Welcome to the 2nd part of a 7-part career guide for junior doctors written by Dr Abhijit Pal (PGY2) with Dr Emma McCahon (Clinical Director of Critical Care Program at Children’s Hospital, Westmead, and Clinical Lead of LEAP, a leadership program for junior doctors run by HETI).

How do I plan a career?

This will make it a lot easier to write your CV! The CV doesn’t write itself. There is some anxiety around being called a resume builder. There are some prevocational doctors for whom the resume is their primary goal in life and they will ruthlessly put their hand up for the case report, that clinical audit and generally appear psychopathic in their pursuit of that plastic surgery spot. On the other extreme is the junior doctor who turns up to work and goes home. Try and find a happy medium between the two where you can expose yourself to the hospital system and become involved in more than just the individual doctor-patient interaction.

Being a doctor is about more than just being able to diagnose and treat illness. If you look at the attributes that each of the colleges is looking for, you’ll quickly realize this as well. For example, the RACP has a Professional Qualities Curriculum: RACP qualities.

Qualities every doctor should develop for their medical career

1. Clinical work – being a safe, organised and knowledgeable junior doctor is fundamental. Choose your terms carefully in terms of interest, possible future specialty and the level of support and teaching. Talk to residents who have done that term before.
2. Teaching – Get involved in teaching. Teaching is a great way to keep in touch with clinical knowledge, and is enjoyable.  Medicine has always had a strong tradition of teaching. Contact the clinical school at your site – also enquire about clinical titles and how to apply for them.
3. Clinical governance – Get involved in hospital committees. Choose one you have an interest in so that you can make a useful contribution. Participate in quality improvement and audit activities if possible.
4. Research – Try and do research in an area if possible. It’ll give you a taste of that area and make you wonder if that’s an area that’s suited to you. Remember research can be in a variety of forms – a case report, lab studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses are all examples.
5. Professional Development

• Plan ahead, because these courses frequently book out. Unfortunately, many do cost money.
• Critical care – BASIC, ALS2
• Trauma – ATLS/EMST
• Master’s courses – Epidemiology, Public Health, Ophthalmology, Surgery
• Diploma in Child Health, Graduate Diploma in Surgical Sciences
• Teaching on the Run