With many deaneries offering fewer places on their Foundation Programme than the number of applicants, competition can be fierce. In 2010 (for 2011 FP entry), approximately 90% of candidates got their first choice but many did not. If you don't, there may be no places left in your second choice deanery because all places may have been snatched by those who placed it as first choice.
On this page, you will find information and tips that will help you appreciate the requirements and focus your preparation for completing the FY1 application form.
The application process is based on a total of 100 points which come from two components:
Academic ranking (out of 40) Your academic results are fed into the process by your medical school according to the following schedule:
Application form (out of 60) The application form consists of:
The difference between the highest and lowest ranked students is therefore of only 6 marks, which can easily be made up with the application form, which is marked out of 60. Therefore if you are in the top quartile, do not rest on your laurels. Equally, if you are in the bottom quartile, everything is to play for. Your medical school should inform you of your ranking mid October.
The application form calendar for the 2011 Foundation Year application process (for entry in 2012) are as follows:
Questions aim at testing a range of competencies. They differ from year to year though their style is similar. The five essay-based questions for 2011/2012 recruitment process were as follows. All questions to be answered in under 200 words.
Question 1 Two essential attributes of a foundation doctor are to deal effectively with challenge and to demonstrate initiative. Describe a clinical case in which you have been involved and use this example to demonstrate how you possess both of these qualities. How will you apply what you have learnt from this experience to your work as a foundation doctor?
Question 2 Foundation doctors need to have an appreciation of the patient's perspective in planning their care. You are a foundation year one doctor. An 18 year old patient has been admitted as an emergency with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). On taking his history at admission you discovered that he had not used his insulin at a music festival, as he was embarrassed to do so in front of his friends. You have established that his diabetes is generally poorly controlled because he is concealing it from his peers, as he does not wish to be different. He is now stable and ready to go home. Since you have already developed a rapport, your consultant asks you to see the patient in order to explore his concerns. You go to see him on the busy ward. What would you do? What would be your priorities when undertaking this task? What additional learning needs does this scenario highlight for you and how would you share your learning with colleagues?
Question 3 Teaching and learning in medicine takes place in a variety of settings which present different opportunities and challenges. Describe how you maximised your learning about the same topic in both a classroom/lecture setting and a clinical setting. What were the key challenges to learning in the clinical setting? Describe the strategies you will use as a foundation doctor to gain the most from workplace-based learning opportunities in the course of your clinical practice.
Question 4 An understanding of appropriate professional behaviour is an essential requirement for a foundation doctor. You are a foundation doctor based on a busy medical ward. You are reviewing a patient for discharge when your bleep goes off. You excuse yourself to answer your bleep, and return to find the patient reading your list of tasks that you have left on the bed. This includes patient names and diagnoses. What would your initial response be? What factors contribute to the pressure of the situation and how would you prioritise further actions? How may this scenario inform your professional behaviour as a foundation doctor
Question 5 Effective care, whether in the community or hospital environment, often requires the involvement of a multidisciplinary team. Using two cases that you have observed, describe how the multidisciplinary team contributed to the care given to patients with similar clinical conditions, one within the hospital environment and one in the community environment. What were the challenges to effective team working in the community environment? How could you, as a hospital-based foundation doctor, contribute positively to the management of patients being discharged to the care of a community team?
Our guide to the 2011/2012 FY application form was released on 11 October ie 1 day after the application process opens to ensure that it deals with the current questions (they change the questions every year). Order and download our guide to the 2011/2012 FY1 application form.
