Abstract: Foundation training in the United Kingdom is a transitional stage that connects medical school education and specialty/general-practice training. UK foundation programmes orientate towards training objectives and attach importance to the training of trainee physicians’ diagnosis and therapy competencies as well as self-learning and teaching competencies through varied rotation combinations, supervised learning, and self-learning. In refereeing to the UK experiences, China should rely on nongovernment organizations to strengthen the construction of management entities for resident standardized training, introduce a classified resident registration system in order to avoid the issue of illegal practice by non-registered residents, expand clinical units in rotations to facilitate the training of physicians with comprehensive and solid clinical knowledge and skills, and issue strict and detailed training objectives and facilitate the cultivation of residents’ self-learning and teaching competencies.

Key words: resident, training, undergraduate medical education, the United Kingdom