Removing Educational Achievement Points From the Foundation Programme Application System: Is This the Right Decision?

The UK Foundation Programme Office has announced that medical students graduating from 2023 onward will not receive Foundation Programme Application System points for additional degrees or journal publications. In this viewpoint paper, we acknowledge the reasons for this decision, such as socioeconomically advantaged students having greater access to these achievements and the promotion of intercalated degrees for the sake of point accumulation. Additionally, the predictive value of these achievements with regard to junior doctors' performance has been questioned when compared to that of other Foundation Programme Application System components.