The programme in the West Midlands was one of the first to be established in the UK and has maintained its strong drive of innovation and excellence. The Foundation Programmes cover a geographically and culturally diverse part of the UK and offer an exceptionally varied training environment.  

There are 5 Foundation Schools: Birmingham Black Country/Shropshire Staffordshire Coventry and Warwickshire Hereford and Worcestershire

There are three local Medical Schools that work in a coordinated way and share some resources and activities such as quality management.  All of the Schools welcome trainees from outside the West Midlands.

Recruitment to F1 is initially via the UK Foundation Programme Recruitment Scheme. For the 2012/2013 recruitment round the Units of Application (UoA) are:

• Birmingham, Black Country/Shropshire, Hereford and Worcestershire are combined to form the West Midlands Central
• Staffordshire (Shropshire moving to become part of Black Country)
• Coventry and Warwickshire

Allocation from F1 to F2 is done on the basis of trainee preferences and a score based on a trainees progression in the first part of their F1 year. This is the FZAP scheme. For 2011, F1 trainees were able to preference all F2 posts in the Deanery. The rules for Inter-Foundation School transfer apply for those trainees wishing to move after their F1 year. 

Page updated: 22nd September 2011