Eligibility Criteria for the 2008 Foundation Programme
Foundation Programmes are open to doctors who have NOT yet obtained, or will NOT be eligible to obtain, full GMC registration. Applicants applying for, or with, limited GMC registration who have not completed an overseas internship will be able to undertake supervised employment in foundation year 1 posts in the NHS.
Applicants must:
1. Have their Medical School Dean’s (or equivalent) written approval to apply for a UK Foundation Programme;
2. Have a verifiable1 academic rating determined by their Medical School as set out in the Statement by the applicant’s Medical School Dean (or equivalent). In addition, applicants from outside the UK must provide transcripts in English of all undergraduate grades.
3. Have a valid medical degree recognised by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) for UK professional medical registration by 31 July 2008 and have obtained provisional registration with the GMC and be in a position to take up post by 31 July 2008 (exact start date to be agreed with their employer). This requirement means that those International Medical Graduate applicants2 requiring successful completion of the PLAB test will have passed the PLAB test by 1 July 2008 and be able to meet, and provide appropriate evidence for, all the other relevant GMC criteria in order to allow sufficient time to obtain GMC registration.
4. Have the right to work in the UK on 13 December 2007 which remains valid until 31 July 2008 or be a student of a UK medical school3 in their final year of study with existing leave as a student. Applicants who require a work permit to take up employment may only be considered if there are insufficient suitable applicants who do not require a work permit.
5. Be available to take up their Foundation Programme from 31 July 2008.
6. Be fit to practise medicine safely in accordance with the GMC document ‘Good Medical Practice’ (2006) (www.gmc-uk.org).
7. Have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues which could be demonstrated by either of the following criteria:
a. applicants have undertaken their entire undergraduate medical training in English;
OR
b. have attained the minimum International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score. Minimum scores: Overall 7.5, Speaking 7.5, Listening 7.5, Reading 7.5, Writing 7.5.
The Eligibility Office reserves the right to verify English language skills through the use of telephone assessments if there is some doubt about the standard of the English language skills demonstrated in the application. In addition, face to face interviews may be required to assess these skills.
8. Have graduated from medical school within two years of commencement of the 2008 Foundation Programme i.e. on, or after, 31 July 2006. If graduation is more than two years before commencement of the programme, applicants must provide evidence of maintaining clinical knowledge and skills. Applicants in this category may need to undergo an assessment to ensure that their clinical knowledge and skills have been maintained to the extent that they are appropriate for entry to the Foundation Programme.
9. Provide references in the agreed manner as set out in the application guidance.
Guidance for applicants will be available on the UK Foundation Programme Office website. It is recommended that applicants refer to this guidance when making an application.
1 The agreed manner in providing a verifiable academic rating is providing:
a) The number of medical students in the applicants final year
b) The applicant’s academic position in his/her year group, based on
the entirety of his/her performance during the medical degree (e.g. 16th)
c) The applicant’s quartile rank within his/her final year e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
2 Applicants should click here to check if they are required to complete PLAB in order to obtain GMC registration.
3 Please refer to paragraphs 57-69L of the Immigration Rules, published on the Border and Immigration Agency website (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawandpolicy/immigrationrules/part3)
http://www.mmc.nhs.uk/PDF/Applicant%20guide.pdf
Eligibility to apply for speciality training in England in 2008 – Please note there are small difference for Scotland- see www.mmc.scot.nhs.uk
There are strict rules about eligibility to apply for specialty training in England. If you are submitting an application in 2008, you will need to make sure that you meet all the eligibility criteria by the application closing date. These are indicated on national person specifications (see section 2.4) and should be included in application details.
Full details will be available from the deanery advertising the post you are interested in. Application forms will ask for information to show that you satisfy the criteria and you may be asked to provide further written evidence at interview.
In preparing for this, you may find the following checklist useful.
Eligibility checklist
• Confirmed registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) or General Dental Council (GDC)
You will need to hold full General Medical Council (GMC) registration status or General Dental Council (GDC) registration status at the time of appointment (unless you are applying to Public Health training and you are from a background other than medicine). You will need to confirm this when you apply.
For further information see
www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/before_you_apply/registration_factsheet.asp
• Right to work in the UK
UK and EEA nationals and doctors whose immigration status entitles them to work as a doctor in training in the UK are eligible to apply for specialty training. Evidence of immigration status would be a date stamped passport and an accompanying letter from the Home office detailing which type of visa
has been granted. Both of these documents would need to be dated as at or prior to the application closing date.
Other non-UK or non-EEA nationals with limited leave to remain in the UK, whose employment will require a Work Permit, are subject to the resident labour market test. This would include, for example, doctors on student or working holiday visas, or those on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) or Tier 1 Points Based System who are restricted from taking employment as a doctor in training. The labour market test means that you would only be considered if there were no suitable UK or EEA national candidate for the post.
You will be asked to bring your passport and proof of your immigration status to any interviews or assessments you attend.
• English language skills
If your undergraduate training was not in English, you will need to provide written evidence of English language skills e.g. valid English Language Testing System (IELTS 7.0) certificate, confirmation your undergraduate training was in English or other written evidence verified by an appropriate employer or supervisor. You will be required to bring this with you to any interviews or assessment centres that you attend.
• College exams
If college exams are a requirement for entry at the level to which you are applying, you must have received notification of having sat and passed the exam by the closing date of your application.
• Match to person specification
Each specialty has a nationally agreed person specification that lists the required competences for that specialty. You will need to provide evidence to prove that you have achieved the specified competences.
See section 2.4 about the national person specifications.
• Match to specialty level
The following shows the possible levels of entry to specialty training and a general guide to the required competences. You should refer to the appropriate person specification for details.
Specialty training year 1 and core training year 1 (ST1/CT1)
If you are applying straight from the UK Foundation Programme, you will need to show, through your portfolio, that you will have achieved the Foundation Programme competences by the end of July 2008.
If your training was with a different programme, you will need to provide written evidence that you have achieved the equivalent competences. (See further details in section below on evidence of achievement of Foundation competences.)
To enter at ST1 and CT1 you cannot have already held a post for more than 12 months (by the time you take up the new post) in the specialty to which you are applying.
Specialty training year 2 and core training year 2 (ST2/CT2)
Typically, you will have achieved the equivalent of all the competences from the first year of specialty training (ST1) or will be on track to do so by end July 2008. For further information, see the specialty training curriculum available from the relevant royal college website.
There is no limit on experience for eligibility for selection to ST2/CT2.
Specialty training year 3 (ST3)
Typically, you will have achieved the equivalent competences of all the competences from the first two years of specialty training (ST1 and 2). For further information, see the specialty training curriculum available from the relevant royal college website.
There is no limit on experience for eligibility for selection to ST3.
Specialty training year 4 (ST4)
Typically, you will have achieved the equivalent competences of all the competences from the first three years of specialty training (ST1, 2 and 3), or you will have the entry requirements for former higher specialty training programmes (i.e. Specialist Registrar (SpR) programmes). For further information, see the specialty training curriculum available from the relevant royal college website.
There is no limit on experience for eligibility for selection to ST4.
Evidence of achievement of Foundation or equivalent competences
One of the essential criteria (listed above) to be considered for appointment to a specialty training post is evidence of achievement of Foundation or equivalent competences by the end of July 2008.
If you are a Foundation trainee, you should be able to provide a Certificate of Completion of Foundation training by August 2008. If your training was with a different programme, you should be aware that deaneries are encouraged to adopt a similar approach to that used by the National Recruitment Office for General Practice, in order to evaluate evidence of Foundation competences. This requires you to provide one of the following:
• Evidence of having completed educationally approved Senior House Officer, specialty training or fixed term specialty training (FTSTA) post(s) in the UK
• Portfolio evidence of achievement of competences
• Checklist of competences achieved, countersigned by trainer
If, because of your refugee status, you are unable to provide standardised evidence of having achieved Foundation competence, you should contact the relevant postgraduate deanery for advice before submitting an application.
