Foundation Programme 2008 Recruitment Success
Published: 19/12/2007
All UK graduates will be matched to a 2-year Foundation Programme
Professor Derek Gallen, National Director of the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) and Postgraduate Dean for Wales is pleased to announce that all graduates of UK medical schools will be matched to a two-year Foundation Programme for 2008.
"Nearly 7,000 applicants will be matched to foundation schools on 9 January 2008. With over 7,200 vacancies, we are pleased to announce that all applicants who met the eligibility criteria and essential requirements in the person specification will be matched to a two year programme. We suspect that the majority will gain a place in their first choice foundation school. We are delighted with this result," said Professor Gallen.
Previously, it had been reported that if there were more applicants than vacancies, graduates of UK medical schools may only have been matched to an F1 programme.
The UKFPO, working closely with medical school heads, the BMA and other stakeholders, led further development of the recruitment process this year, making improvements to the online system and to the scoring process. The feedback from applicants and scorers so far has been very positive. Applicants reported no major problems and the site was available 100% of the time during the application process.
"The online system was more powerful this year," said Professor Gallen. "It worked well for us last year, and even better this year. The system will continue to evolve and improve."
The lessons learned last year ensured that this year the process went smoothly, and all the advantages of centralised national selection through an electronic portal were realised.
