Foundation Programme

Information, advice, and resources to support you during your first year as a doctor.

What you need to know

As a new doctor, you’ll have lots of information to absorb.

You might be nervous, but you're not alone. It's critical that you look after yourself and reach out for help if you need it.

Advice for doctors starting the Foundation Programme

Applying our professional standards

Our professional standards for doctors provide a framework for ethical decision making in a wide range of situations and levels of experience. You should follow our standards as far as you can, using your professional judgement to apply it to the situations you face.

Good medical practice - female doctor to camera
Good medical practice

Guidance

Good medical practice is a framework of professional standards to guide you when you’re caring for patients and working with colleagues.

Two people sat on a sofa talking with a tablet device
Decision making and consent

Guidance

This guidance outlines the importance of shared decision making and informed consent in medical practice.

Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety

Guidance

If you believe patient care and/or safety is at risk, it is important you know how to take the appropriate action.

Professional standards for doctors

A female doctor of ethnic background is in discussion with someone whilst being overheard by two colleagues

Ethical hub

Our professional standards for doctors provide a framework for ethical decision making in a wide range of situations and levels of experience. You should follow our standards as far as you can, using your professional judgement to apply it to the situations you face.

Go to the ethical hub

Quick links:

Fees

Did you know we give newly-qualified doctors in their first five years of practice a discount on their annual fee? And we offer a 50% discount on the annual fee to doctors whose income is below a certain threshold.

We also offer a range of payment options to spread the cost of the annual fee, including paying in quarterly or 10 monthly instalments.

Our fees

Useful resources

  • Education - we work to make sure that education and training outcomes prepare doctors to deliver good, safe patient care across the UK.
  • Outcomes for provisionally registered doctors - our standards that set out the knowledge, skills and behaviours you need to achieve during Foundation Year One.
  • Welcomed and valued - our guidance on supporting disabled learners in medical education and training.