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POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
Foundation Programme (FY1 / FY2)
The two-year programme that follows medical school in the UK — the bridge between graduation and specialty training.
The UK Foundation Programme is the two-year period of supervised postgraduate clinical training that all UK medical graduates undertake immediately after qualifying. Year one (FY1, formerly the Pre-Registration House Officer or PRHO year) leads to full registration with the General Medical Council. Year two (FY2) is taught at a higher level of clinical responsibility and prepares trainees to enter specialty training (Internal Medicine Training, Core Surgical Training, or one of the specialty paths) the following August.
Applicants apply through Oriel, the UK Foundation Programme's application portal. Allocation has historically used a combination of academic ranking and a situational judgement test, though the application algorithm has been reformed several times — current applicants should consult the UKFPO directly for the latest scheme.
Each foundation programme consists of a sequence of rotations (commonly six four-month posts across the two years) across acute medicine, surgery, and at least one community-based or specialty placement. The programme is broadly structured but each trainee's experience is shaped by the rotations they are allocated within their chosen deanery / foundation school.
Current authoritative resources
About this page
This page is one of a set of medical school and medical careers resources on chrispaton.org, replacing the category landings of New Media Medicine (newmediamedicine.com), an early digital health blog and UK medical school applications community I ran between 2004 and 2014. The original New Media Medicine forum threads — user-generated content from that community — are not republished here; this is original framing written to help current applicants find authoritative information. Always confirm details with the official sources linked above before acting on them.