Foundation School first steps in your medical career

1. Foundation School first steps in your medical career Mr Dan Higman MBBS MS FRCS Consultant Surgeon Associate Dean West Midlands Deanery Director Coventry & Warwickshire Foundation School Director Coventry & Warwickshire Basic Surgical Training

2. West Midlands Deanery • Numerically the largest in the UK • 6 Foundation Schools birmingham north and south, black country, hereford & worcester, shropshire & staffordshire, coventry & warwickshire • 3 Medical Schools warwick, birmingham, keele • Net importers of F1 doctors

3. MTAS Units of Application • Unit 1Bham N & S, Shropshire & Staffordshire • Unit 2 Black Country • Unit 3 Hereford & Worcester • Unit 4 COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE

4. Foundation Programmes – Coventry & Warwickshire School • 2 years, 6 four-month posts • 3 Trusts: UHCW, GEH, SWGH rotations generally move between 2 of them • Year 1:general medicine / general surgery / other (anaes, paeds, ortho, rheum, ENT, psych, GUM, geriatrics,urol) • Year 2: acute medicine (med, ITU, A+E) PLUS TWO of GP (50%), medical subspecialties, psych (adult & child), geri, ortho, O&G, surgery, oncology, histopathology,,microbiology , GUM, public health, haematology, neurology ….

5. Academic Foundation ProgrammesCoventry & Warwickshire School • F1 – 3 rotations Professorial Unit – 4 months (either metabolic medicine, orthopaedics or psychiatry) PLUS medicine and surgery ( 4 months each) • F2 – 3 rotations Professorial Unit - 4 months (either metabolic medicine, orthopaedics or public health (Bham)) PLUS 4 months research (professorial unit) PLUS acute medicine ACADEMIC F1 AND F2 ROTATIONS IN WEST MIDLANDS ARE APPOINTED PRIOR TO MTAS, BY NATIONAL ADVERT IN THE BMJ ALLOCATION IS TO A SPECIFIC TWO-YEAR PROGRAMME

6. Teaching / Learning at Foundation SchoolFoundation Year 1 – Coventry & WarwickshireBased on the ‘Foundation Curriculum’ • Clinical teaching programme within posts • ALS course funded by deanery • One hour formal teaching programme; semester-based across school • Clinical skills training • Audit programme • No study leave or funding (national)

7. Teaching / Learning at Foundation SchoolFoundation Year 2 – Coventry & WarwickshireBased on the ‘Foundation Curriculum’ • Clinical teaching programme within posts • Generic skills programme; Thurs pm • Post-graduate award in Professional Skills ( Warwick University) - obligatory • ‘Taster’ attachments if required

8. Assessment Programme – Comprehensive! • Portfolio-based / named educational supervisor • Assessment tools: Mini-CEX (observed clinical encounter) team assessment of behaviour and attitudes (e-TAB) case-based discussion (CbD), direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) PLUS teaching attendance, audit activity, additional academic activity (presentations, publications, reviews etc)

9. Allocation of F1 Foundation Rotations – Non-Academic 2 Stages Stage 1: Allocation to Foundation School – MTAS Stage 2: Allocation to Specific F1 rotation within Foundation School – MTAS

10. Moving DeaneriesBetween F1 and F2 • Not simply a matter of personal preference! • Approved inter-deanery transfer • Criteria include: carer responsibilities medical reasons academic F2 appointment • Special circumstances considered on individual basis • May have diminished choice of F2 rotations

11. Allocation of F2 Rotations – F2AP West Midlands Deanery • 3 Phases (beginning March) • Phase 1 – applications from own Deanery NOTE All F2 Rotations in the West Midlands are grouped together for application. You rank all rotations • Phase 2 – approved inter-deanery transfers • Phase 3 – national advert for leftovers

12. Which F1 gets which F2 rotation? The West Midlands Deanery F2AP is based on • your preference of F2 rotation and • your performance score at F1 • All F1’s who GMC register at F1 are guaranteed an F2 post in the West Midlands Deanery HOWEVER The better you do at F1, the more likely you are to get your first choice of rotation

13. Scoring ofF1 portfolios for F2AP • Portfolio’s submitted end of February • 40 points available • Criteria include: teaching > 70% attendance audit project Passed ALS TAB > 10, MiniCEX, CbD, DOPS x 3 each reflective diary Additional academic F1 activity personal statement

14. Beyond Foundation Programmes Application to specialist rotations; • 10 specialist schools to apply for: surgery & ophthalmology medicine general practice anaesthetics & emergency medicine paediatrics pathology obstetrics & gynaecology radiology public health psychiatry

15. Who gets a place at specialist school? • National advert; local foundation school irrelevant! • Specialist courses or exams irrelevant! • Particular subspecialties at F2 irrelevant! Competitive application, therefore: • Performance at Foundation School crucial! • Completion of MTAS application crucial • Performance at OSCE-based interviews crucial!

16. SummaryChoosing your Foundation School • Choice of F1 and F2 posts, all one Trust? • Teaching programme • Additional qualifications (PGA) • Assessment programme / portfolio • Research it! Talk to current F1’s / F2’s • Think about geography / social life! • Last year 97% Warwick students got their first choice of Foundation School

17. Points on MTAS • Questions – who sets and marks them • Process • Validation • Plagiarism • Good luck!