791 final year medical students on the reserve list
This year’s reserve list
In December 2021, the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) revealed that there were over 1,500 final year medical student applicants than Foundation Programme jobs available (UK Foundation Programme, 2022).
Three months later and the primary list allocation results were released for final year medical students to find out which deanery they would be working as a junior doctor in. However, 791 applicants were placed on the reserve list and not allocated to a deanery.
Figure 1: A map showing the UK Foundation Programme deaneries.
The UKFPO has said that all 791 students on the reserve list will be allocated to a foundation programme on the 22nd April 2022, but have said that “applicants on the reserve list will have much less choice in which programme they are matched to.” This means that medical students on the reserve list could be given a job anywhere in the UK and would have to accept it in order to start working as a Foundation Year 1 doctor in August.
Mental health impacts of having little say over where your foundation programme job is
As mentioned earlier for students on the reserve list, the UKFPO has stated that applicants “will have to to accept the programmes that are available, rather than being able to list their preferences from the full range of programmes.”
While some newly qualified doctors may relish the opportunity to pack their things up and move across the country, others shiver and weep at the prospect like me. Having been mentally ill two years ago, I rely on my support networks based in and around London, where I am studying. The idea of having to move far away from my family and friends is terrifying and one that fills me with anxiety. Working as a junior doctor is demanding and stressful and I can’t imagine starting my journey as a doctor without my support system around me.
Why is there a reserve list
So why are there more medical students than there are foundation year jobs, especially as we know the NHS is so short of staff? With funding for an increase in medical school places (O’Dowd, 2021), and therefore an increase in the number of medical school graduates not being matched by funding for foundation posts, it is no wonder that many medical students are now sitting their final exams without a job.
As we can see from the graph below, the reserve list is not a new phenomenon, but it certainly is a growing list each year. Next year I will be applying for Foundation Programme jobs and to see how some of my colleagues in the final year have been treated by this system has filled me with dread. I really hope Health Education England and the relevant bodies reflect on this failure so that not one student has to go through the same stress next year.
Fig 1: Number of foundation programme applicants on the reserve list.
Source: Health Education England.
References
UK Foundation Programme, 2022. 2022 UK Foundation Programme Oversubscription Update. Available from: https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/ [Accessed 15th March 2022].
O’Dowd, A. (2021) Funding boost aims to expand England’s medical school places. British Medical Journal Publishing Group; 2021. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1998 [Accessed 15th March 2022].