I have just entered the critical phase of my housemanship.
Since the first day of my housemanship, I had UK Foundation Programme (UKFP) 2022 as a backup option in case something goes wrong.
After I complete the 3rd posting of my housemanship, I will gain full registration with the UK General Medical Council (GMC). That will enable me to apply for the Foundation Year 2 (F2) Stand-alone and Widening Access to Specialty Training (WAST) programmes in UK, which will be my backup options in case something goes wrong.
However, my UKFP 2022 job offer only remained valid until July 2022, after which it expired, and I will only complete the 3rd posting of my housemanship in November 2022 at the earliest. During the 4 month gap between July and November, I have neither a UKFP job offer nor GMC full registration.
The 4 months is the critical phase of my housemanship, as I don't have any backup options if something bad happens that makes it untenable for me to continue with my housemanship. In such a situation, I will have to say goodbye to my Medical Education dream forever.
Almost the entirety of my 3rd posting of housemanship is within the critical phase. I definitely need to be extra careful and to put in real efforts in gaining skills and experience so that I can maximise my chances of getting through the critical phase.
Once I pass this hurdle, I won't have much to worry again, as I will always have a backup option available.