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Medical CVs are structured differently from other CVs. For a start, it’s not unusual for a medical CV to have 5 – 10 pages…or more.

Follow this brief guide to help in the compilation of your medical CV (remember, for professional advice, read more about our medical CV writing service).

Cover page: unlike every other CV, a medical CV should have a cover page which shows your name, speciality, registrations, (such as GMC) and a brief overview of your qualifications.

Contact details: include your contact details at the top of page 2, followed by a brief introductory profile showcasing your key skills, experience, achievements and ambitions.

Qualifications: list your qualifications in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Only include recent, and relevant qualifications – don’t worry about going back to your high school.

Professional experience: list each job, including the hospital / surgery’s name, your position and dates, followed by a bulleted list of your key accountabilities. If you have an extensive career history, summarise anything over 10 years under an ‘Early Career’ section.

Other experience: after your employment details, you’ll need to demonstrate experience encompassing management, teaching and audits. Again, use bullet points under each section, showcasing relevant skills in each area – avoiding repetition.

Professional development: here is where you’ll need to list details of any recent courses / seminars to showcase your commitment towards ongoing personal development and career progression.

Research: again, as with everything else in your medical CV, include details of any research in reverse-chronological order.

Publications and presentations: for publications, include their title, authors and dates. As with your employment details, if this section is in danger of becoming too long, try to concentrate on the most recent publications and presentations.

Personal achievements: this section could include details of any relevant prizes and awards.

Other information: the penultimate sections of your medical CV will cover your language skills, IT skills and anything else not covered above that relates to your area of interest. You could also use this space to include details of voluntary experience.

References: normally, we advise writing ‘References Available Upon Request’ on a CV. However, with medical CVs. it’s advisable to have around 2-3 references, including their name, job title, address and contact telephone number.