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Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3

OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS ................................................................................................3

BEFORE YOU APPLY ...............................................................................................................4

Checking eligibility...............................................................................................................4
Viewing the application form ...............................................................................................4
Registering & enrolling online..............................................................................................4
Contacting you ....................................................................................................................5
THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM .........................................................................................5
DOs and DON’Ts for completing your form.........................................................................5
PERSONAL ................................................................................................................................6
Linked applications..............................................................................................................7
PREFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................8
Competition Ratios for 2007 and 2008................................................................................8
QUALIFICATIONS .......................................................................................................................9
CLINICAL SKILLS ......................................................................................................................10
QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................10
Tips for writing good answers............................................................................................10
Verification of answers ......................................................................................................14
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................14
EQUAL OPPS ..........................................................................................................................16
SUBMIT ...................................................................................................................................16
SCORING .................................................................................................................................16
NUMBER OF POINTS AVAILABLE ................................................................................................16
HOW YOUR APPLICATION IS SCORED ........................................................................................17
ALLOCATION TO A FOUNDATION SCHOOL........................................................................17

MATCHING TO A FOUNDATION TRAINING PROGRAMME.................................................17

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ......................................................................................18

Cover photo: Photographs taken by Yves Salmon Photography. With thanks to our medical
student models: James Piper, University of Manchester; Tabara Dione, Peninsula Medical
School; Sabrina Talukdar, Cambridge University. James, Tabara and Sabrina are all members of
the UKFPO’s Medical Students Board 2008/2009.

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Introduction
Welcome to the national online application process for the Foundation Programme 2009. This
process is used for allocating places for foundation training programmes in England, Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland.

We at the UK Foundation Programme Office have tried to provide specific guidance on how to
tackle the application form, and to give you some indication of what the scoring panels will be
looking for. We hope that this handbook, along with all the other information available at
www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk, will address most of your questions and concerns.

Overview of the process

4 Aug – 5 Sept 08 Ensure that you are eligible to apply. All those expecting to graduate
from a UK medical school in July 2009 are deemed eligible. If your
medical school is outside the UK, or if you previously qualified from a UK
medical school, you must have applied to the Eligibility Office by midday
on 5 September 2008.

13 Oct 08 View programmes and start preparing your answers. From 13

October, the application form and Foundation Applicant’s Handbook
will be available online for you to view, along with details of all the
programmes available at each foundation school.

13 Oct – 7 Nov 08 Register and enrol online at www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk.

Only eligible candidates will be able to apply. You must register online
and enrol in the FP2009 recruitment round before you can access the
application form.

27 Oct – 7 Nov 08 Complete the online application form between 27 October and 7
November 2008 (at noon, GMT). Late applications will not be accepted.

17 Nov – 5 Dec 08 Applications are scored by your first choice foundation school.

6 Jan 09 You will be notified via email when your application results are
available to view online. You’ll need to log into your online account to
see your overall application score and the name of the foundation school
to which you are allocated.

7 Jan – 9 Feb 09 Submit your preferences for specific foundation programmes.

Deadlines for ranking programmes will vary by foundation school. Check
the website of the school where you are allocated for further information
on how they will match you to a specific programme.

15 Jan – 5 Mar 09 Your referees will be asked to submit a structured reference for you
as part of the pre-employment checks.

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3 Mar 09 You are notified of the specific programme to which you are
matched.

6 Mar 09 Breakdown of scores. A breakdown of scores you received for each

application answer will be available. You’ll need to log into your account
to see the scores.

Mar/Apr 09 Pre-employment checks begin. Your prospective employer will run

CRB checks and may require that you attend an interview or verify
answers in your application form before they issue a contract of
employment.

Jul 09 You must have qualified from your medical school and have
provisional GMC registration before your employer will issue a
contract of employment. Registering with the GMC is a different
process from applying to the Foundation Programme and you must apply
to them directly. The GMC advises that you apply for provisional
registration in May 2009 to ensure you are registered before August
2009.

July/Aug 09 A contract of employment is issued to you. Your employer will also

confirm your salary details, pay banding, location and starting rota.

Aug 09 Foundation Programme placements start.

Before you apply

Checking eligibility
All final year medical students from UK medical schools who expect to graduate by 31 July
2009 are eligible to apply for the Foundation Programme. All applicants from non-UK medical
schools, or those who graduated from a UK medical school previously must have applied to
the UK Foundation Programme Office’s Eligibility Office by 5 September 2008.

Viewing the application form

From 13 October, you can see all the sections which will appear on the application form
(including the questions) at www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk. This is in the form of a PDF file
which you can view onscreen or print.

Registering & enrolling online

1. From 13 October, you can register online at www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk.
2. Click on “Registering an account” and follow the instructions to choose a login and
password. Ensure you keep your password confidential.
3. You will be emailed an activation link. You must click on the link, or enter the activation
code supplied, to activate your account. The email will give you exact instructions.
4. Once your account is activated, you will need to enrol in the FP 2009 recruitment
round. The online system will guide you through this process.

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 5. The system will check the personal information you enter against its database of
eligible applicants. If the details you enter match those provided by your medical
school, deanery or the UKFPO’s eligibility office, you will be able to start your
application from 27 October.

Register online as soon as you can. Enter your personal data: name, date of birth and email
address EXACTLY as you supplied it to the medical school, deanery or eligibility office. Your
data is pre-loaded onto the website in order to ensure that only eligible applicants can apply. If
the system can’t find your data you, face a delay in accessing your application. If there are any
problems setting up your account, don’t panic! Just contact your local foundation school or the
eligibility office (as appropriate) and they will be able to reset your details on the system.

Contacting you
Remember to check your email regularly throughout the process. We will use your email
address to send you updates and personal messages about your application throughout the
entire recruitment period. If you need to change your email address for any reason, please
ensure you change the email address in the “account details” section of the application
website.

The online application form

The questions on the application form reflect the knowledge, skills and attributes required by
the national person specification for the Foundation Programme 2009. Your answers must
demonstrate that you meet the person specification in order for you to be allocated to a
Foundation Programme post and take up employment in August 2009.

The application form also asks you to confirm your clinical skills. The assessment of your
clinical skills is made primarily throughout your time at medical school. By passing your final
exams, we expect you to be clinically prepared to proceed with foundation training and we ask
that you confirm this on your form.

Your answers to the application questions must demonstrate evidence of the personal skills
which are included as part of the person specification for foundation doctors: namely that you
put the patient at the centre of care; you are organised and able to prioritise; you can work
effectively with others; you have good communications skills; you are capable of dealing with
pressure and/or challenge.

Applications for the Foundation Programme 2009 will be accepted online through
www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk between 27 October and 7 November 2008 at 12.00 noon
(GMT). Late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do not press “save” on each section, you will lose your answers
when you go to the next section.

DOs and DON’Ts for completing your form

DO DON’T

Compose your answers offline first and save
them.
Use your word processing programme’s spell-
check and word counter before copying and
pasting your answer into your application form.
NOTE: The word counter you use may be
different than that used by the application
system.
Don’t expect to complete the whole
application form in one sitting.
Consider booking at least three sessions in
your diary to work on it. It will undoubtedly
take longer than you think.

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 DO DON’T

Make sure you paste your answers into the Don’t forget to save each tabbed section
correct box on the application form. as you go along.

Panels will just be scoring one question only, so
if your answer is not relevant because you
pasted it into the wrong box, you will receive a
score of 0 for that answer.
You will lose your work as you move from
one tab to the next unless you save. You
will still be able to amend anything you
have saved until the point you submit your
application.

Print out a hard copy of your completed
application form. You may need it if your
foundation school or employer wishes to
interview you, or if they ask you to verify your
answers.
Don’t be tempted to use someone else’s
material or an example you heard in a
lecture.
The system uses plagiarism software which
will pick up any sort of standard or repeated
answer. If evidence of plagiarism is found,
the applicant will be withdrawn from the
system and may be reported to the GMC.

Ask a friend/colleague to proofread your final Don’t leave it to the last minute to
application. submit your form.

The online application form will be divided into eight sections. Each section is represented
online by a separate page. Pages are delineated by “tabs” across the top of the screen.

Below is a description of what each section contains, along with guidance on what the scorers
are looking for under the questions section.

Practical tips:
 Make sure you save your work regularly by clicking on the “SAVE” button found at both
the top and bottom of the screen.
 The online system times out after 30 minutes of inactivity. Even if you are typing for 30
minutes on one page, if you don’t save it or go to another tab, the system thinks you
are inactive.
 After you save a section, you can go back to it, edit it and re-save as many times as
you like before you submit the form.
 The word counter on your computer may be slightly different than the online system, so
you may need to adjust your answer by a word or two.

Personal
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

This section of the form asks you to complete the following:

 Your personal contact details (name, address, telephone numbers, etc);
 Details of any disabilities which you would want your employer to know about in order
for them to make reasonable adjustments for your employment;
 Details of any unspent convictions, previous convictions and investigations into fitness
to practise. In this section, the GMC has provided guidance which states that you do
not have to declare fixed penalty notices for traffic offences;
 Linked application request (details on page 7).
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Linked applications
This year, in response to feedback from medical students, we’ve developed a facility for
students to link their applications. This means that if you wish to link your application to the
application of another person, you will be allocated to the same foundation school. Please note
that you can only link to one other person. That person can be a partner, friend, sibling – any
two applicants who want to link can do so. Scoring panels will not know that your application is
linked.

Keep in mind that the link only guarantees that you will be in the same foundation school, not
the same trust or even the same town. Some foundation schools will try to place linked
applicants within an hour’s commute of each other, others will not. Check the foundation
school websites for their policy on linked applications.

If you and another applicant want to link your applications, you can do so in this section of the
form by choosing “yes” when asked if you wish to link your application. More information will
then appear for you to read through; along with a box for you to type in the email address of
the applicant you are linking to. The process of linking works in this way:

1. You must enter the email address of the person you want to link to, ensuring it is
the same one they are using for the application process.
2. Once you type their address in and save it, you will see a notification on your
personal account page (which comes up as soon as you log in). It will say either “X
linked to you” or “You are linked to X, but they have not linked to you”.
3. In order for the link to be complete, the other person must enter the e-mail address
you are using for the application process on their application form.
4. Both of you must rank all of the foundation schools in the same order of preference.
5. WARNING:The preferences and score of the lower scoring applicant will be used to
allocate both applicants to a foundation school. The result of your link may be that
either:
a. you will be allocated to a foundation school which is lower in your order of
preference than would otherwise have been the case had you not linked your
application
OR
b. The other individual will be allocated to a foundation school lower in his/her
order of preference than would otherwise have been the case.

The link will be honoured if:

 all the information required is provided on both applicants’ forms and
 neither you nor the other individual has been pre-allocated to a particular foundation
school on the grounds of special circumstances and
 there are enough programmes for all applicants. If there are more applicants than
places, the link will be severed if the lowest scoring applicant is below the threshold
of appointment. (See the “Frequently asked questions” section on page 17 for more
information on what happens if there are more applicants than places.)

IMPORTANT: You cannot un-link your application once you have submitted your form.

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Preferences
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

Before submitting your application, you must rank all the foundation schools in order of
preference in this section. The table below shows the number of applicants and vacancies in
each foundation school for both 2007 and 2008. You can see that some foundation schools
are always popular, but that different schools are over or undersubscribed in different years.

Competition Ratios for 2007 and 2008

Vacancies Applicants Vacancies Applicants
Foundation School
2007 2007 2008 2008
Birmingham, Shropshire and
266 277 338 275
Staffordshire
Black Country 78 46 93 90
Coventry and Warwick 85 69 90 85
East Anglian 147 163 287 214
Hereford and Worcester 66 47 73 52
Leicestershire,
Northamptonshire and 130 131 152 149
Rutland
Mersey 266 230 293 235
North Central Thames 306 252 340 449
North East Thames 264 257 298 321
North West Thames 306 350 263 567
North Western 485 458 537 507
North Yorkshire and East
157 29 172 80
Coast
Northern 348 307 393 303
Northern Ireland 210 249 234 245
Oxford 168 291 225 241
Peninsula 148 153 198 186
Scotland 803 802 767 802
Severn 246 311 288 314
South Thames 660 773 833 978
South Yorkshire 156 178 189 207
Trent 270 246 283 237
Wales 312 315 310 283
Wessex 217 251 241 218
West Yorkshire 250 270 277 290

Please note that ratios from previous years are not an indication of the popularity of schools for
this year. Competition will vary, depending on which schools other applicants choose to list as
their first choice.
Do not make your decisions based on these figures alone. It is not possible to predict where
your fellow medical students are going to apply. You do need to be realistic about your
choices, though. If your academic score is in a lower quartile and you don’t feel you’ve been
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able to answer the application questions particularly well, if is unlikely that you will be allocated
to a very competitive school. You are allocated to a foundation school first based on your
preferences, then on your score.

EXAMPLE:

In last year’s recruitment round, Betty’s application scored 70 (academic ranking +

application questions). She ranked NW Thames as her first choice foundation school,
followed by the other three London foundation schools as her second, third and fourth
choices.

Because NW Thames only had 263 places and 567 applicants, all the available places
were filled with higher scoring applicants and Betty didn’t get into her first choice
school.

Now, even though Betty had a good score which would have meant she’d have
achieved a place in South Thames Foundation School (her second choice) if she’d
listed it as her first choice, she didn’t get in. South Thames was already filled with
applicants who did list it as their first choice.

The next school on Betty’s list that had vacancies at this point was Wales, her fifth
choice. Therefore Betty was allocated to the Wales Foundation School.

There are no absolutes, however. There is no score which will assure you a place in any
foundation school. You cannot say that for 2009, you must have a score of 73 for NW Thames,
but a score of 65 will get you into North Western. It all depends on your fellow applicants and
their order of preference and how many vacancies there are at each school.

Qualifications
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

This section has a series of drop down boxes you can choose from. If you are NOT a final year
medical student in a UK medical school, you must answer questions about your GMC
registration status. You will also have to provide details of your main medical degree, post
qualification experience (not applicable to current medical students) and any other educational
qualifications.

This part of the form will only be used for employment purposes and will not be scored. If your
application is successful, the details in this section will be passed to your employer.

GMC registration status

For those who have limited or provisional registration, please enter your GMC
registration details. (This will only be shown for those who do NOT choose “I am
currently a medical student in a UK medical school” from the drop-down menu.)

Main medical degree

You must enter details of your medical degree and university. If you have not yet
graduated, enter the anticipated date of graduation.

Post qualification experience

This section is for those applicants who have already completed medical school and
may have had some experience working as a doctor prior to applying for the
Foundation Programme. We would expect to see your last 5 years of experience.

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 Other educational qualifications
This section is for applicants who have completed additional educational degrees or
relevant diplomas only. These may include: BA, BSc, BMedSci, PhD, etc.

Clinical skills
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

This section lists the clinical and practical skills that the GMC requires you to have by the end
of medical school. You are asked to tick a box to indicate if you have attained, or expect to
attain, each skill listed by August 2009.

This section is not scored, so be honest in your answers. Ticking a box that says you don’t
have a specific skill won’t prevent you from securing a post. This section of the form will be
sent to employers once you have a post in order to ensure that you receive the training and
support you need. So, if you don’t have one or more of the skills listed, please say so.

Questions
This is the ONLY section of the form that scoring panel WILL see.

There are seven questions in this section. Each question will be scored separately by a
scoring panel. (More information on the scoring process is on page 16 of this handbook).

You may want to start formulating your answers now. Draft your answers offline first, save
them, and once you are happy with them, copy and paste into your application form. You can
save, edit and re-save your form as many times as you like until you hit “Submit” button in the
Submit section.

Tips for writing good answers

TIP 1 Each question has several parts. Break down the question into its component parts
and answer each part. Then join your answer back together into a coherent single
response. You will not get full points if you do not answer the entire question.

TIP 2 Make sure you read the question carefully - answers need to be relevant, well
constructed and appropriate.

TIP 3 Check carefully how many examples are required and provide the correct number.
Identify if they must be academic or non-academic, clinical or non-clinical examples.

TIP 4 Provide a clear description of your experiences and achievements.

TIP 5 Communication skills and attention to detail are important, so answers must be in full
sentences (i.e. no bullet points). Poor spelling and grammar may impair the quality of
your answer and can lead to a lower score.

TIP 6 Do not leave any answers blank. The system will not allow you to submit the form if
there is nothing in the answer box.

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Question 1
Maximum points available: 8 points
Limit: 250 words

List your educational achievements.

There are two scoring components for this question:

PART 1 – (5 points) Degrees in addition to primary medical qualification.

PART 2 – (3 points) Other educational achievements.

IMPORTANT: If you do NOT have any additional qualifications which fit the criteria shown on
page 11 of this handbook, then write:

“Primary medical degree only”

The scoring panels who mark this question will have no discretion to award you marks for any
postgraduate certificates or other achievements that are not listed in the criteria. Writing
irrelevant information in this section will not help your application.

Bear in mind that the vast majority of medical students will score “0” on this question, so don’t
worry if you don’t have additional educational achievements.

Please note: It is possible that your foundation school will ask you to verify your answers, so
make sure you have all your paperwork in order.

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 Question 1 - Guidance
PART 1 – Additional degrees
 Please specify the class of degree awarded and the awarding body
 For intercalated degrees, please specify date of entry to medical school, date of expected
graduation and date(s) during which you undertook the additional degree
 For students who have undertaken an exchange programme of study as part of a degree course,
please state the grade awarded, for example the Grade Point Average (GPA), and the awarding
body****

Number of
points Achievement
0 No additional degrees beyond your primary medical degree or lack of sufficient
information to score the achievement

1 BMedSci* which does not extend the duration of the primary medical qualification
by a minimum of one year (University of Nottingham, for example)

2 BSc/BA/BMedSci* class unspecified or 3rd class or equivalent

3 BSc/BA/BMedSci* class 2.2**

4 BSC/BA/BMedSci* class 2:1 or masters degrees*** or BDS or veterinary degree

5 BSc/BA/BMedSci* 1st class. PhD or equivalent doctorate

Notes
* BMedSci – The degree class should only be scored if it extends the duration of the primary medical
qualification by a minimum of one year. Otherwise, it should receive a score of “1”.
** This will include those who are in the process of completing their intercalated degrees at Sheffield
*** A masters degree is equivalent to an intercalated degree where it represents a further year of study
taken in addition to a basic medical qualification. Some universities/medical schools award an ‘MD’
or similar as part of their basic medical qualifications eg in the USA and some other international
medical schools. This does not qualify for points in this section. Other degrees that would qualify
include MPhil (taught degree) and the MRes.
**** Please state if a 4 point or 5 point scale has been used in calculating your GPA. For a 4 point scale,
GPA of 4 should be scored as equivalent to a 1st class degree, a GPA of 3 as 2.1, a GPA of 2 as 2.2
and a GPA of 1 as 3rd class degree. For a 5 point scale, a GPA of 5 should be scored as equivalent
to a first class, a GPA of 4 as 2.1, a GPA 3 as 2.2 and a GPA of 2 or lower as a 3rd class degree.
PART 2: Other educational achievements (3 points)
List national prizes, bursaries, publications in peer-reviewed journals, posters or presentations at national
conferences gained after finishing secondary education (or equivalent). For prizes and bursaries, please
include details of the awarding body and any supporting information. Academic work that is not yet
published but is out for review will not be awarded any points. Ensure you provide details of the journal
your work appears in.
Presentations and posters must be given at a national level and must present your academic work.
(Presentations you give during the course of your degree, or extra curricular activities i.e. BMA
conference presentations, do not count.)

Points Scoring Criteria

1  Prizes or bursaries - Academic/educational prize or bursary at national level

 Publications - Publication of peer reviewed academic work to which the
1
applicant is a named contributor.
 Presentations - Oral or poster presentation at national or international level,
1
for which the applicant is the first or second named contributor.

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Question 2
Maximum points available: 10 points Question 2 - Guidance
Limit: 250 words
Give two examples of specific learning
needs that you identified as part of your  Your examples must relate directly to your
undergraduate medical training. undergraduate medical training rather than
Compare and contrast your approaches your personal life during this time.
to addressing these differing needs.
How will you use these experiences to  Write about your own learning needs, not
develop your competence and other people’s.
performance as a foundation doctor?

Question 3
Maximum points available: 10 points Question 3 - Guidance
Limit: 250 words
Compare and contrast the care that you
have observed for two patients with the
same diagnosis and similar clinical
 Ensure you identify the diagnosis and
problems. Describe the care and the
clinical problems in your response.
extent to which it took into account the
individual needs of the patients. What
 Describe how your learning may apply to a
have you learned from these
specific aspect of your future practice.
observations and how will you apply
this learning to your future clinical
practice?

Question 4
Maximum points available: 8 points Question 4 - Guidance
Limit: 150 words

 Describe the specific detail of a

Describe one example of a clinical
situation where you demonstrated or
observed appropriate professional
behaviour despite difficult
circumstances. How will you apply what
you have learned to your future
practice?
professional attitude, behaviour or integrity
that you demonstrated/observed as being
required due to a particular clinical
situation.
 Ensure you explain the relevance of the
difficult circumstances.
 Show evidence of your learning from the
example as well as how you will apply this
to your future practice.

Question 5
Maximum points available: 8 points Question 5 - Guidance
Limit: 150 words
 Describe your role within the team and how
Describe one example, not necessarily
you contributed. You do NOT have to be
clinical, that has increased your
the team leader.
understanding of team working.
 It should be clear how this experience
Describe your role and how you
increased your understanding of the
contributed to the team. What have
importance of teamwork.
you learned and how will you apply this
to working with colleagues as a  Make sure you relate this to how you will
foundation doctor? use the experience to improve working with
colleagues in your foundation years.

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Question 6
Maximum points available: 8 points
Limit: 150 words
Describe a situation, not necessarily
clinical, where you personally felt
challenged and under pressure.
Describe how you responded. What did
you learn from this experience and how
will this benefit you as a foundation
doctor?
Question 7
Maximum points available: 8 points
Limit: 150 words
Describe one of your non-academic
achievements. Explain clearly why this
was an achievement for you. What did
you learn from this achievement and
how will this influence your approach to
patient care?
Question 6 - Guidance
 Be clear and concise in your description of
the example
 Describe why you felt challenged
/pressurised.
 Explain how you personally handled the
pressure or challenge, and the outcome of
your actions
 Reflect on what you learned from the
experience and how it will be benefit you as
a foundation doctor.
Question 7 - Guidance
 Give an example of an achievement, not
just an experience.
 Ensure that it is clear to the scoring panel
how and why this was an achievement for
you.
 Remember to include its significance to you
and its relevance to your future approach to
patient care.

Verification of answers
A random sample of 10% of applicants will be asked to verify the answers they provided on
their application form. The process of verification will be determined by the individual
foundation schools, but typically consists of you being requested to send in evidence of the
claims made in your answer. For example, if one of your answers mentioned that you climbed
a mountain, you could submit a photograph to verify this. If you have won a national prize, the
foundation school would expect to see the certificate. If you are unable to verify your answers
by post to the satisfaction of the Foundation School Director, s/he will probably ask you to
come in for an interview to discuss the situation.

If there continues to be doubt about the veracity of an answer, the Foundation School Director
will withdraw you from the application process and refer you back to your medical school.

References
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

You will need to provide names and contact details of two referees. They must be practising
hospital consultants, GPs or associate specialists who are able to give an opinion of your
clinical skills. If you are currently employed as a doctor, or have been employed as a doctor
anytime during the last six months, one of your referees must come from that employer.

Make sure you ask your referees if they are happy to provide a reference before you complete
this section. You’ll also need to provide an email address which they access regularly. Advise
them that they will be sent an email on 15 January asking them to complete a structured online
reference for you by 5 March 2009.

You will be able to see your references once they are submitted by checking the “my account”
area of the website.
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The reference request:
Your referees will be asked to give their opinion regarding your present knowledge and skills
under the headings provided below. They will then be asked to give examples of your
behaviour that support the rating they gave you. The ratings are:

A. Unacceptable
B. Cause for concern
C. Good
D. Excellent

The following are the areas your referee will be requested to rate you/comment on:
Clinical knowledge and skills
 Can show evidence of having achieved the outcomes for qualification set out in
Tomorrow’s Doctors

Language skills
 All applicants must have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are
adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and
colleagues

Personal skills
 Demonstrates an understanding of the importance of the patient as the central focus of
care
 Demonstrates ability to prioritise tasks and information appropriately
 Demonstrates an understanding of the importance of working effectively with others
 Demonstrates the ability to communicate effectively with both colleagues and patients
 Demonstrates initiative and the ability to deal effectively with pressure and/or challenge

Probity
 Demonstrates appropriate professional behaviour, i.e. integrity, honesty, confidentiality

Recommendation
The referee is invited to provide other comments regarding your application.

Referee details
Name, position held, name of employing organisation, contact telephone number.

References are not used in the scoring or allocation processes. You will be allocated to a
foundation school based on your preferences and application score only.

Similarly, you will be matched to a specific programme based on your score - those matching
you will not see your references.

You are, however, required to provide two references to your prospective employer prior to
issue of a contract of employment. This means that even if your application is successful, you
cannot start your job until your references are received.

The reason that your references must be submitted by 5 March is that the foundation schools
send all of your data (including the full application form and references) to your employing
organisation on a specified date in March. References received after that date will not be seen.
You will have to work with the employing organisation to get additional references if your
referees don’t submit them online by the deadline.

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Equal Opps
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

This section includes the equal opportunities monitoring information required by the health
service to monitor their recruitment practices. This section asks you to provide your age,
gender, ethnic origin, religious beliefs and whether you have a disability. If you do not wish to
disclose your age, you may leave that field blank. The rest of the form is mandatory to
complete, but be aware that you may choose the option “I do not wish to disclose this
information”.

The information you provide in this section will only be accessed by individuals involved in the
recruitment process.

Submit
Members of the scoring panel will not have access to this section of your form.

This section includes not only the “submit” button, but several declarations as well.

You will be asked to tick a box to declare that you have completed the application answers by
yourself, without significant help or input from other sources. This declaration applies only to
formulating your answers, rather than the physical act of inputting them into the computer. (If
you have a disability, for example, and someone else does the typing on your behalf, this does
not constitute “significant help or input”.)

We advise you to submit your application a few days before the deadline to avoid the last
minute rush. Like any website that has to deal with a high level of traffic, the application site
could slow down when it is very busy, and it may be stressful for you when you are trying to
submit your application. Once the application is accepted, you will receive an email
confirmation so you know it has gone through.

Please note: The online system has anti-plagiarism software which can identify applications
where some form of standard answer has been used. This is regarded as a serious probity
issue and if plagiarism is found, applicants will be withdrawn from the system, referred back to
their medical school and to the GMC.

IMPORTANT: Once your application has been submitted, it cannot be changed. Make sure
you double check everything and ensure it is saved before you submit. We advise you to print
out a copy of your completed application.

Scoring
Number of points available
Applications will have a maximum score of 100 points; and this will consist of two components:

1. Academic Ranking - 40 points maximum

Your academic ranking is calculated by your medical school, who have divided your
year group into four quartiles based on academic performance. If you are in the first
quartile (the top 25% of your year), you will receive a score of 40; if you are in the
second quartile; your score will be 38; the third quartile 36 and the fourth quartile 34.

If you are graduating from a UK medical school, these scores have already been
supplied to us by your medical school and uploaded into the system.

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 If you are graduating from a non-UK medical school, you will have already applied
through the eligibility office and your academic score is derived from the academic
ranking on your medical school dean’s statement. The eligibility office has uploaded
your academic score.

2. Application questions - 60 points maximum

There are seven questions. Each question has a set maximum score and a word limit,
as detailed on pages 10 – 14 of this handbook.

How your application is scored

Each of your answers to the application questions is scored by a panel of two people, at least
one of whom is a clinician, using a detailed set of national scorers’ guidelines.

Prior to scoring, all members of scoring panels will have been trained to a national standard
using a single set of nationally agreed scoring criteria. This is to ensure that scorers are
marking as consistently as possible.

Your questions will be scored horizontally. This means that each panel will score a particular
question (i.e. all Question 2s; or all Question 3s) rather than scoring entire applications. The
result is that each application is scored by at least 14 individuals.

Each panel member will first score a question independently, and then will discuss their scores
to agree a final score for each question. If they cannot agree, the question is passed to another
panel to re-score. A chief assessor will be nominated for each scoring event and will be the
final arbiter of scoring in case of dispute.

Each scoring panel will only be provided with the answer to one of your questions and your
applicant number. All other information is held on a secure database and passed to employers
for pre-employment checks once an offer of a training place has been made

Allocation to a foundation school

You are allocated to a foundation school based on your foundation school preferences and
your application score. Your overall application score (the combined score of your academic
ranking and the number of points you score on the application) and your foundation school
allocation will be available to view on your personal account on 6 January 2009. You will
receive an email to let you know when the information is available.

Matching to a foundation training programme

The next step is for you to be matched to a specific programme within the foundation school.
As this part of the process is managed locally by the foundation school, it is very important to
check the website of your allocated foundation school to see what process they use for
matching you to a particular programme.

Pre-employment checks and employment contracts

Pre-employment checks include Criminal Records Bureau checks, occupational health checks
and may, in some cases, include an interview. You must ensure that both of your references
are submitted, as your employer cannot offer you a contract of employment without them.

It is important to note that your employer (hospital, trust or board), not the foundation school, is
responsible for offering you an employment contract. They are also responsible for all
contractual issues – location, pay, banding, rotas, accommodation, etc. If they request that you
attend an interview as part of their pre-employment checks, please do so. Employers have a
responsibility to patients to ensure that the doctors allocated to them are suitable. If you do not
attend an interview when called, they can refuse to offer you an employment contract.

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Frequently asked questions
Are there enough foundation training jobs for everyone who applies?
Yes, this year we predict that there will be enough training places for all eligible applicants
(provided they meet the person specification and satisfactorily complete the pre-employment
checks).

However, some applicants may have to wait to find out where they will be placed. If there are
more applicants than places in the initial recruitment round, those who score lowest will not be
allocated to a foundation school immediately, but placed on a reserve list. At set intervals
(most likely April and July), reserve list applicants will be allocated to foundation schools once
a ”pool” of vacancies become available (either through applicants withdrawing from the
system; or by those withdrawn from the medical school by failing to pass their final exams). If
this happens, we expect that fewer than 1% of applicants will be affected this year.

If there are more applicants than places during the initial recruitment round, we anticipate that
all of those on the reserve list will get a job, but they may not know where until July 2009 (at
the latest). Further information, guidance and support will be provided to any applicants on the
reserve list.

Should I ask an online service to help me with my application?

We know there are websites which offer to write or re-write your answers for you. They may
use many of the same phrases, so the plagiarism software we use will pick it up. When we
asked medical students to find out how good these services are, the feedback we received
was “Don’t waste your money”.

Does the offer of a training programme guarantee me a job?

The Foundation Programme recruitment process will match you to a foundation training
programme, but the employing organisation makes the offer of employment. They will issue a
contract only after they have completed your pre-employment checks.

What happens if I don’t want the job?

Successful applicants will be allocated to one foundation school only, then to one programme
only. Declining your foundation school or programme allocation will mean that you are
withdrawing from the process.

There is no system for “swaps” between schools or between people in the same school. If you
withdraw, you can apply for any vacancies that arise in other schools, but they will only be for
F1 posts. You would have to apply for F2 separately the following year.

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