Foundation doctors are expected to complete one of their six placements within a community setting. While this is frequently either in general practice or community psychiatry, other areas include community geriatrics or paediatrics, genitourinary medicine, palliative care and public health. Your clinical supervisor for this placement will be based in this specialty. Community based placements enable foundation doctors the opportunity to gain experience of patient needs and healthcare delivery in different settings.
Psychiatry Placement
Mental health forms an important part of the curriculum for all foundation doctors. While the necessary skills can be acquired from the core training programme, supplemented by experience in a wide variety of clinical areas, a placement in psychiatry can be especially valuable in providing more specialised experience, training and supervision.
GP Placement
A GP placement in F2 introduces foundation doctors to work in primary care and to a range of skills that are transferable to a career in any speciality. General Practice enhances generic and clinical skills for any future career.
Aims of GP Placement
General Practice placements in the Foundation Programme provide F2 doctors with:
- An enhanced understanding and ability to operate across the primary/secondary care interface efficiently
- An appreciation of the roles of each agency in the extended primary care team and how they all fit together to provide an integrated service to patients
- An understanding of the implications of illness for the individual, the family, the community, and the employer
- The development of personal life-long learning skills
Allocation
The employing trust will liaise with the local GP patch office to allocate foundation doctors to a GP practice. KSS School of General Practice approves all practices taking F2 doctors as suitable for training. Please see the GP School contact page for further information.
A much more extensive Foundation Year 2 Doctor to General Practice document can be found here.