In February 2003, the four UK Health Departments published a Policy Statement on Modernising Medical Careers setting out the principles underpinning major reform of postgraduate medical education and training. The aim of the reforms is to streamline training, improve quality and provide doctors with a broader perspective of medicine as a whole. In the longer term, the proposed changes will affect all training and non-training grades as well as the role of future Consultants.

All graduates leaving medical school in 2005 will undertake a 2 year Foundation Programme. The purpose is to ensure that all doctors achieve competence in a range of generic and acute care skills, as well as developing their communication and team working abilities, and this will be underpinned by a formal assessment process.

Following the Foundation Programme trainees will enter specialist training, initially divided into basic and higher specialist training, but in future this is likely to combine to a single run-through grade. The Foundation Programmes are Deanery led whilst changes to specialty training will be developed by individual specialties with Deaneries being responsible for the implementation.

The Foundation programme is supported by a curriculum which sets out the educational content that should be provided and competencies that should be acquired over the 2 years.

Further general information can be found on the NHS MMC website