The Foundation Programme is a two-year generic training programme which is intended to equip doctors with generic skills and professional capabilities to progress to speciality training.  During F1 they will have 12 month’s clinical experience as a doctor in the secondary care setting where they will usually have undertaken 3 different rotations.  During this year they hold provisional registration with the GMC. As an F2 Doctor they will have full GMC registration and a licence to practise.  

The F2 doctor is fundamentally different from a GPST.  The F2 doctor is not learning to be a GP.  Some may, in the future, want to be GPs, some will be intent on pursuing other careers.  You are not trying to teach an F2 doctor the same things as a GPST but in a shorter time.  The aim of this rotation is to give the F2 doctor a meaningful experience in General Practice with exposure to the acutely ill patient in the community and to patients with long term conditions, which will enable them to achieve the required competencies as laid down in the Foundation Curriculum.  

Yes, the F2 doctor needs to be on the performers list for them to have a placement in General Practice.   This is arranged by NHS Education for Scotland.

Most trainees are allocated to a named practice as part of the annual recruitment and allocation process.

Those who are unallocated named to practice are administered by the NES Training programme Management Team, which usually includes F2 having some choice.

The Contract of Employment is retained by the Placement Board on behalf of the Lead Employment Board which hosts the F2 programme (not the GP Practice).  The Lead Employer is responsible for paying salaries and some other HR related issues.  It is essential that any agreed periods of leave and any sickness absence are reported to both the Lead Employment and Placement Board HR departments.  These should be recorded in the F2 e-portfolio.  If in doubt, contact your local Foundation Programme Director.

F2 doctors have NHS indemnity cover, known as CNORIS (Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme), for the clinical work they undertake in both Primary and Secondary care. There are situations where this indemnity does not apply, so 15 trainees are strongly advised to have medical defence organisation cover (which is inexpensive) for representation at GMC hearings, fatal accident inquiries, Good Samaritan work and for personal advice and help including responding to complaints. They need to inform their defence organisation that they have a General Practice post as part of their F2 rotation and can confirm that they are covered by the NHS indemnity scheme whilst in that post.

F2s are now governed by 7-day working.  This means that they cannot work more than 7 days in a row.  After working 7 days in a row, they need the next day off.  Some F2s are required to work hospital shifts at weekends.  Thus, if they work both Saturday and Sunday they must be off the Friday before or the Monday afterwards at the practice.  The F2s get a banding supplement to reflect this work.  They are still contracted to work an average of 40 hours per week over their 4-months in General Practice allowing for holidays.  It is probably best for the F2 to spread the time they need to make up from an enforced day off, evenly over their 4-month time in General Practice.  The educational component to their job could be used for e-Portfolio work and other quality improvement activities such as quality improvement projects. 

Please check the Turas Hub for details about Annual Leave and Public Holidays for each local Health Board area and check with your local employer about your specific entitlement.

The F2 doctor will be able to claim for travel to the Practice from the Placement Board’s HR department where they are based.  The F2 doctor can also claim for any travel associated with work.  Travel claims are made through the Placement Board and it is up to the F2 doctor to initiate these claims.  The F2 doctor’s car should be insured for business use.  Prior to any claim being submitted trainee should complete and submit a copy of the “DDIT Authorised User Form” and/or a copy of the NHS Scotland Excess Travel Form - Doctors in Training Grades Only to the Expenses Department in their Lead Employer Board.  When making a claim trainee should complete the “DDiT Expenses Claim Form” and have this signed by an authorised signatory within their Placement Board department; this will then be submitted to the Expenses Department at the Lead Employer Board via email or post.  All the forms can be found on https://hub.nes.digital/lead-employer-arrangements/in-employmentinformation/payroll/payroll-forms/”

Yes.  An F2 doctor is fully registered and is therefore able to sign a prescription.  It is up to the GP Educational Supervisor to ensure that there has been adequate training towards this and that the limits of the F2 doctor’s freedom to sign prescriptions is made clear.  The F2 should have a unique cipher number which Practitioner Services at the local Health Board can supply. Practice Managers should have the specific local contact details. 

F2 can sign repeat prescriptions for patients known to them or with whom they are consulting. There is useful learning around repeat prescribing that can be incorporated into F2 experience.

F2 trainees can sign fit notes for patients known to them

All Foundation doctors in Scotland have to use the e-Portfolio.  This is an online portfolio that they need to regularly access to record learning, teaching, have skills signed off and to log the fixed assessments and supervised learning events that occur over the two years.  The GP Educational Supervisor has access to all shared elements of the portfolio and the F2 doctor’s FPD has full access to the portfolio to monitor progress.  The F2 should be encouraged to engage as much as possible with their e-portfolio as this facilitates the completion of their end of placement and end of year reports.  

The F2 doctor is entitled to 30 days’ study leave during the year.  However, the majority of these days will be used as part of the mandatory educational teaching programme organised by the deanery as well as other mandatory training such as ALS. It is not anticipated that there should be any other study leave requests and if any queries arise, contact the local regional foundation administrator or FPD.  In the first four-month block, F2 doctors may request the opportunity to have ‘Taster Sessions’ in another specialty if they have not had experience in that specialty before. Application to most medical and surgical training posts from Foundation is to core programmes.  Applications for tasters in medical and surgical subspecialties will not be approved, unless there is direct entry from Foundation e.g. ENT.  It is important that applications are approved by the FPD.  Please see the Taster Guidance information.  This is to allow the F2 to make a more informed decision before submitting a run through training application.  These should be supported but also have to be agreed by the relevant Foundation Programme Director.  Any taster weeks should be requested using the study leave process via Turas.  It may be that you will be asked whether you want to take a different F2 doctor for a Taster Week in General Practice who is requesting a GP block.  There is no specific format for this week, but it would be hoped that any F2 doctor asking for a taster week in GP would be exposed to the broadest range of activity during that short placement.