January 2025

Please see below for our KSS January bulletin.

Highly Important

KSS Foundation School F2 Swaps 2025 – timeline and process

F1 doctors will soon be given the opportunity to apply to swap part or all of their allocated F2 programme before the August start date. The ‘Swap Shop’ 2025 process is being managed by the KSS Foundation team.

Please be aware that there are two types of swaps:

  • Whole Programme Swaps (also referred to as Swap Shop)
  • Swapping of Individual Placements (also referred to as Local Swaps). Please note, this has been changed this year to allow doctors to swap up to 2 placements within the local process.

For information on both types of swaps, including the timeline, full process, conditions, forms and FAQs, please visit the F2 Swaps page.

New Updates

KSS Annual Conference for Resident Doctors 2025

We are excited to invite you to the KSS Annual Conference for Resident Doctors 2025. This will be held on Tuesday 18th March at the Amex, Brighton from 9am to 5pm.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘individual development with collective responsibility’. Come and join us for a day of keynote speakers, interactive workshops and presentations. From leadership to patient safety, the day will cover a variety of topics relevant to resident doctors in KSS. The conference is free to attend and there is also an opportunity to present in our poster competition.

Registration and further information is available on the KSS website at KSS Resident Doctors Conference – Working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. We look forward to seeing you!

Help us make the KSS website better!

We want to improve the KSS foundation website and you can help us! We are looking for foundation doctors to do a timed usability test and then take part in a focus group. This can be done via Teams or at your hospital site (with pizza) if we have enough uptake. There may also be the option to get directly involved in creating some content and getting our work published later.

If this interests you, please contact our deanery fellow with your name, grade and current hospital site at hannahmay1@nhs.net. Alternatively, you can fill in our registration form here.

Trainee representative training

Are you a trainee rep at your local trust? If so, we would like to hear about what training would help you do your job. This questionnaire takes less than five minutes to fill in and will help us shape the teaching we provide in future. You can find it by clicking here.

Important Information

Provisionally registered doctors (foundation year one/F1) must not undertake formal locum posts or activities.

Provisionally registered doctors can undertake occasional ad hoc additional/overtime shifts on their current FY1 placement or previous FY1 placements that have formed part of their F1 rotation, where such work is undertaken only within the limits of their current competence and with the support of their educational supervisor. When undertaking such occasional ad hoc additional/overtime work, provisionally registered doctors should be clear with other members of their team about their current experience and level of competence.

SCRIPT – supporting safer prescribing practices

It is a local KSS Foundation School requirement that all F1 and F2 doctors complete 6 script modules per year prior to ARCP.  The topics are not mandated by the foundation school however, your trust may mandate topics.

The SCRIPT programme is a collection of innovative eLearning portfolios designed to encourage safe and effective prescribing and medicines management among healthcare professionals.

SCRIPT will enhance your knowledge and confidence in prescribing correctly, improving patient safety, therapeutics and medicines management. You will receive a certificate for each module that you complete, which can be used in your online learning portfolio. SCRIPT is easy to use. You can access the modules at a time which suits you and revisit them even after completion. You can learn more about the SCRIPT eLearning programme and how to sign up by visiting Medicine & Surgery | Safe Prescriber

Study Leave

The KSSFS Admin Team often receive queries on how KSS Foundation Year 2 Doctors can apply for Discretionary Study Leave. For clarity, please see below.

Discretionary Study Leave should be applied for prospectively and not retrospectively.  

  1. Foundation Doctor (FD) seeks support from Educational Supervisor and trust (local) Foundation Training Programme Director (FTPD).
  2. Local FTPD seeks approval from the area Foundation School Director (FSD)
  3. Local FSD replies to trust TPD, including study leave team.
  4. Local TPD can then reply to FD with outcome. 
  5. If approved, on the guidance from the study leave team FD completes study leave form on the study leave portal. 

If you have any further questions, please do contact the school at: england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net.

2024-25 TAB (Team Assessment of Behaviour) window dates

The recommended dates for TAB are detailed below but these dates are not mandatory. More information on the TAB process can be found on the Horus Website.

Placement 2

Opens: Friday 7th February 2025

Closes: Monday 31st March 2025

Placement 3

Opens: Friday 18th April 2025

Closes: Monday 19th May 2025

KSS Contact details:

For Foundation Year 1 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear1.se@nhs.net

For Foundation Year 2 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear2.se@nhs.net

For any other queries, please email england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net

PSA sittings 2024-2025

All sittings are scheduled to commence at 13.00.

  • Thursday 20 March 2025
  • Thursday 1 May 2025

enhance Programme

Hopefully, enhance will have been introduced to you as a Foundation doctor during induction and those wishing to take part will have expressed an interest. However, there is still time to participate, so please contact your local FTPD or PGMDE team if you are interested in taking part and they will be able to help you.

enhance is available to everyone who works for NHS England and you can find more information on the KSS website.

e-learning opportunities

Welcome to your December 2024 update from the Foundation elearning programme and January 2024 update from the Foundation elearning programme.

The Foundation elearning programme covers key areas in your Foundation curriculum. It has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with NHS England elearning for healthcare (NHSE elfh) and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).

Foundation School Representatives

Please see below for 2024-25 KSS Foundation Doctor Representatives. Further information is available here.

NameGradeEmail
Dr Heloise MetzgerF1 (Lead)heloise.metzger@nhs.net
Dr Ramaa ParulekarF1 (Deputy)ramaa.parulekar@nhs.net
Dr Harriet SharpF2harriet.sharp11@nhs.net
Dr Preeyan ShahF2preeyan.shah2@nhs.net
Dr William JenkinsF2william.jenkins10@nhs.net

Courses, events and surveys

Foundation teaching on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – survey

The UKFPO would like to understand more about foundation doctors’ experiences and perceptions of EDI teaching during foundation training. This work is being led by our 2024-25 UKFPO Fellows, Dasha Ibrahim and Jie Fei Lau.

Foundation doctors are invited to complete the Foundation teaching on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey.

There is no hard deadline, although responses over the next two weeks or so would be appreciated.

The findings will help identify gaps, highlight good practices, and contribute to improving the quality and relevance of EDI education for future resident doctors. Responses are anonymous and will be used solely for the purpose of this study. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.

The survey is intended to be completed by foundation doctors only.

Publish your article in “Humans of the Foundation Programme” project!

Jie Fei, FY2 doctor and UKFPO Fellow for 2024/2025, is excited to launch the “Humans of the Foundation Programme”. This project invites foundation doctors to share their stories, experiences, and creative talents through written articles, poetry, art, music, and more to foster connection, inspire others, and celebrate the diversity of experiences within the Foundation Programme.

Each month, selected submissions will be published on the UKFPO website under four categories:

  • Transitioning into Foundation training
  • Sharing best practice/training opportunities
  • Remote and rural
  • Medical humanities

You can submit a 500-1000 word article via the online form, which also provides further information and criteria.  Articles must adhere to GMC Good Medical Practice and selected contributors will have their work published and receive a certificate. See the first post: Humans of the Foundation Programme – The Story.

Medical Humanities Seminar – 14th March 2025

This seminar will be held at the Maidstone Academic Centre, Maidstone Hospital on 14th March. Please see flyer here. If you have any questions about the seminar, please contact mtw-tr.education@nhs.net.

UKFPO Webinar Resources

New UKFPO-run webinars to share important information and cover essential training. Please keep an eye on the website for dates and topic updates:  https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/resources/ukfpo-webinars/.

Reminders and Guidance

TIS Checks

Please can we use this opportunity to remind Medical Education colleagues in Trusts to work with their Medical Staffing teams to regularly check Foundation Doctors’ posts on TIS, against internal records. Early recognition of any discrepancies can help us all to resolve issues quickly.

Also, if you have not already informed us of any F1s that have withdrawn from training, please do so, as we aren’t always made aware by trainees themselves.

Foundation Doctors taking Parental Leave

Please can all foundation doctors who will be taking a period of Parental Leave complete the following training interruption form: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/useful-links-and-documents/ and return to england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net. This is in addition to informing your employing Trust.

Less Than Full Time (LTFT) Training

Please click the link below for guidance regarding Less Than Full Time (LTFT) training: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/less-than-full-training/ .

Foundation doctors in GP and psychiatry placements contributing to acute services     

Please see below link for guidance regarding Foundation doctors in community placements contributing to acute services: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2023/09/KSSFS-Foundation-doctors-in-GP-and-psychiatry-placements-contributing-to-acute-services_2.pdf

NHS employers’ guidance on induction for international medical graduates

Please see below link to guidance from NHS employers:

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Welcoming-and-Valuing-International-Medical-Graduates-A-guide-to-induction-for-IMGs-WEB.pdf

Foundation Doctor Role and Responsibilities

For guidance, please see document “Foundation Doctor Role and Responsibilities within the Local Education Provider and Minimum Requirements for Clinical Supervision of Foundation Doctors” here.

Foundation ARCP requirements

The ARCP checklist can be found here: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/arcp/ .

Useful Websites and Contacts

UKFPO Bulletin:

Read the latest UKFPO bulletin (January 2024)