How to get on Foundation Training

By Hannah Brown in Career development on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 @ 11:55

So you have survived the first few gruelling years in medical school, passed countless exams and the dreaded application form for Foundation posts is looming. Much has changed over the last few years with the application process, when I applied it was MDAP, then came the infamous MTAS, who knows what this years title will be!

This article is a summary of the application process: what to do, where to apply and how the application form is scored.

Where to apply?

This year’s application will probably run quite similarly to last year’s. There will be an online application form (available through http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/)  for which you answer set questions on academic ability, leadership, teamwork skills, non-academic achievements as well as some reflection on what make a safe doctor. Your medical school will try and encourage you to apply to their local deanery and many students take this option, as making the transition between being a medical student and an FY1 doctor can be emotional and challenging, and having the support of familiar colleagues and tutors can make the transition much easier. I have heard of a few people who moved deaneries who had difficulties settling in, but do not be put off; anyone moving jobs and areas would find the settling in period daunting but end up very happy, enjoying their new friends and a new work environment.

So what makes a great application form?

Many medical students have asked me this question and I always give the same advice:

Everyone has something interesting about them - if you didn’t then you wouldn’t have got into medicine! However big or small, the main thing is to describe what you undertook, with detail as to what the project meant to you and what you got out of it.

Be honest - do not lie. Some students have made huge errors by lying in their application. As around 10% of all applications get audited, there’s a high chance you’ll get caught – don’t risk it!

Try and write about things done during your university years or your last few years at school. Writing about being the football captain when you were age 5 is not very impressive, and doesn’t tell the assessor anything about the type of person you are today.

The main concern amongst medical students is the myth that you need to be a distinction student with multiple prizes and publications to be awarded a top job. Speaking from my own experience, yes, any prizes are fantastic but do not worry if you have just passed every single exam for the last 4 years. The scoring sheet for the application questions has many parts, and you can score very highly on the other headings e.g. leadership or teamwork, and still end up being allocated a top job.

Plan the content and structure of your answers carefully. Don’t expect to hand in a perfect form overnight - these forms need time. Get a copy of last years questions as soon as you can and think of topics you could discuss in more detail using your own experiences.

Talk to as many friends, family and tutors as possible, get them to keep reading your form, commenting particularly on grammar, spelling and syntax.  When you’ve finished, get someone who’s never seen your application before to give you final feedback.

For the academic questions- look in the student BMJ, or your medical school faculty office, there are so many medical student prizes to be won, many of which there are few entries, for example the chance to win a £50 book token as a Medicine Prize for writing a short article.  Things like this gained during medical school will look good on an application form, and may give you the edge.

Do not spend all of your final years joining every random society just so you have something to write about on your form. Honestly, it is so not worth it. This is done by many but most people in medicine are interesting and can usually have something to write without taking such drastic action.

My own experiences with the FY application

You have a meeting early on with the Deanery about the application process and it is important to know the important dates for the application process.  The timetable can be found at http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/

Make sure you know when the online application goes live

 

1. Know when the closing date for online applications is

    

2. Be ready to submit your form online 72 hours before the final deadline

   The reason I mention point 3 is that some many medical students leave their application to the very last minute. What happens right at the end is inevitably around 2000 medical students trying to submit their application simultaneously. Two years ago the server was so busy that many of the applications were not submitted, or in the worst cases the full application form was deleted from the system.  Therefore ALWAYS MAKE A BACK UP OF YOUR FULL APPLICATION.

With the exception of the later stages in some deaneries there is no interview process in the foundation programme, so you need to get everything important on the form. There is no substitute for thorough preparation, and the more time you spend on the completed form, the more likely you are of securing one of the coveted posts.

 An example of a good answer to the set questions.

1.      Give an example of non-academic achievement?

‘Last year, I organised the Medics Alumni ball which brought all the medic sports teams together with the hospital doctors for an evening of entertainment. Judging by the feedback received, everyone had fantastic time and I felt proud to have organised such a memorable event. Coordinating this event improved my planning, multi-tasking, time management and negotiating skills.  This will benefit me in the pressurised environment I will face as a junior doctor.’

Why is this a good answer?

Given an example and described it (scores 1 point)

 

1. Has described what it meant to you as a person undertaking this event (scores 1 point)

    

2. Has discussed ways in which organising the event has helped him improve as a person (scores 1 point)

    

3. Has related the learning points to a career as a busy FY1 doctor (score 1 point)

    

Total 4/4

An example of a weaker answer

2.      Give an example when you worked in a team.

‘Every Saturday I play football for my local club. We work as a team, passing the ball to score goals. I really enjoy it.’

What makes this a weaker answer?

There is no description of which team he plays for – is this a village team, pub team, county team?

 

1. There is no relation to what the person gets out of this role and how he contributes to the team.

    

2. To improve this answer he/she could talk about the benefits of working as a team and how these qualities are essential in medicine as a doctor

    

3. Most application forms have a work limit of around 75 words per question- use them all. This candidate has used very few works and gives the scorers the impression he is less interesting.

    

In summary, the key things to remember are to be organised, plan ahead, find out what the job rotations are, pick the jobs you enjoy and most of all GOOD LUCK!!