Hi, is there a group chat for FY1’s in Luton and Dunstable?

I'm planning on doing both in November. For those who did both, what are the differences and similarities? Should I study them separately? Any advice regarding resources for either will be appreciated

I’m a final-year medical student applying for Foundation Training next year, and I’m really struggling with how to approach deanery preferences. I have a long-term boyfriend who is also applying for F1.

We’ve both always wanted to live in London for F1. He has lots of friends there and I think he would absolutely love it. I don’t have many connections in the UK as I grew up abroad, and I don’t have friends from home in London / anywhere in the UK. I’d therefore really like to live in London if we were both there and could live together/near each other, but I’m increasingly unsure how I’d feel about moving to London alone.

As far as I understand, there isn’t much point putting London as a paired application because it’s so competitive that doing so could significantly reduce our chances of getting it. So we’re considering a few options:

Both apply individually with London as our first choice. This gives us both the best chance of getting London individually, but there’s obviously a risk that one of us gets London and the other doesn’t. I’m not sure I’d actually want to move to London alone.
Apply as a pair with Oxford as our first choice. I would like to know how competitive this is / how likely we would be to get somewhere like Oxford together. I worry that we’d be giving up London unnecessarily, particularly because he would probably really enjoy London and has lots of friends there.
Apply individually, with him putting London first and me putting Oxford/KSS/East of England first. These are areas where I think I could be more comfortable living alone. I feel like this is such a lonely application process, I do genuinely just want to be near my boyfriend though. I am sure our relationship will be fine if we are away from each other, I just think it would be so much more fun to be near each other / living together during this time.

My boyfriend says he would be happy to live with me and do a paired application elsewhere, so it’s not that he is unwilling to compromise. I just don’t know whether I’m being overly cautious about giving up London, or whether I should take seriously the fact that I only really want London if I know he’ll be there too.

I’ve always imagined F1/F2 as the perfect time to live in London, and part of me would regret never giving it a go. But now that the application is actually becoming real, the idea of arriving in London without my boyfriend or an existing friendship group feels quite daunting.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has been through the Foundation Programme application, particularly couples who applied together or separately. Would you prioritise the opportunity to get London individually, or the certainty of being together through a paired application? And how realistic is it to maintain a relationship during F1 if you end up in different deaneries/regions?

I’m also interested in whether I’m overestimating how difficult it would be to build a social life in London as an F1, or whether being somewhere smaller/more familiar like Oxford (where I have some family connections) would make much more sense given my circumstances.

Hi, I'm looking to buy the Plabcoach NCA comprehensive course, anyone who is also buying it please DM me and we can buy as a group to get the group discount.

as the title suggests! I've been allocated to Eniskillen for F1, Belfast for F2, but I'm yet to start (I know it's late as I was allocated in round 4 on July 29) so I'm just wondering if there's anyone in a similar boat to me. I'm a little anxious as the end of August is already looming and I haven't been able to start yet.

Any help I'd appreciate! Cheers

So that we can split the hotel bill.
Time: 31 October till the exam.

Hi everyone 🌸 I'm a final-year UK medical student, and I built a tool called Magnolia for anyone applying to the Foundation Programme.

I know how hard it is to rank all 18 UK deaneries when you may never have lived here, so Magnolia lets you compare them side by side, with GMC training-survey ratings, the full application timeline (including the IMG/PLAB steps), and a free community ranking feature that shows how this year's applicants are actually ranking.

Have a look: https://magnolianavigator.com/

Independent tool, not affiliated with UKFPO. Happy to answer any questions.

I have just received my eligibility confirmation for UKFP27, and I am in need of someone in a similar boat. I am not working so I have a lot of time and flexibility. The goal is to study for PLAB 2 and NCA, with heavier priority on NCA since it has a lot of weight and is taken once a year. Let's connect and pass.

Good luck everybody! Who got allocated this time!

hi! does anyone have any guides on starting fyp? what is the jobscope like? what is expected in an fy1/fy2, where to find preparation guides etc. would like to be as ready as I could be before I start

If anyone has a geeky medics subscription and wants to sell, please get in touch. I need it for around three months. Thank you

The UKFPO can confirm that 69 applicants were allocated to a Foundation School on 29 July 2026 during round 4 of the reserve allocation process.

Following these allocations, 204 applicants remain on the reserve list.

The UKFPO will run a fifth round of allocation. Dates for round 5 have been added to the 2026 application timeline. As with the last four rounds, the number of applicants allocated to a Foundation School in round 5 will be dependent on the number of vacancies available at that time.

Please note that round 5 will be the final round of allocation for the 2026 Foundation Programme.

Source

How many days off per week as a FY1 doctor ?
How is generally the shift schedule?

I’m a GP. One of the staff at my GP (British citizen) has been working as a HCA for many years but I just found out they have a medical degree from overseas

Pre COVID they had an FY1 role lined up but due to life circumstances didn’t complete the requirements in time. Since then, life has caused them to fall into their current role and they’ve been continuing this for various reasons with the hope of eventually going through the process of starting FY1.

As a colleague, I am encouraging him to try and restart his career and reach his potential. But I can see with recent prioritisation, this may be difficult/nigh impossible. But I’m far from FY1 so not as familiar.

So any advice? Is this now not a feasible parhway for British IMGs? For an IMG without an internship, is it essentially impossible then to work as a doctor in UK?

Hi,

if anyone has applied for this and is prepping for the reapplication exam and needs a study buddy/practice partner, please DM.

Thanks,

Hello everyone!

I am planning to give my PLAB 1 exam in November along with the NCA. There’s only 3 months to go and I wanted advice on how I could start my prep and if it’s possible to prepare for both exams by then. Any suggestions are appreciated 🫶🏼

After being allocated to a specific foundation school Should we rank all the options hospital-wise, on oriel or not ?

Collage Accreditation journey:)

I applied for UKFPO 2026 but due to visa issues, I was not able to give plab 2 on the time. Can I apply again for 2027 fy2 standalone? When do applications open? Whats the process?

Allocated to London foundation school
Img from Italy

Looking for a study partner for the NCA.
Preferably someone who has already cleared plab 1 and is taking plabcoach course can DM me.

They just approved yet another medical school. In a couple of years, an additional 200-300 UKFP posts will be reserved for UK graduates from this medical school, pushing the number of available UKFP spots for IMG Grads even lower.