Applying and ranking programmes

Oriel is the UK-wide recruitment portal for eligible applicants applying for Foundation Training. The website can be found here.

On Oriel the term ‘Group’ is used to refer to a set of Foundation Programmes in a particular region of Scotland which provide Foundation Training. 

These may be in the:

• East (Groups beginning with E)
• North (Groups beginning with N)
• South-East (Groups beginning with S)
• West (Groups beginning with W)

On Oriel the term 'Programme' is used to refer to an approved series of 6x4-month posts or 3x4-month or 3x8-month posts which make up a two-year foundation training programme. 

Scotland is one Unit of Application (UoA) and consists of the four regions in Scotland (East, North, South-East and West) all offering different opportunities and experiences.

Once an application has been submitted, the applicant is unable to withdraw or amend the application. Applicants can only amend their personal contact details, referee details and UoA preferences once they have submitted their application. Linked applicants cannot amend their UoA preferences after the application window has closed or their link will be broken. 

All applicants allocated to the Scottish Foundation School are allocated to a two-year programme.

For the Foundation Programme (FP)

• Applicants allocated to the North and West are assigned to a fixed two-year rotation
• Applicants allocated to the East and South-East trainees are assigned to a fixed F1 rotation with the F2 allocation decided place part-way through the F1 year

For Foundation Priority Programmes (FPP)

• Applicants allocated to a fixed two-year rotation

The Scottish Foundation School does not support applications for Foundation training abroad, either in F1 or F2. This is due to the requirement to quality manage all programmes to GMC standards, which cannot be guaranteed abroad. 

Once you have been allocated, you must email the Scottish Foundation School at sfas@nes.scot.nhs.uk with the details of what you have declared on your application.

You MUST also include all relevant information on your Supporting Trainees Entering Practice (STEP) form. 

Across the regions there is a mixed economy of electronic and paper systems with a varied mix of systems for patient notes, prescribing, admissions, ordering tests etc. No one area is all paper or all electronic.

Our webpages have search functionality where you can look-up a location or specialty and you will have the ability to download the rotational information for each region.