Build firm foundations while you find your feet

We're here to support your professional growth as a foundation doctor by offering indemnity and assistance with various medico-legal concerns.

We can fill the gaps left by the NHS, helping you respond to complaints, supporting you with disciplinary matters related to your clinical care, or attending inquests.

Choose the MDU to stand by and support you throughout your foundation years and beyond. Join the UK’s largest medical defence organisation and request your gift below.

Apply now

Benefits of joining the MDU

  • Indemnity for work not covered by NHS indemnity, including Good Samaritan acts.

  • Access to our 24-hour medico-legal advice line, staffed by doctors with experience of the challenges you face.

  • Support and representation for a range of medico-legal issues, including complaints to the GMC, disciplinary hearings and criminal investigations arising from your clinical practice.

  • Access to advice and cautionary tales in the MDU journal and via the MDU app.

  • Support for your professional development including seminars, courses and e-learning, webinars, podcasts and videos.

  • A gift when joining as an FY1 and FY2 when you pay your subscription by annual Direct Debit.

  • Free access to Red Whale Knowledge for FY2 members. Get access to over 900 articles covering 96% of the RCGP clinical curriculum for primary care. 

  • Help in the event of unwanted media attention.

Foundation year 1 (FY1)

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Foundation year 1 (FY1)

Membership is just £10.* Final-year UK students can apply now and select a gift. Choose from either:

  • Oxford Handbook for the Foundation Programme
  • Oxford Handbooks Clinical Tutor Study Cards - Medicine.

When you join as an FY1 member, £5 from your £10 subscription will be donated to the Royal Medical Benevolent Foundation and Doctors in Distress - two UK charities providing support and advice to doctors and medical students in need.

*Offer available to FY1 applications received by 31st March ‘25, for graduates from 2024 and 2025.

Apply now

Foundation year 2 (FY2)

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Foundation year 2 (FY2)

Membership is just £20* and if you pay by annual Direct Debit, you can choose between two gifts:

  • 100 Diagnostic Dilemmas in Clinical Medicine book
  • £10 Amazon eGift. 

As an FY2 member you’ll get free access to Red Whale Knowledge, an online resource with 900+ articles covering 96% of the GP clinical curriculum. Ideal if you're doing a placement in general practice.

Work in Scotland? See our subscriptions.

See terms. *Valid from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Apply now

FY3 and beyond foundation training

£10 amazon.co.uk voucher logo shown in a draw green gift box next to an image of a pocket ophthalmoscope with the RRP of £59 in a green circle. There is the word OR in between the images in a green circle

FY3 and beyond foundation training

Whether you're applying for specialty or core training, a clinical fellow role, or another FY3 opportunity, we're here to help with medico-legal issues.

Subscriptions* for junior doctors
  • FREE affiliate membership for GPST1s working in England
  • £20 for GPST1s excluding England (NHS/indemnified)
  • £48 for ST1/CT1/clinical fellows.

Work in Scotland? See our subscriptions.

For other categories, contact our membership team.

Apply now

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need indemnity?

The GMC requires you, as a doctor, to have adequate indemnity in place so that your patients will not be disadvantaged if they make a claim about the clinical care you’ve provided. Doctors need to be indemnified for claims at all times including for work done in the past whether working privately or within the NHS.

What is ‘occurrence based’ indemnity?

The benefits we provide to foundation doctors are on an occurrence basis, which means you can ask for our assistance as long as you are, or were, a member at the time the incident happened. This applies if you’re no longer a member or have stopped practising.

I’m an NHS employed doctor, do I need to have additional indemnity?

If you work for an NHS body (or the HSC in Northern Ireland) the organisation you work for will have NHS indemnity via a clinical negligence scheme. You should have additional indemnity for clinical work which isn’t included in NHS indemnity, for example, providing medico-legal reports and signing cremation certificates.

MDU membership also provides access to support for many other medico-legal issues arising from clinical practice that are not covered by NHS indemnity, such as, attendance at inquests, complaints to the GMC, disciplinary matters related to clinical care, and help with unwanted media attention.