Applications Explained
To get the information straight from the horse’s mouth, visit UKFPO’s site here and download their Applicants’ Handbook. However, here is our break down of the information if you are after a quick review.
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The Timeline for 2013
7 December 2012: 7 January 2013: Late January 2013: 21 January 2013 - 13 February 2013: 25 February 2013: By 29 March 2013: 4 March 2013 - 4 April 2013: 3 April 2013: April - July 2013: April - July 2013: July 2013: From July 2013: August 2013: |
Local short-listing and interviews for AFP applications First SJT date Second SJT date (choice of date confirmed by your medical school) AFP national offers. Successful AFP applicants will receive offers during this period. All offers must be accepted or declined on FPAS by the stated deadline. FP primary list allocation. You will be notified via email when you can log into your FPAS account to see your SJT and overall application score and, if you are on the primary list, you will be able to see which UoA you have been allocated to. Applicants on the FP primary list need to select their programme preferences on FPAS. Deadlines and processes for matching you to your specific foundation programme will vary by UoA. Check your allocated UoA’s website for further information. Your referees will be asked to submit a reference for you as part of pre-employment checks. FP primary list applicants notified of programme matches. You will need to log into your FPAS account to see which foundation programme you have been matched to by your allocated UoA. FP reserve list batch allocations. Highest scoring applicants on the FP reserve list will be allocated to any vacancies that have arisen since the last allocation. Pre-employment checks undertaken. You must have provisional GMC registration with a licence to practise 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 in May 2013 to ensure you are registered before the start of your FP shadowing period. Contracts of employment issued. Your employer will also confirm your salary, pay banding, location and starting rota. Foundation Programme starts. Newly appointed F1 doctors are required to attend a period of shadowing the F1 doctor they are taking over from before the start of the Foundation Programme. Your foundation school or employer will contact you with the details of local arrangements and your required start date which may be late July 2013. |
The Points System
Scoring
The system is based around getting a score out of 100. 50 of these points come from the new Situational Judgement Test, and 50 from the Educational Performance Measure, which is largely similar to previous years.
The system is based around getting a score out of 100. 50 of these points come from the new Situational Judgement Test, and 50 from the Educational Performance Measure, which is largely similar to previous years.
Situational Judgement Test
These are designed to replace the white space questions, examining 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. To get an idea about what qualities they are testing, check out the 'Person Specification' for Foundation Doctors here, and the GMC's Good Medical Practice here.
You have to answer 70 questions in 2 hours and 20 minutes, asking what action you would take when presented with a specific situation. These questions take two formats: selecting the three most appropriate responses from a list; or ranking the five answers in order from best to worst.
This is a national exam that every applicant will sit (including those applying to the Academic Foundation Programme); see above for the dates of the exams. The exam is worth 50 points of your application.
You can find more information and example questions on the ISFP's website here. There is also a practice SJT which you can take online. It gives your result as a percentage score. However, the way in which your real score will be calculated is a little more complicated; to read more about it, click here. For all other FAQs, click here; you should be able to find the answer to any queries.
These are designed to replace the white space questions, examining 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. To get an idea about what qualities they are testing, check out the 'Person Specification' for Foundation Doctors here, and the GMC's Good Medical Practice here.
You have to answer 70 questions in 2 hours and 20 minutes, asking what action you would take when presented with a specific situation. These questions take two formats: selecting the three most appropriate responses from a list; or ranking the five answers in order from best to worst.
This is a national exam that every applicant will sit (including those applying to the Academic Foundation Programme); see above for the dates of the exams. The exam is worth 50 points of your application.
You can find more information and example questions on the ISFP's website here. There is also a practice SJT which you can take online. It gives your result as a percentage score. However, the way in which your real score will be calculated is a little more complicated; to read more about it, click here. For all other FAQs, click here; you should be able to find the answer to any queries.
What are the other 50 points made up with?
There are a maximum of 50 points available in the EPM. You can find more information about it here on the ISFP website.
There are three components:
PubMed ID = 1 point
2. One point for each national/international oral or poster presentation provided you're either the speaker or the first named author = 1 point
3. One point for each educational first prize that's either national/international = 1 point
There are a maximum of 50 points available in the EPM. You can find more information about it here on the ISFP website.
There are three components:
- Your decile ranking; this has changed since last year, when quartiles were used. 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.- Top decile = 43 points
- Second decile = 42 points through to...
- ...Ninth decile = 35 points
- Tenth decile = 34 points
- Any previous degrees you might have. The following are examples, for the full list see page 3 of this document.
- PhD = 5 points
- First class honours degree, Masters, etc. = 4 points
- Honours degree with 2.1 = 3 points
- Honours degree with 2.2 = 2 points
- Honours degree below 2.2 or that didn't take an extra year of study = 1 point
- No extra degree (just your final medical qualification) or third class intercalated degree that does not extend your medical programme.
- Any extra-curricular academic achievements. (NB| There are 6 ways to get them, but the maximum you can score on this section is 2).
2. One point for each national/international oral or poster presentation provided you're either the speaker or the first named author = 1 point
3. One point for each educational first prize that's either national/international = 1 point
How do I find out more?
You can find more information about the proposed changes and the point-scoring system on the Improving Selection to the Foundation Programme website.
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.
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.