The new medical school and the doctors’ foundation programme

A doctor has sent me the email below.

Students at the Malta Medical School, who pass their final year exams, sit for an interview to enter the foundation programme. The programme takes two years, during which junior doctors gain experience in different fields.

They will not get their warrant to practise independently unless they complete those two years on the foundation programme. They are also given a GMC number which certifies them to work in the United Kingdom.

But last year we had the start of a new phenomenon: not all graduates were given a place in the foundation programme because there were more graduates than places. Last year, two doctors were left out; this year about 20.

Malta Medical School graduates who end up without a place on the foundation programme can’t obtain a warrant and are in a deep mess through no fault of their own. They can’t work as doctors.

So if there aren’t enough places on the foundation programme even for graduates of the Malta Medical School, what is going to happen to graduates of this new private medical school in Gozo? The prospectus on Queen Mary University’s website promises them a free choice between the foundation programme in Malta and London.

This will place additional stress on students of the Malta Medical School, who already have a lot on their plate.

Thanks a lot for your work and for giving this issue the importance it warrants.

Kind regards,