The foundation training programme is designed to bridge the gap between undergraduate and specialist medical training. It builds on undergraduate training to allow foundation doctors to demonstrate performance in the workplace rather than competence in isolated test situations.
Foundation doctors will be encouraged to develop clinical thinking and professional judgement, especially where there is clinical uncertainty. This programme will allow them to satisfy the needs of the General Medical Council (GMC) and enter the professional register at the end of F1. At the end of F2, they will be ready to enter a specialty training programme. (The Foundation Programme Curriculum, June 2007)
Foundation training at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust began with a successful F2 pilot in 2004. It is now well established throughout the trust and offers an excellent training in a busy and supportive environment.
All our foundation trainees come from South Thames Foundation School. There are 39 F1 posts and 36 F2 posts, most of which involve placements on both main sites, St Helier Hospital and Epsom Hospital. F2 posts also include placements in general practice, hospices, psychiatry and the Royal Marsden Hospital.
The programme is run by two clinician foundation training programme directors and supported by a foundation training programme co-ordinator and a medical education manager. Trainees are supervised by 100 clinical supervisors, 25 educational supervisors and nine careers advisors whose roles are explained below.
Shadowing: All F1 trainees are encouraged to shadow in the hospitals for at least one or two weeks prior to commencing work at the Trust.
Tasters: F1 and F2 trainees are encouraged to widen their knowledge of other specialities by completing a taster week during their year with the Trust.
Foundation training programme directors
Our foundation training programme directors are as follows:
Trainees are assigned to one of the two programme directors who will meet with them during the year and can be contacted at any time in case of any difficulty.
Clinical supervisors
A clinical supervisor is the named clinician responsible for overseeing the clinical performance of an individual trainee within a clinical placement. They are responsible for observing practice, performing work-based assessments and providing feedback.
Educational supervisor
Each foundation trainee has an educational supervisor appointed for the entire year who is responsible for ensuring that the trainee is making the necessary clinical and educational progress. This educational supervisor may also provide clinical supervision in a post.
Careers advisor
Each trainee is allocated a careers advisor whom they can meet with to discuss their career intentions post foundation and how best to prepare for specialty training.
Foundation Faculty Group
The foundation programme is monitored, reviewed and quality controlled by the Foundation Faculty Group which meets three times per year and ensures that trainee progression is tracked, supported and audited.
The group comprises the foundation training programme directors, foundation training programme coordinator, medical education manager, representatives from the F1 and F2 years, and is chaired by the trust's director of medical education.
Educational supervisors are also invited to attend. A senior representative of the South Thames Foundation School attends the final meeting of the year when trainees who have made satisfactory progress are signed-off.
Educational programmes
F1 teaching takes place twice a week. The same programme is provided at both Epsom and St Helier hospitals.
F2 teaching takes place in a single session for all F2 students on Wednesday mornings, mainly at St Helier Hospital.
