2-Year Foundation Programme Recruitment 2024 - Working across Thames Valley

For the 2024-2026 process Oxford Foundation School has 267 substantive Foundation Programme (FP) posts, with more being added in the coming months.

Foundation Programme rotations available in Oxford Foundation School

All current 2-year programmes are available to view on Oriel. They can also be downloaded to view as an Excel spreadsheet.

Many applicants find it easier to review the programmes in spreadsheet format alongside Oriel.

V1.2 Changes:

2024/OXF/FP051 and 2024/OXF/FP054 – F1 AIM and ITU placements swapped
2024/OXF/FP054 to 2024/OXF/FP068 – F2 rotation added
2024/OXF/FP088 – F2 Cardiology changed for Emergency Medicine
2024/OXF/FP096, 2024/OXF/FP097, 2024/OXF/FP098 – General Psychiatry replaced be Old Age Psychiatry; F2 rotation added
2024/OXF/FP138 to 2024/OXF/FP140 – F2 Acute Medicine swapped for Otolaryngology
2024/OXF/FP227 to 2024/OXF/FP238 – F2 rotation added

Oxford Foundation School F1 and F2 rotations are linked together as fixed 2-year programmes. The majority of trainees are expected to spend F1 and F2 at different Trusts.

If a placement does not have details of the exact location (e.g. hospital name) this is because the details are not available yet.

All 2024 programmes are subject to change in relation to placement order, specialty, length, banding, site, and Trust due to the changing needs of the hospitals, Oxford Foundation School and Foundation Programme recruitment.

We aim to notify applicants when any changes are made.

Allocation Process

Oxford Foundation School operates a 2-stage preferencing process for Foundation Programme posts.

Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) rankings will be used to determine stage 1 and stage 2 outcomes. In the same way as the national allocation process to Foundation School, the algorithm will attempt 2 passes.

Stage 1 (Sub-group) Preferencing

Preferencing window opens: 7th March, 12pm midday
Preferencing window closes: 13th March, 12pm midday
Results released: 18th March

Sub-groups are set up according to the five acute Trusts within the Oxford Foundation School area:

Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust
Frimley Health Foundation Trust (Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, not Frimley Park Hospital)
Milton Keynes University Hospital Foundation Trust
Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust
Royal Berkshire Hospitals Foundation Trust
TVO – Placeholder – please see below placeholder sub-group and programme FAQs

Sub-group preferencing will determine where you spend your F1 year. It will also determine what 2-year linked programmes are available to you during stage 2 (programme) preferencing.

Example 1: An applicant is allocated to the Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust sub-group. They will spend F1 at that Trust, and will only be able to preference the following 2-year linked programmes during programme preferencing: 2023/OXF/FP001 to 2023/OXF/FP068.

Example 2: An applicant is allocated to the Frimley Health Foundation Trust (Wexham Park) sub-group. They will spend F1 at that Trust, and will only be able to preference the following 2-year linked programmes during programme preferencing: 2023/OXF/FP239 to 2023/OXF/FP267.

Welcome Week Arrangements

Between 18th March and 27th March the Foundation School will put applicants in contact with their allocated F1 Trust. This is an opportunity for Trusts to share induction arrangements and other helpful information with prospective trainees. Applicants will be able to ask questions to prepare for joining the Trust and aid programme preferencing.

Each Trust has different welcome week arrangements. We will send information to applicants on 18th March.

Stage 2 (Programme) Preferencing

Preferencing window opens: 18th March, 12pm midday
Preferencing window closes: 27th March, 12pm midday
Results released: 11th April

After being allocated to an F1 Trust, applicants will preference all of the available 2-year linked programmes available within their allocated sub-group.

Example 1: An applicant is allocated to programme 2024/OXF/FP001. They will spend their F1 year at Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust and their F2 year at Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust in a fixed 2-year linked programme. This offer is final and cannot be changed.

Example 2: An applicant is allocated to programme 2024/OXF/FP129. They will spend their F1 year at Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust and their F2 year at Milton Keynes University Hospitals Foundation Trust in a fixed 2-year linked programme. This offer is final and cannot be changed.

Placeholder Sub-group and Programme FAQs

My allocated foundation school uses a group match processes and there is a group called “placeholder”. Is this group confirmed?

The groups that are titled “placeholder” contain programmes which are still being finalised and the programmes within the group all have “PL” at the end of the programme reference number.

Do I need to preference placeholder groups or programmes or is it ok to ignore them?

No, you don’t need to preference the placeholder groups or programmes. Applicants should either:

1) ignore the placeholder groups or programmes, or
2) ensure that they are ranked at the bottom of their preference list.

This does not guarantee that an applicant will not be matched to one of these groups or programmes.

We would advise that applicants do not positively rank these groups/programmes any higher than at the bottom of their list because this will increase their chance of a match to one of these groups/programmes.

Might I be matched to one of these placeholder programmes? If so, how will this affect me and what happens next?

A small number of applicants in each foundation school may be allocated to a placeholder programme. All applicants who have been matched to a placeholder programme will be contacted by their foundation school on Thursday 11 April with further details on next steps.

Applicants who have been allocated to a placeholder programme will be matched to a confirmed programme from May 2024 onwards once the foundation school has finalised the programmes.

Programme Match Results

All programme match results are final and cannot be swapped.

Programmes Without a Confirmed F2 Rotation

Following programme match results being released, some applicants will not receive a confirmed F2 rotation on Oriel. In this situation we expect F2 rotations to be finalised during the F1 year, by 31st January 2025. All F2 rotations will be allocated by the Foundation School and no choice offered to Foundation Doctors.

Foundation Doctors will be allocated to F2 rotations using the following principles which apply to all Oxford Foundation School 2-year programmes, wherever possible:

Trainees have a balanced 2-year programme
Trainees spend F1 and F2 at different Trusts
Trainees have one community placement in their 2-year programme

Psychiatry Foundation Fellowships

Psychiatry Foundation Fellowship recruitment has been cancelled this year. Please refer to the UKFPO and Royal College of Psychiatrists webpages for more information.

Linked Applications

It is possible to link your application to that of another person in order to be allocated to the same Foundation School. The link is honoured only as far as the Foundation School and does not include a link to the same Trust or programme. This needs to be specified on the UKFPO application.

Special Circumstances and Pre-allocation

Pre-allocations are only guaranteed to Foundation School level. Pre-allocation to a sub-group (F1 Trust) or a specific programme would be determined following a review of applicants’ circumstances and application information.

Other Useful Information

Statistics for previous intakes for information only. No longer in use.