Medical CV Example

Format and length

A medical CV runs 2-3 pages of A4 for foundation and core trainees, longer for specialty registrars and consultants with research portfolios. Publications, presentations, and teaching expand it. Use reverse-chronological order throughout. Omit photo, date of birth, gender, marital status, and nationality, these invite bias and add nothing.

Section order and mandatory headers

Start with personal details (name, GMC number, contact details, location), then GMC registration status and number (full/provisional), national training number (if in training), and Royal College memberships with post-nominals (MRCP, MRCS, MRCGP). These four items are non-negotiable, omitting GMC registration makes your CV look incomplete to NHS recruiters.

Follow with qualifications (MBBS/MBChB, intercalated degrees, postgraduate qualifications like MRCP), then current post and employment history (grade, specialty, trust, dates for every role). After that come the portfolio sections: clinical experience (tailored to the person spec), audit and quality improvement, teaching, research and publications, presentations (grouped by level: international, national, regional, departmental), courses and certifications (ALS, ATLS, BLS, specialty courses), and finally references (three named contacts including your current educational supervisor).

What to include per section

Personal statement

The personal statement sits at the top and runs 2-3 sentences. Lead with your current grade and GMC status, highlight portfolio strengths (audit, teaching, research), name your clinical interests, and state what you are seeking. Tailor it to the person spec.

Experience bullets

Every role needs 3-4 achievement bullets. Use the result-plus-metric pattern and show impact, not just duties. The experienceTips section below walks through this in detail.

Skills

List 8-12 role-relevant clinical skills, procedures, and competencies. Include ALS/ATLS/BLS, specialty procedures (bronchoscopy, echo, endoscopy), and key clinical areas (acute medicine, resuscitation, prescribing). These are ATS keywords.

Education and certifications

List your medical degree (MBBS/MBChB), intercalated degrees, and postgraduate qualifications (MRCP/MRCS/MRCGP) in reverse-chronological order. Include honours, prizes, and elective placements if relevant. The educationAndCertifications section below covers this in full.

Additional sections

Audit, teaching, research, publications, and presentations are portfolio sections that grow as you become more senior. Teaching weight increases for specialty applications and is scored on evidence of effectiveness (feedback scores, course design). Publications must be formatted exactly as they appear in the journal. Presentations should be grouped by level (international, national, regional, departmental) because the level signals importance to assessors.

The result-plus-metric pattern

Medical CVs score points for demonstrating impact, not listing duties. Every bullet should follow the result-plus-metric pattern: what you did, the outcome, and a concrete number. Avoid 'responsible for' or 'duties included', those read as vague to a medical shortlister.

Before (duty-focused):

• Responsible for managing ward patients and attending ward rounds.
• Performed venepuncture and cannulation.
• Participated in audit and teaching.

After (impact-focused):

• Managed daily ward round for 24 elderly medicine inpatients, coordinating care with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and social services.
• Performed 200+ venepunctures and 150+ cannulations, achieving competency sign-off in all procedural skills ahead of rotation schedule.
• Led a closed-loop audit on VTE prophylaxis prescribing (n=80), increasing compliance from 72% to 94% after guideline re-education and re-audit.

Role-specific action verbs

Medical CVs favour clinical precision. Use verbs that match the grade and specialty:

• Foundation/Core: Clerked, assessed, managed, performed, completed, participated in, presented, achieved.
• Specialty registrar: Led, supervised, designed, implemented, delivered, coordinated, contributed to.
• Consultant: Chaired, developed, established, directed, mentored, published.

Tailoring to the person specification

Every NHS specialty application comes with a person specification that lists scored domains (clinical experience, audit, teaching, research, leadership). Read it carefully and tailor your bullets to match. If teaching scores 15%, give it real depth: document the range (mentoring, PACES coaching, teaching juniors/students), the settings (one-to-one, small-group, large-group), and how you evaluated effectiveness (feedback scores, course design). Teaching weight grows as you become more senior.

Audit and quality improvement bullets

Don't list every audit, give concrete examples. State the improvement work, your specific role, the year, type of audit, location, patient numbers, and re-audit outcome. A closed-loop QIP (led and re-presented) scores maximum points on specialty applications.

Before:

• Completed audit on discharge prescribing.

After:

• Led a closed-loop audit on heart failure discharge prescribing (n=120), increasing beta-blocker and ACE-inhibitor co-prescription from 64% to 89% after guideline education and electronic prescribing prompt implementation. Re-audited at six months to demonstrate sustained improvement.

Teaching bullets

Teaching is scored on evidence of effectiveness. Document the audience (medical students, foundation doctors, core trainees), the setting (bedside, small-group, large-group), the number of sessions, and feedback scores. If you designed a curriculum or course, say so, that signals leadership.

Before:

• Delivered teaching to medical students.

After:

• Delivered 12 teaching sessions to medical students on cardiovascular examination and acute cardiology, designing a structured curriculum adopted by the medical school. Mean feedback score 4.7/5 (n=48).

Medical degree

List your primary medical qualification (MBBS, MBChB, MB BChir) with the university, dates, and location. Include honours (Distinction, Merit, prizes) and any notable achievements (elective placements, Student Selected Components, leadership roles). If you intercalated a BSc or BA, list it separately with the degree class and dissertation topic.

Postgraduate qualifications

MRCP, MRCS, and MRCGP are the big three membership exams and must appear prominently. State the awarding Royal College and the year you passed. If you have FRCP or other fellowship, list it too. Be careful with post-nominals: if a membership has lapsed, show the acquisition year in brackets (e.g. 'MRCGP (2003)') rather than implying current standing. Claiming a lapsed membership carries a risk of referral to the GMC.

Courses and certifications

List recognised clinical courses by their acronyms in a dedicated section: ALS, ATLS, BLS, ILS, APLS, plus specialty courses like JAG certification in endoscopy, BSE accreditation in echocardiography, or simulation instructor courses. These are the credential keywords NHS recruiters and shortlisters scan for first. Include the issuing body and the year.

Higher degrees

If you have a PhD, MD, or other research degree, list it with the institution, dates, thesis title, and supervisor. Note any prizes, fellowships, or funding (e.g. MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship). Higher degrees signal academic credibility and are weighted heavily for academic consultant posts.

Format

Use reverse-chronological order. For each qualification, give the institution name, degree title, field of study (if applicable), start and end year, and location. Add bullet points for honours, prizes, or notable achievements if relevant. Keep it factual, never exaggerate or fabricate qualifications, as this risks GMC sanctions.