Building your medical CV is just as important as getting good marks for your final matric national senior certificate. When applying for jobs within the medical field, a curriculum vitae is requested as it represents your professional experience.

So what experience does one have when they have completed their two year medical internship and community service? You are now an independent medical practitioner together with many other doctors around the country competing for very limited spaces in fields of interests be it, medical officer posts, a registrar post or a clinical researcher post. There is no better time to start your creating your CV than within the six years you spend as an undergraduate student.

Medicine is an art and science. The science is you attaining your bachelor’s degree and the art is what you make of it and this is what separates you from being a good doctor or a great doctor. During the undergrad year you get exposed to many different things and you are still young and have the energy to be involved. There is very little time to start building a CV after you have graduated as responsibilities and duties increase.

Medical school can be very challenging and you end up being caught within its whirlwind and forget to live to your greatest potential. No one knows you better than yourself, so you need to ask yourself very important questions at an early part of your undergraduate years. What is it that you hope to achieve? What is it that you enjoy or like and have a passion for? And what impact or difference do you want to offer?

Some practical ways to start creating or building your CV as an undergrad are as follows:

1. Shadowing clinicians or researchers as an undergraduate via being an undergraduate research placement, participating in vacation clinical duties at your local health facility or joining your school’s health outreach programs. This gives you a glimpse of the working world and can give you an edge in developing skills that go far beyond what the medical degree can offer.

2. Get involved in your university. The universities have many different clubs and societies which include sports, religious, academic and community outreach. Get involved in these programs and expose yourself to other facets of being a student and member of a community. Join these organizations of interest and be an active member.

3. Look for volunteering opportunities. The universities host regular events or programs monthly or annually and always need student involvement. Look out for these opportunities via the university notice system. Institutions that are associated with your university are also always looking to take students for certain projects and this exposes you.

4. Ensure you participate in a leadership role. One of the great qualities that the medical field looks out for is someone who is a good leader. There are many clubs and societies that you can join and form part of the executive committees. There is also the student representative council. These leadership roles sometimes end up taking you to provincial, national or international bodies. Also apply for young leaders programs to gain experience and exposure.

5. Become an advocate. Be an agent for change in something you are passionate about. Be an active advocate in your class, school or beyond the university.

6. Become a mentor. You learn the most by teaching those that are still coming to where you are at. You must become a peer or academic mentor.

You need to create your own opportunities when building up your CV. The participation in extra-curricular activities is usually accompanied by honors and awards which are useful achievements in your CV. It is important to think outside the box, or think like there is no box at all and not limit yourself to routine. Medicine is really more the art than the science in most everyday practices.