Academic Foundation Programme (AFP) - Why should you apply?

2018-08-13 · Podcast or interview · Ali, Ankur Khajuria · recording, 7:28 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Medicine and his doctor years · mode: Conversation and interview · tags: Aimed at students

In the first part of a four-part Medical Mondays series, Ali explains the Academic Foundation Programme and talks with surgeon Ankur Khajuria, author of AFP Secrets: the AFP suits those set on academic medicine and those who want to try it, there is nothing to lose from applying, and missing it does not close the academic path.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Medical Mondays; what the Academic Foundation Programme is; the plan of the four-part series

★★ Ali's Medical Mondays, a weekly series on very niche medical topics, kicks off a mini-series on preparing for the Academic Foundation Programme. — 00:00:00 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ The Academic Foundation Programme is an alternative to the normal two-year Foundation Programme after medical school: one of its six blocks becomes a research block, a kind of entry into the academic route. — 00:00:00 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★★ Since there is little information about the Academic Foundation Programme, Ali plans four videos: why to apply, the clinical emergency station, the critical appraisal station, and the personal interview with recommended resources. — 00:00:29 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme

00:00:58 — Ankur Khajuria, his course and book AFP Secrets; Ali reserve-listed in London and EBH

★★ A few months before this video Ali sat down with surgeon Ankur Khajuria, who runs a course on preparing for the Academic Foundation Programme and has written a book about it. — 00:00:58 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★★ Ali got none of his Academic Foundation Programme choices: he was put on the reserve list for London and for EBH (Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire). — 00:00:58 · Academic Foundation Programme, London, Foundation Programme
★★ Ankur Khajuria was an Academic Foundation Programme trainee in London at Imperial College London, has been running a course for three years and is the founder and chairman of High Yield UK. — 00:01:27 · Imperial College London, Academic Foundation Programme, London, Foundation Programme
★★ Ankur Khajuria says High Yield UK has trained roughly 300 to 400 students in three years, with fantastic feedback, and that those students got posts after its courses. — 00:01:27
★★ Ali read Ankur Khajuria's book AFP Secrets a day before his London Academic Foundation Programme interview and thought it really good; had he found it sooner and put it into practice, he might have stood a better chance. (hedged) — 00:02:14 · Academic Foundation Programme, London, Foundation Programme
★★ Ali says there is little information online about the Academic Foundation Programme: the best tips are held by people you have to know who got into it. — 00:02:14 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme

00:02:44 — Who the AFP is for, the research block, and why there is nothing to lose from applying

★★★ Ankur Khajuria says the Academic Foundation Programme is for two groups: those who know they want academic medicine and have done research, as a stepping stone, and those unsure who want to try academic life. — 00:02:44 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ankur Khajuria says that in most deaneries the Academic Foundation Programme gives four months for a research project, usually in the second year; some regions, such as Oxford, give day release spread over the two years. — 00:03:38 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ankur Khajuria says that after the two Academic Foundation Programme years you can continue academic interests or follow just the clinical pathway, which is equally valid. — 00:03:38 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ali says Academic Foundation Programme applicants apply through FPAS, and an AFP post removes them from the normal Foundation Programme, though they do five normal rotations and one research rotation; Ankur Khajuria confirms. — 00:03:38 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★★ Ankur Khajuria says there is nothing to lose from applying to the Academic Foundation Programme: a little more work on white-space answers and the interview, but a fantastic learning experience and interview practice for core and specialty training interviews. — 00:04:22 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ali did not get the Academic Foundation Programme but found both his interviews useful: he now knows what to expect in job interviews and what to work on, which he would otherwise not have learned before his ST1 or ST3 interview. — 00:04:51 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★★ Ali is glad he applied to the Academic Foundation Programme though he did not get it, and encourages anyone thinking about it to apply: there is nothing to lose. — 00:04:51 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ankur Khajuria says missing an Academic Foundation Programme post is not the end of the world and does not stop you pursuing a career in academia: there are many other opportunities. — 00:04:51 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme

00:05:21 — The integrated academic pathway can be entered at any time

★★ Ankur Khajuria says the integrated academic pathway (Academic Foundation Programme, Academic Clinical Fellowship, then clinical lectureships) can be entered at any time: without an AFP you can apply for an ACF, without an ACF for a PhD and then a senior lecturer role. — 00:05:21 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ali sums up that not getting into the Academic Foundation Programme is not a big deal, but having it helps if you want an academic career; Ankur Khajuria agrees. — 00:05:45 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme

00:06:14 — Ali's AFP interviews in EBH and London; summary and the next video

★★ Ali's Academic Foundation Programme interview in EBH was personal: questions about his application, the white-space questions and why he wanted to do the AFP. — 00:06:14 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme
★★ Ali's London Academic Foundation Programme interview had two stations: critical appraisal of an abstract read for half an hour beforehand, and clinical emergencies, a scenario as an FY1 in A&E with several patients discussed with consultants. — 00:06:14 · Academic Foundation Programme, London, Foundation Programme · also in: Clinical Emergency Scenarios - AFP Interview preparation · Academic Foundation Programme
★★ Ali says the next video in his Academic Foundation Programme series, on preparing for the clinical emergency station, will come out soon. — 00:06:48 · Academic Foundation Programme, Foundation Programme

Threads in this video

kept late · Ali promises a video on the Academic Foundation Programme with the author of a book about it (2018) — Ali releases, in August rather than July, his Academic Foundation Programme interview with surgeon Ankur Khajuria, author of AFP Secrets. (00:00:58)
progress update · Ali promises a strand of videos for medical students on the Academic Foundation application, publications and OSCEs (2018) — The first Academic Foundation Programme video of Ali's strand for medical students comes out, opening a four-part series. (00:00:00)
promised · Ali promises a video on the Academic Foundation Programme with the author of a book about it (2018) — Since there is little information about the Academic Foundation Programme, Ali plans four videos: why to apply, the clinical emergency station, the critical appraisal station, and the personal interview with recommended resources. (00:00:29)
retold · Ali misses out on the Academic Foundation Programme and is reserve-listed in London and EBH (2017) — Ali got none of his Academic Foundation Programme choices: he was put on the reserve list for London and for EBH (Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire). (00:00:58)
first on record · Should a medical student apply for an academic training post? — Ankur Khajuria says there is nothing to lose from applying to the Academic Foundation Programme: a little more work on white-space answers and the interview, but a fantastic learning experience and interview practice for core and specialty training interviews. (00:04:22)
refine · Should a medical student apply for an academic training post? — Ali is glad he applied to the Academic Foundation Programme though he did not get it, and encourages anyone thinking about it to apply: there is nothing to lose. (00:04:51)
milestone · Medical Mondays (2018) — Ali's Medical Mondays, a weekly series on very niche medical topics, kicks off a mini-series on preparing for the Academic Foundation Programme. (00:00:00)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Ali promises a video on the Academic Foundation Programme with the author of a book about it (2018) — kept
Ali promises a strand of videos for medical students on the Academic Foundation application, publications and OSCEs (2018) — open (updates through 2018, not reported done); last: progress update, 2018-09-15
Medical Mondays (2018) — last documented in 2019; last: milestone, 2019-03-18

Mentioned

Central: Academic Foundation Programme · Ankur Khajuria

Also: Projects: Medical Mondays

Works: AFP Secrets

Organizations: High Yield · Imperial College London

Concepts: Academic Clinical Fellowship · Core medical training · Core surgical training · Foundation Programme · Specialty training

Places: London

Also centred on Ankur Khajuria: Clinical Emergency Scenarios - AFP Interview preparation · Academic Foundation Programme · Critical Appraisal for medical interviews - Preparing for AFP (Academic Foundation Programme) · AFP Interview Preparation - The personal interview · Academic Foundation Programme

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