Kelley et al ^{Reference Kelley, Brown and Carney1} raise an interesting point with regard to Foundation Programme placements and subsequent careers in psychiatry, and I applaud their aim. What they look at is whether having experience of psychiatry in the foundation years results in a placement in psychiatry at CT1 level - I would suggest this is not quite the same as influencing a trainee’s decision to apply. As suggested in the discussion, I would imagine those keen on a future career in psychiatry are more likely to opt for rotations which contain psychiatry, but how many of these people are dissuaded from applying by a negative experience? Furthermore, how many people go through the application process for a CT post in psychiatry ultimately to be unsuccessful for reasons aside from not having had a taster/FY post? Perhaps an alternative way of approaching this situation would be to survey the career aspirations of newly qualified FY1s, making note of the FY2 rotations they go through and ultimately which specialties they apply for - in addition to which one they subsequently choose. This method would look for an association between FY2 posts and applications to psychiatry, not just those who are awarded a training post.