F3 Stories by Messly Christopher Kurwie

I have known Mike for a very long time and if you’d told me a decade ago that he’d one day be a Navy Doctor, I’d never have believed it. The carefree and, to put it delicately, untidy Mike that I knew did not seem the type of person to choose the rigid and structured life of a military officer. Yet seeing him now I can completely appreciate how the opportunity has opened up and elevated his life in a way I couldn’t have imagined.

The Royal Navy has taught Mike so many new skills. Not only can he now iron a shirt and make a bed, but he can work confidently under pressure, provide humanitarian support overseas, and protect and preserve the wellbeing of his colleagues and patients in challenging circumstances. He’s also had the opportunity to travel and pursue his own extracurricular hobbies like kite surfing and sky diving.

👉 Topics Discussed

In this episode, Mike shares his rationale behind joining the military and committing to a minimum of five years of military service. He also describes what life is like for Naval doctors, the highs and lows of the job, and what to expect if someone were to join the Royal Navy in their F3 Year.

This episode also includes:


A run down of the different branches of the military that doctors can join.
The day-to-day role of a doctor in the Royal Navy.
The training path for military doctors.
The pros and cons of joining the military as a doctor.



👉 Useful Links


Get more information about joining the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, or British Army as a doctor.
Or find other alternative medical roles at Medic Footprints.
Or consider multiple different NHS roles in this article.
If you aren’t sure what you want to get out of your F3 Year, try working though our F3 Workbook which has guided exercises and tips to make the most of your time out of training.
Get information about how to find and apply for work in Australia here.
Connect with other UK doctors ‘Down Under’ in the F3 in Australia and New Zealand Facebook group.
Use our Portfolio Companion to help you structure your professional portfolio.
Find out how you can boost your portfolio with CPD and courses.
This article explains how to build a high-quality portfolio, and why it is important.

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This article is part of a wider series of comprehensive guides and information to help doctors ensure their F3 year is a success. We cover everything from initial planning, options for moving abroad, help with finding work, and tips for making the most of the experience.

Click here to visit our F3 Resource Hub to explore the full list of guides and articles.

Kelsey knew she wanted to pursue surgical training as a foundation doctor, but also knew that her 4-month surgical post in F2 wasn’t enough to get her onto a training programme. She needed additional application points that could only be gained on an F3 Year.

Despite securing a Plastic Surgery fellowship for her F3 Year, she was unfortunately unsuccessful in her first CT1 application. Using the lessons that she learned from that application round, she devoted the rest of her F3 and F4 Years to maximizing the application points that she needed to get onto the programme she wanted. By focusing her attention on key areas, and using some insider tips she used her time effectively to successfully meet her career ambitions.

👉 Topics Discussed

In this episode, Kelsey shares with us her tips for using your F3 Year to help get onto a competitive training programme, and pursue your career ambitions.

This episode also includes:


How to build resilience in the face of rejection.
How to create a mindset where you can successfully advocate for yourself.
The challenges that women in particular face in male-dominated specialties.
Insider tips to help bolster your applications.

👉 Useful Links


Find locum work in surgical specialties using our Locum Finder Service.
Use our Portfolio Companion to help you structure your professional portfolio.
Find out how you can boost your portfolio with CPD and courses.
Read our article about applying and interviewing for Core Surgical Training. Or for IMT training, check out this article.
This article explains how to build a high-quality portfolio, and why it is important.
Check out the logbook that Kelsey used to track her procedures and surgical skills: https://www.elogbook.org/
Read about the course, CCRISP, that Kelsey mentioned in the episode.
If you want to know what gets you points in your CST application, check out this link.
Keep up to date on the latest news in Surgery on the Royal College of Surgeons website.

Laura is an F3 doctor currently working in Psychiatry in Jersey. She graduated medical school at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and was thrust into the chaos of working without a break for what were probably the two most difficult years for UK doctors in recent history.

Understandably, she needed a break after finishing foundation training, and she decided to take a few months to travel. As a solo female traveler, Laura explored a number of countries in Central and South America in a once-in-a-lifetime epic adventure.

👉 Topics Discussed

In this episode, Laura shares with us her tips for planning, packing, budgeting, and making lifelong friendships and connections when exploring other cultures and countries alone.



This episode also includes:


How Laura saved and budgeted for a 4-month adventure in Central and South America


How she found the confidence and opportunities to make friends on her travels.


How Laura secured an amazing job in Jersey when she returned from her trip.


What wisdom she gained by leaving the bubble of medicine.


How her travels changed her plans for her future medical career.





👉 Useful Links


Get inspired with our article on traveling in your F3 Year.


If you need help budgeting for a trip like Laura’s, check out this article about managing your finances as a locum doctor. 


Check out AirBnB experiences for activities in your local area, whether you’re at home or on holiday.


Learn more about the South American roots of Laura’s favourite food; The Potato.


Check out Laura’s highly recommended Traveling Classroom Programme.


Get information about how to find and apply for work in Australia here.


Connect with other UK doctors ‘Down Under’ in the F3 in Australia and New Zealand Facebook group.

Omer is an F5 doctor currently working in ED. While following the traditional pathways of medical school and foundation training, he always felt that something was missing, as he wasn’t finding his chosen career as fulfilling as he had hoped.

When he started his F3 Year, he began to explore what it was that was missing by trying new experiences, testing ideas, and reaching out for mentorship and guidance. As a self-identifying ‘big-picture’ person, he thought that ward-based clinical medicine might have been the wrong route for him.

After 3 years out of training, Omer has finally found balance and a growing sense of fulfillment, as he continues to experience all that his medical career has to offer. By thinking outside the box and following his own path, he has curated a unique role that serves his higher purpose in an entirely unexpected and beautiful way.

👉 Topics Discussed

In this episode, Omer explains how to follow your internal compass and forge your own unique path for a career that will fulfill and sustain you in the long term.

This episode also includes:


Why Omer felt he had to leave the traditional treadmill of medical training.
How Omer tested various ideas to learn more about himself and what he needed from a job.
Tips for locuming in new and unfamiliar hospitals and specialties.
Why Omer chose agency work over bank work in his F3 Year
Advice on discovering and pursuing your passions, and giving yourself the grace and time to explore.
Tips for preparing for your medical revalidation as a locum doctor.



👉 Useful Links


If you aren’t sure what you want to get out of your F3 Year, try working though our ⁠F3 Workbook⁠ which has guided exercises and tips to make the most of your time out of training.
Learn about the ⁠various NHS leadership programmes available to you.⁠
Learn about the ⁠NHS clinical entrepreneurship programme here.⁠
Which would suit your lifestyle and professional goals better, Ad-hoc or long term locuming? ⁠Find out in this article⁠.
If you are ⁠nervous about starting work as a locum doctor at a new Trust, check out the tips and advice in this article⁠.
Get rapid answers to the most common locum FAQ’s in our ⁠Locum Academy⁠.
Build an amazing locum portfolio using the tips and templates in our ⁠Portfolio Companion⁠, or get ⁠detailed portfolio and appraisal advice here⁠.
Find out how to ⁠get better learning opportunities as a locum doctor⁠.
Watch Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk on his ⁠Golden Circle Theory⁠.
Learn to code for free with Omer’s favorite courses and tools: ⁠Harvard’s CX50 course⁠, ⁠The Odin Project⁠, ⁠FreeCodeCamp⁠, ⁠Codecadamy⁠
Brush up on your psychology skills and self-actualize, by reading about ⁠Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs⁠.

Razaz is an F4 International Medical Graduate (IMG) currently working in ICU. She studied medicine in Sudan and Saudi Arabia before deciding to return to the UK, where she’d grown up, to continue her medical career.

After 9 months of applying for NHS roles, she managed to snag a Trauma fellowship in Cambridge that seemed to offer everything she wanted. However, she quickly discovered that the job wasn’t what she had imagined it would be. She has since moved on to an ICU fellowship that she loves which has given her the multitude of skills and opportunities she was originally looking for.

In this episode, Razaz compares good and bad fellowships and gives tips on how to spot the right opportunities before investing time in jobs that don’t support your professional ambitions.

This episode also includes:


Why Razaz’s first fellowship wasn’t right for an IMG new to the NHS.
What she was able to achieve when she found an IMG-friendly role.
How an introvert made friends when moving to a new country.
Advice on red and green flags to look for when considering fellowship roles

👉 Useful Links


Join the Foundation Year 3 Doctors Facebook Group to speak to others about their experiences.
If you are an IMG doctor considering working in the UK, check out this article for our advice on joining the NHS.
Learn more about the CREST form here or on the Oriel Resource Bank. CREST is required if you're applying for core training and have not completed foundation training in the UK.
Read about the PLAB exam here.
Learn everything you need to know about clinical fellowships here, and understand the key differences between a fellowship and a trust grade role here.
Find fellowship opportunities on NHS jobs or consider creating your own fellowship if you can’t find a role that’s right for you.
Get your FUSIC USS certifications through the Intensive Care Society (you must be a member to access the learning modules).
Boost your medical portfolio using our Portfolio Companion and particularly our Workplace-Based Assessments templates.
If you want to contact Razaz about her experiences, her LinkedIn page is here.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Esra Arslanboga who is currently an F3 doctor in Wales.

Esra Arslanboga came to medicine as a post-graduate student after studying psychology and neuroscience. Her foundation training years were heavily impacted by the covid-19 pandemic and she wanted a break to travel as an F3. After a bit of travelling, she realised that what she actually was craving was the opportunity to learn, explore, and experiment within medicine.

Her F3 Year has been characterised by saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that has presented itself, but instead of overwhelming her as she works four jobs, she has only felt invigorated by the opportunities that she missed out on as a foundation trainee.

Esra has a full-time job as a trust grade doctor in Orthopedics and also works as a locum doctor in ED. She spends her weekends doing Driver’s Medical checks and her evenings working on her fledgling business as a lifestyle medicine coach. This year, she completed the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine qualification and is now completing a functional medicine course in the limited free time she has left.

In this episode of F3 Stories, Esra shares how she has found the energy for so many different jobs, and which one she enjoys the most. She also explains how she found the job doing Driver’s Medicals, and what it entails, as well as what she has learned about herself this year and how it is impacting her career ambitions.

👉 Topics Discussed

This episode also includes:


Esra’s jobs breakdown
Esra’s initial F3 plans
How Esra found and obtained the drivers medicals jobs / what it entails
Which job esra enjoys the most
What she learned from taking time out of training
How her Lifestyle Medicine course has changed her practice as a doctor.

👉 Useful Links


Sign up to Messly’s locum finder service to get quick access to locum work. 
Learn more about Trust grade roles in our article.
Find more alternative medical roles at Medic Footprints. 
Look for trust grade roles here and here. 
Learn more about Esra’s functional medicine course here. 
Read about the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine here. 
If you want to do Driver’s Medical checks, check out D4 Drivers.