The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has been carefully considering the circumstances surrounding the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO).
For several consecutive years, the UKFPO has consistently failed to meet the standards expected of a professional recruitment organisation.
Its repeated shortcomings have caused significant distress and uncertainty for medical students across the UK, undermining the transition from academic study to professional practice.
The UKFPO’s incompetence has manifested itself in numerous ways.
Many students have been left in limbo regarding their future work locations, with some being allocated positions hundreds of miles from their support networks and given the stark choice of accepting or reapplying the following year.
An increasing number of students have found themselves on national or regional waitlists, unsure of their final placements and, consequently, their future salaries.
The UKFPO has repeatedly failed to meet its own deadlines, leaving students in a state of prolonged uncertainty about their futures.
It has not provided job information in a timely manner, hampering students’ ability to arrange long-distance relocations.
The UKFPO’s communication has been woefully inadequate, with instances of crucial, last-minute announcements being made only on social media.
The latest debacle, in which students were provided with entirely meaningless rankings generated by a random number generator, exemplifies the UKFPO’s profound lack of insight into the anxiety and distress they continue to inflict upon students.
This action demonstrates a clear disregard for the dignity of medical students and fails to treat them as the professionals they are training to become.
Not fit for purpose
It is evident the UKFPO is failing in its duty to support students in their transition to working life as doctors.
In its current format, the organisation is not fit for purpose as a recruiter for the medical profession.
DAUK is therefore requesting a formal, urgent review from the Department of Health into the current UKFPO system.
Furthermore, we seek immediate clarification on whether final year medical students will be guaranteed employment in the coming year.
We also strongly urge the Department of Health to reconsider its plans to increase medical school places without a corresponding increase in the number of foundation, clinical fellowship, specialty training, and consultant posts.
We will be writing to the UKFPO in due course.
