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To make smarter choices about your foundation programme rotations, join Messly. Read reviews, see GMC ratings and find out essential information about your new foundation school.
To make smarter choices about your foundation programme rotations, join Messly. Read reviews, see GMC ratings and find out essential information about your new foundation school.
Important Dates & Applications Explained
The official 2019 Applicants’ Handbook is thorough but a daunting read.
If you want to wade through it, be our guest, but we've summarised the key points and dates in the table below.
If you want to wade through it, be our guest, but we've summarised the key points and dates in the table below.
2018-19 Timeline
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24 September 2018
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Window for Oriel registration opens
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02 - 13 October 2018
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Complete the online application form for the FP/AFP
The deadline is 12.00 noon on 13 October 2018 (Don’t miss this!) You will fill out the online form, ranking the foundation schools in order of preference. You will not know your total score at this time, but you will know your Education Performance Measure (EPM). |
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15 Oct 2018 - 11 Jan 2018
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AFP local recruitment: short-listing and interviews
The AFP Schools will communicate the exact dates with applicants. |
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07 December 2018
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1st SJT Sitting
(Your medical school will decide which sitting you take) |
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07 January 2019
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2nd SJT Sitting
(Your medical school will decide which sitting you take) |
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16 Jan - 13 Feb 2019
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AFP offers
Successful candidates will receive offers if they have been successful, with a stated deadline as to when to reply. |
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Thurs 07 March 2019
(Ranking begins 12:00 08 March) |
FP List Allocation (The Big Day)
Your SJT score and overall application score will appear on your Oriel account. You will see which primary school you’ve been allocated to. Your allocation school will email you asking you to rank their available programmes (jobs in the various trusts/hospitals). Unfortunately, there will be some people whose application was not strong enough to earn a place on the 'primary list' - these people will not be allocated a foundation school but will be on a reserve list. |
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March - April 2019
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Your chosen referees will provide their references to Oriel as part of pre-employment checks. (Referees will be explained by Oriel and your Med School)
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By 17:00 27 March 2019
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Rank your chosen jobs on Oriel. The exact deadlines will vary, but the foundations school’s email will tell you.
You can rank as many or as few programmes as you would like. If you do not secure one of the programmes you have ranked, you will be randomly allocated to one of the programmes you did not rank. |
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Thurs 04 April 2019
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Allocation to program results
You will receive an email telling you which program/jobs you have been allocated to |
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June 2019
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You must provisionally register with the GMC.
This is a separate process from the FP. The GMC recommends applying some time in May. Please see the GMC site for further guidance. |
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From July 2019
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Contracts of Employment Issued
You’ll find out your job/location/rota/$alary |
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July/August 2019
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Start your Foundation Job
Your foundation programme will give you the exact details and start date (likely to be late July). This usually begins with a weeks of shadowing before starting work on the first Wednesday of August. |
The Points System
Scoring
The system is based around getting a score out of 100. Fifty of these points come from the new Situational Judgement Test, and fifty from the Educational Performance Measure, which is largely similar to previous years.
The system is based around getting a score out of 100. Fifty of these points come from the new Situational Judgement Test, and fifty from the Educational Performance Measure, which is largely similar to previous years.
Situational Judgement Test
These are designed to examine your personal skills and knowledge of your duties as a good doctor. The questions are based on scenarios that reflect real clinical experiences, testing teamwork, communication, or decision making skills.
You have to answer 70 questions in 2 hours and 20 minutes, asking how you should respond to a specific situation as an F1 doctor. These questions take two formats: selecting three answers from eight possible responses; or ranking five answers.
All applicants will take the SJT as part of the selection process (including those applying to the Academic Foundation Programme); see above for the national dates. The exam is worth 50 points (half) of your application.
There is a practice SJT which you can take online. It gives your result as a percentage score.
These are designed to examine your personal skills and knowledge of your duties as a good doctor. The questions are based on scenarios that reflect real clinical experiences, testing teamwork, communication, or decision making skills.
You have to answer 70 questions in 2 hours and 20 minutes, asking how you should respond to a specific situation as an F1 doctor. These questions take two formats: selecting three answers from eight possible responses; or ranking five answers.
All applicants will take the SJT as part of the selection process (including those applying to the Academic Foundation Programme); see above for the national dates. The exam is worth 50 points (half) of your application.
There is a practice SJT which you can take online. It gives your result as a percentage score.
What are the other 50 points made up with?
There are a maximum of 50 points available in the Educational Performance Measure (EPM).
There are three components:
1. Your decile ranking. It reflects your performance at medical school in comparison to other
students at your medical school. Different medical schools have different methods of ranking
their students.
o Top decile = 43 points
o Second decile = 42 points through to...
o ...Ninth decile = 35 points
o Tenth decile = 34 points
2. Any previous degrees you might have.
o PhD = 5 points
o First class honours degree, Masters, etc. = 4 points
o Honours degree with 2.1 = 3 points
o Honours degree with 2.2 = 2 points
o Honours degree below 2.2 or that didn't take an extra year of study = 1 point
o No extra degree (just your final medical qualification) or third class intercalated degree that
does not extend your medical programme.
3. Any extra-curricular academic achievements. (The maximum
you can score on this section is 2).
o One point for each publication with a PubMed ID = 1 point
There used to be points awarded for national prizes; however, these are no longer part of the application assessment. You can find more information about it on the UKFPO FAQs section.
Are there any interviews?
If you have applied to the foundation programme only (not to the academic foundation programme), and your application score is high enough to be on the primary list, the majority of people will not be interviewed during the FPAS selection process. However, as part of pre-employment checks, some candidates may be interviewed. In addition, some foundation schools will interview applicants who have been allocated to their foundation school from the reserve list.
Applications to academic foundation programme posts generally do involve interviews. The format, length and purpose of these interviews may differ between different centres. To find out more about the academic foundation programme, either visit our Academic Foundation page or see the Academic Foundation Posts section on individual foundation schools' pages.
There are a maximum of 50 points available in the Educational Performance Measure (EPM).
There are three components:
1. Your decile ranking. It reflects your performance at medical school in comparison to other
students at your medical school. Different medical schools have different methods of ranking
their students.
o Top decile = 43 points
o Second decile = 42 points through to...
o ...Ninth decile = 35 points
o Tenth decile = 34 points
2. Any previous degrees you might have.
o PhD = 5 points
o First class honours degree, Masters, etc. = 4 points
o Honours degree with 2.1 = 3 points
o Honours degree with 2.2 = 2 points
o Honours degree below 2.2 or that didn't take an extra year of study = 1 point
o No extra degree (just your final medical qualification) or third class intercalated degree that
does not extend your medical programme.
3. Any extra-curricular academic achievements. (The maximum
you can score on this section is 2).
o One point for each publication with a PubMed ID = 1 point
There used to be points awarded for national prizes; however, these are no longer part of the application assessment. You can find more information about it on the UKFPO FAQs section.
Are there any interviews?
If you have applied to the foundation programme only (not to the academic foundation programme), and your application score is high enough to be on the primary list, the majority of people will not be interviewed during the FPAS selection process. However, as part of pre-employment checks, some candidates may be interviewed. In addition, some foundation schools will interview applicants who have been allocated to their foundation school from the reserve list.
Applications to academic foundation programme posts generally do involve interviews. The format, length and purpose of these interviews may differ between different centres. To find out more about the academic foundation programme, either visit our Academic Foundation page or see the Academic Foundation Posts section on individual foundation schools' pages.
How do I find out more?
If you would like to find out about specialty applications after your foundation years, or more general information about your future career in medicine, visit NHS Medical Careers, a website offering a wealth of information on different specialties and a four step self-assessment process to help you to plan your career.
