides an illustrative medical school scenario. For questions based around Foundation Programme scenarios, over 100 examples are provided for practice from onwards.

scholarly journals Exposure of undergraduates to authentic GP teaching and subsequent entry to GP training: a quantitative study of UK medical schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (657) ◽  
pp. e248-e252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Alberti ◽  
Hannah L Randles ◽  
Alex Harding ◽  
Robert K McKinley
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
The Uk ◽  
General Practice Training ◽  
Gp Training

BackgroundIt has been suggested that the quantity of exposure to general practice teaching at medical school is associated with future choice of a career as a GP.Aim To examine the relationship between general practice exposure at medical school and the percentage of each school’s graduates appointed to a general practice training programme after foundation training (postgraduate years 1 and 2).Design and setting A quantitative study of 29 UK medical schools.MethodThe UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) destination surveys of 2014 and 2015 were used to determine the percentage of graduates of each UK medical school who were appointed to a GP training programme after foundation year 2. The Spearman rank correlation was used to examine the correlation between these data and the number of sessions spent in placements in general practice at each medical school.ResultsA statistically significant association was demonstrated between the quantity of authentic general practice teaching at each medical school and the percentage of its graduates who entered GP training after foundation programme year 2 in both 2014 (correlation coefficient [r] 0.41, P = 0.027) and 2015 (r 0.3, P = 0.044). Authentic general practice teaching here is described as teaching in a practice with patient contact, in contrast to non-clinical sessions such as group tutorials in the medical school.DiscussionThe authors have demonstrated, for the first time in the UK, an association between the quantity of clinical GP teaching at medical school and entry to general practice training. This study suggests that an increased use of, and investment in, undergraduate general practice placements would help to ensure that the UK meets its target of 50% of medical graduates entering general practice.

scholarly journals Are efforts to attract graduate applicants to UK medical schools effective in increasing the participation of under-represented socioeconomic groups? A national cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kumwenda ◽  
Jennifer Cleland ◽  
Rachel Greatrix ◽  
Rhoda Katharine MacKenzie ◽  
Gordon Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Multiple Logistic Regression ◽  
Sociodemographic Characteristic ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
Graduate Entry ◽  
Socioeconomic Groups ◽  
National Cohort ◽  
The Uk

IntroductionAttracting graduates was recommended as a means of diversifying the UK medical student population. Graduates now make up nearly a quarter of the total medical student population. Research to date has focused on comparing the sociodemographic characteristics of applicants to and/or students on traditional and graduate entry programmes (GEMs), yet GEMs account for only 40% of the graduate medical student population. Thus, we aimed to compare the sociodemographic characteristic and outcomes of graduates and non-graduate applicants across a range of programmes.MethodsThis was an observational study of 117 214 applicants to medicine who took the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) from 2006 to 2014 and who applied to medical school through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). We included applicant demographics, UKCAT total score and offers in our analysis. Applicants were assigned as graduates or non-graduates on the basis of their highest qualification. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict the odds of receiving an offer, after adjusting for confounders.ResultsIrrespective of graduate or non-graduate status, most applicants were from the highest socioeconomic groups and were from a white ethnic background. Receiving an offer was related to gender and ethnicity in both graduates and non-graduates. After adjusting for UKCAT score, the OR of an offer for graduates versus non-graduates was approximately 0.5 (OR=0.48, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.49).DiscussionOur findings indicate that the aim of diversifying the medical student population on socioeconomic grounds by attracting graduates has been only marginally successful. Graduate applicants from widening access backgrounds are less likely than others to be offered a place at medical school. Different approaches must be considered if medicine is to attract and select more socially diverse applicants.

scholarly journals Dropping out of medical school in the UK: explaining the changes over ten years

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiji Arulampalam ◽  
Robin A Naylor ◽  
Jeremy P Smith
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
The Uk

Foundation trainees and changes in career intentions

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-101
Author(s):  
Adam B Joiner ◽  
Shamsa Mahmood ◽  
Samuel P Dearman ◽  
Sarah Maddicott
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Common Reason ◽  
Career Intentions ◽  
Positive Intention ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Experiential Design

Objectives: To understand whether foundation trainees change their career intentions during psychiatry placements and explore what factors influence such changes. Methods: Over a two-year period, foundation trainees completed questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of their four-month placement. There were two questions, the first as to how likely they were to pursue a career in psychiatry and the second openly asked them to elaborate on their reasons. Results: Twenty-one out of 41 eligible trainees returned all three questionnaires. The number of trainees ‘highly likely’ to choose psychiatry increased over the four-month period, from 4.5% to 19%. The number of trainees ‘highly unlikely’ to choose psychiatry decreased, from 27.3% to 9.5%. An increasingly positive intention towards a psychiatry career appeared to relate to enjoyment of the placement and the quality of supervision. The most common reason for not choosing psychiatry was a pre-existing interest in another specialty. Conclusions: Undertaking a psychiatry placement during the foundation programme continues to increase the likelihood of a positive attitude towards psychiatry as a career. The findings of our study suggest good practice in providing foundation placements in psychiatry includes identifying medical school experience, enjoyment, quality weekly supervision and mindful experiential design of placements.

How Can You Prepare?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Metcalfe ◽  
Harveer Dev
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Look Back ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right ◽  
Situational Judgement ◽  
Over Time

The Improving Selection to the Foundation Programme (ISFP) project does not believe that it is possible to be ‘coached’ through the SJT. This is generally true. Knowing the ‘right thing to do’ in any given situation is a matter of internalized values and intuition. However, no one seriously accepts that candidates are born with a fixed level of situational judgement. This is clearly something that develops over time and therefore can change. In addition, the SJT does not set out to test your values but whether you understand the values and attitudes expected of an FY1 doctor. This is why you are instructed to answer questions as you ‘should’, not as you ‘would’. The principles on which foundation doctors should base their behaviour are learnt and internalized throughout medical school. However, knowledge of these principles can clearly be learnt in the same way as any other part of the medical school curriculum. Most final- year medical students are satisfied with the FY1 posts to which they are allocated. For 2017 entry, 74% were appointed to their firstchoice foundation school, and 94% to one of their top five preferences. Those who were not initially pleased often look back in retrospect and are satisfied with their allocations. Your score on the SJT is unlikely to make or break your career. However, the same can be said of medical school finals. You will almost certainly pass finals— upwards of 95% of final- year students do so— and your ultimate career destination is unlikely to hinge on your cumulative examination score. But this is not a reason to go into finals unprepared. The truth is that every point on the SJT, as in finals, could mean the difference between your chosen outcome and something different. A point lost on the SJT could result in your leaving your first- choice foundation school and moving across the country for work, or not having a high enough score to capture your chosen specialty as a Foundation Programme rotation. Increasing competition for FY1 posts means that not everyone can be appointed.

Being a doctor

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-66
Author(s):  
Tim Raine ◽  
George Collins ◽  
Catriona Hall ◽  
Nina Hjelde ◽  
James Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Errors ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Curriculum Vitae ◽  
Career Structure ◽  
Governance Quality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Career Specialty

This chapter explores what is involved in being a doctor. It includes details of the Foundation Programme and how to apply, the curriculum and assessment, healthcare in the UK, starting life as an F1, what to do before you start, your first day, occupational health, what to carry, organization and efficiency, patient-centred care, communication and conduct, breaking bad news, cross-cultural communication, outside agencies, quality and ethics, clinical governance/quality, medical ethics, patient confidentiality, capacity, consent, what to do when things go wrong, medical errors, complaints, incident reporting, colleagues and problems, hating your job, relaxation, causes of stress, pay and contracts, making more money, debt, NHS entitlements, career, specialty training applications, options, and competition, career structure, choosing a job, specialties in medicine, your curriculum vitae, post-Foundation Programme CV, interviews, membership exams, continuing your education, audit, presentations and teaching, teaching medical students, and research and academia.

Effect of medical school attended on the chances of successfully embarking on a clinical-academic career in the UK

2020 ◽  
pp. postgradmedj-2020-139001
Author(s):  
Callum John Donaldson ◽  
Miguel Sequeira Campos ◽  
Joanne Ridgley ◽  
Alexander Light
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Numerical Rank ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Equal Chance ◽  
Intercalated Degree ◽  
The Uk

Purpose of the studyThis study aimed to investigate whether, in the UK, medical school attended influences the propensity to apply to and be successful in obtaining an offer from the Academic Foundation Programme (AFP), thus taking the first step to embarking on a clinical-academic career.Study designA retrospective observational study was performed. Using the UK Foundation Programme’s yearly statistical report data, mean application rates to, and mean offer rates from the AFP were calculated by medical school, between the years 2017–2019. Mean application and mean offer rates were subsequently correlated with metrics of medical school academic performance and research focus.ResultsMean application rates to the AFP were higher in medical schools that had a mandatory intercalated degree as part of the undergraduate medical curriculum (mean=33.99%, SD=13.93 vs mean=19.44%, SD=6.88, p<0.001), lower numerical rank in the Times Higher Education 2019 World Rankings (correlation with higher numerical rank, r=−0.50, p=0.004), and lower numerical rank in the Research Excellence Framework 2014 UK rankings (correlation with higher numerical rank, r=−0.37, p=0.004). Mean offer rates from the AFP were not correlated with any metric of medical school academic performance or research focus.ConclusionsStudents attending a medical school with greater academic performance and research focus are more likely to apply and subsequently embark on a clinical-academic career. However, students wishing to embark a clinical-academic career from any medical school have an equal chance of success.

scholarly journals Modernising Medical Careers: a urological workforce perspective

2008 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-26
Author(s):  
GO Hellawell ◽  
SS Kommu ◽  
F Mumtaz
Keyword(s):  
Junior Doctors ◽  
Specialty Training ◽  
Medical Careers ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
The Future ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training

The training of junior doctors in the UK is undergoing an evolution to ensure that those concerned are adequately trained and specialised for current and future consultant practice. The implementation of this training evolution is currently widespread at the foundation level (SHO-equivalent) and will expand to specialty training programmes as foundation programme trainees complete their training in 2007. Urology has led the change to the specialty training, with three-year trainees having entered the specialty in 2005. The emergence of urology as the lead specialty for change originated in part from a meeting in 1998 that addressed the future of urology and training, the summary of which was published later that year.

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