Foundation House Officer
Encyclopedia
A Foundation Doctor is a grade of medical practitioner in the United Kingdom
undertaking the Foundation Programme - a two-year, general postgraduate medical training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general practice training. Being a Foundation Doctor is compulsory for all newly qualified medical practitioners in the UK from 2005 onwards. The grade of Foundation Doctor has replaced the traditional grades of Pre-registration house officer
and Senior house officer
.
Foundation Doctors have the opportunity to gain experience in a series of posts in a variety of specialties and healthcare settings. Learning objectives for each stage are specific and focused on demonstration of clinical competences. Emphasis is on the assessment and management of acutely ill patients. Training also encompasses the generic professional skills applicable to all areas of medicine - team work, time management, communication and IT skills.
. In the first year of Foundation Training, FY1s rotate through three or four jobs in different hospital specialties. The General Medical Council
specify that every FY1 must complete at least three months of General Medicine. Until 2007, it was also required for all FY1s to complete at least three months of General Surgery, and therefore most programmes still include this. The rest of the year may be made up of further time spent in General Medicine or General Surgery, or time spent in other specialties (but not in General Practice).
The first year of the Foundation Programme builds upon the knowledge, skills and competences acquired in undergraduate training. The learning objectives for this year are set by the General Medical Council (see their website for more details: http://www.gmc-uk.org/) for full registration are based on the achievement of specific competences. During this first year, Foundation Year 1 Doctors hold only provisional registration with the General Medical Council
, full registration being granted on successful completion of the first year.
, paediatrics, psychiatry
, obstetrics
or pathology
. The training builds on what has been achieved during the previous year.
FY2s will sometimes also refer to themselves as SHOs and will be in the SHO rota. Although some departments have separate rotas for GPVTS trainees and FY2s and a separate rota for specialist trainees.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
undertaking the Foundation Programme - a two-year, general postgraduate medical training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general practice training. Being a Foundation Doctor is compulsory for all newly qualified medical practitioners in the UK from 2005 onwards. The grade of Foundation Doctor has replaced the traditional grades of Pre-registration house officer
Pre-registration house officer
Pre-registration house officer , often known as a houseman or house officer, was until 2005 the only job open to medical graduates in the United Kingdom who had just passed their final examinations at medical school and had received their medical degrees.Newly-qualified doctors are only allowed...
and Senior house officer
Senior house officer
A senior house officer is a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality in the British National Health Service or in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised by consultants and registrars, who oversee their training and are their designated clinical supervisors...
.
Foundation Doctors have the opportunity to gain experience in a series of posts in a variety of specialties and healthcare settings. Learning objectives for each stage are specific and focused on demonstration of clinical competences. Emphasis is on the assessment and management of acutely ill patients. Training also encompasses the generic professional skills applicable to all areas of medicine - team work, time management, communication and IT skills.
Foundation Year 1 (FY1)
This year replaces what was known as Pre-registration house officerPre-registration house officer
Pre-registration house officer , often known as a houseman or house officer, was until 2005 the only job open to medical graduates in the United Kingdom who had just passed their final examinations at medical school and had received their medical degrees.Newly-qualified doctors are only allowed...
. In the first year of Foundation Training, FY1s rotate through three or four jobs in different hospital specialties. The General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
specify that every FY1 must complete at least three months of General Medicine. Until 2007, it was also required for all FY1s to complete at least three months of General Surgery, and therefore most programmes still include this. The rest of the year may be made up of further time spent in General Medicine or General Surgery, or time spent in other specialties (but not in General Practice).
The first year of the Foundation Programme builds upon the knowledge, skills and competences acquired in undergraduate training. The learning objectives for this year are set by the General Medical Council (see their website for more details: http://www.gmc-uk.org/) for full registration are based on the achievement of specific competences. During this first year, Foundation Year 1 Doctors hold only provisional registration with the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
, full registration being granted on successful completion of the first year.
Foundation Year 2 (FY2)
FY2s may do further posts in medicine or surgery, or may do posts in other specialties, such as general practice, emergency medicineEmergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
, paediatrics, psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
or pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
. The training builds on what has been achieved during the previous year.
FY2s will sometimes also refer to themselves as SHOs and will be in the SHO rota. Although some departments have separate rotas for GPVTS trainees and FY2s and a separate rota for specialist trainees.
External links
- Modernising Medical Careers website
- Modernising Medical Careers - publication by the Department of HealthDepartment of Health (United Kingdom)The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
- Medical Training Application Service
- UK Foundation Programme Office Website
- Comparison site for all UK Foundations Schools