You get castrated by the consultants, nagged by the nurses and made to look stupid by the other students. "But, it doesn't have to be this way," you tell yourself. You should have the consultants begging at your feet, nurses under your power and be the top student on the firm. You should be a ‘SUPERMEDIC'. Here's how -

Step 1 - Suck up with style

When your consultant can't distinguish you from a RTA victim that's been trailed through an articulated lorry sideways, there's a problem. "Image is everything," says Deborra Radcliffe, a professional image consultant. "Looking smart and dressing professionally can actually make you appear more intelligent than you actually are."

"For men, wear a shirt and tie that complement each other with the same colour shades," suggests Radcliffe. If you've less colour sense than a blind patient without a guide dog then high-street chains such as Next and Debenhams sell pre-packaged matching combinations. "Shirts with cufflinks will improve your ranking but only if you wear a jacket or white coat on top," she advises. Pokemon ties are only acceptable if you're doing paeds ... or if your consultant has the mental age of a five-year-old.

If you're a woman, forget the skirt advises Radcliffe. "Women who power dress are taken more seriously," she says. For woman who have a soft voice and mild manner wear darker colours to appear more confident. "Students who already ooze confidence should choose paler shades to help you take advantage of your womanly side - it will make you appear more in touch with the patient's perspective."

Make sure your shirt or white coat is cleaned and ironed. For men who undergo anaphylactoid reactions in contact with electric irons you can now get crease-resistant materials.

Step 2 - Supercharge your CV

Unless you want a job as a GP in the Outer Hebrides you're going to be up against some tough competition when you qualify. House jobs at the major London teaching hospitals on medical firms are more highly sought after than free food at the Grand Round. So how can you make sure your CV gets more attention than a cardiac arrest?

You'll be judged not just on your academic record and progress reports but on your other achievements. Many medics will have an intercalated BSc or additional qualification, so make sure you're in this group - check out our intercalated course guide online.

Getting your name published in one of the journals is the second top tip. Most intercalated degrees offer the scope for students to produce a research paper, alternatively try offering your services to a research team in your medical school. If you don't think you're up for writing clincal papers get involved with JuniorDr or traumaroom.com by emailing the team.

Step 3 - I'm only a medical student

A man collapses in the frozen vegetable isle at Sainsbury's. Everyone stands and stares ... until your best mate points at you and shouts, "He'll know what to do he's a trainee doctor." Panic sets in. What do you do? ... prop up his head with a bag of frozen peas and hope for the best?

It's a scenario many students find themselves in before they qualify. We get trained in how to identify Klienfelter's syndrome and palpate breast lumps but first aid, the activity in which we could actually save lives, is rarely practised.

If you don't know your ABCs from your LFTs then it might be time you went on a first aid refresher course. Most medical schools offer these annually as part of the course, alternatively St. John Ambulance LINKS societies operate in most universities. To find out details of your nearest group send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Step 4 - Past Paper Pointers

Medical students are inherently lazy. A quality that doesn't disappear once you get to slap ‘Dr' in front of your name-or Dean for that matter. Like us, the big boys who run our universities like to take shortcuts whenever they can and this includes setting exams.

By simply rewording, or blatantly copying and pasting previous questions the exam setter saves themselves enough time for an extra round of golf. More importantly it gives you the opportunity to pick up extra marks.

Armed with reams of past exam papers some students can become notoriously secretive about their past paper stash. Hunting them down is a valid exam revision activity and a great excuse for a night down the union after a hard day of hitting the books. This is where all those ‘friends' you inadvertently made in the drunken haze of freshers week have their use.

If your friends have papers, or you simply have no friends, don't despair. You're likely to find at least a few years worth of exam material in the library, on the web or from tutors (if you beg hard enough). Failing that all universities set similar exam questions and formats (especially those that make up the University of London board) so there's plenty of opportunity to hunt down at least a few papers at other uni's too.

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