FOUNDATION PROGRAMME The Foundation Programme is the general training programme leading from medical school to specialist training or general practice training. The programme covers the first two years of clinical practice and primarily teaches generic skills needed by all doctors in any area of practice. The central theme of the curriculum is achieving competence through clinical practice and therefore most learning is grounded in the clinical setting. The Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust (BSUH) is part of the South Thames Foundation School (STFS).
the learning experience from clinical episodes. Trainees are part of a multidisciplinary team and work alongside allied healthcare professionals. As a medical school we have medical students in most clinical areas and Foundation trainees are encouraged to get involved in medical student teaching. Placements at BSUH cover a range of specialties including Acute Medicine, Anaesthetics, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Gastroenterology, General Medicine, Psychiatry, Surgery, Genitourinary Medicine, Care of the Elderly, Haematology, Infectious Diseases, Medical Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, ENT, Paediatrics, Paediatric Surgery, Palliative Medicine, Renal Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, and Urology. Most posts are based in the acute setting with the exception of General Psychiatry, GP, Community Paediatrics and Palliative Care which are in the community.
At BSUH, trainees rotate through a set of three training placements in their F1 year and three more in their F2 year, each of which is four months in duration. In addition to acquiring professional skills such as teamwork, communication, and learning to prioritise tasks, trainees cover the foundation learning curriculum. Each post encompasses a range of opportunities for example learning new clinical skills, clerking patients for that specialty and presenting on ward rounds.
There are regular mandatory teaching sessions for foundation trainees, covering a wide range of topics, and the programme is designed to cover specific aspects of the foundation curriculum. Attendance at the mandatory Foundation Teaching sessions is required for trainees to be signed off at the end of year. Most departments also provide teaching sessions covering more specialist topics, and we encourage trainees to undertake one audit a year. In addition, Foundation trainees do specialist training courses such as ILS, ALS and simulation-based training.
Supervised Learning Events (SLEs) and reflective practice are used to maximize
Foundation trainees are encouraged to arrange a taster session in a specialty 12
