
Do I Need a Cover Letter? Are Cover Letters Necessary in 2023
Do I need a cover letter? Is it important? What if the job offer doesn’t require a cover letter? Read this guide to find out all you need to know.
You worked hard to make a bright future for you and your patients. Now it’s time for the payoff. But you’ll need to get hired first. Make it happen with this doctor resume sample.
If you want that dream physician job, you need the best doctor resume on the charts—but you probably knew that already.
What does it take to make it happen? Well, firstly, your skills and experience must fit the job like a heart transplant. Your qualifications should stand out, too. In short, your doctor’s resume has to wow them like Patch Adams.
And we know exactly how to achieve that.
You’re about to see a professional doctor resume example you can tweak to fit any M.D. job. You’ll also get easy steps to write a resume for physician jobs that’ll garner 10x more healthcare interviews than any other.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.
Lisa King, M.D.
714-330-6341
lisazking@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/lisazking
twitter.com/lisazking
Summary
Responsible physician with 9 years of experience maximizing patient wellness and facility profitability. Seeking to deliver healthcare excellence at Mercy Hospital. At CRMC, maintained 5-star healthgrades score for 112 reviews and 85% patient success.
License
2019 — Board certified, Medical Board of California
Experience
Physician, Internal Medicine
Concord Regional Medical Center, Concord, CA
October 2015–January 2020
Key Achievement:
Physician, Internal Medicine
San Jose Hospital, CA
May 2011–September 2015
Education
Doctor of Medicine
Loma Linda University, CA
2011–2015
BS in Biology
University of California-Davis
2007–2011
Conferences
Now let’s get you on your feet. Here’s how to write a job-winning doctor resume:
Does layout matter in doctor resumes? It’s critical. They don’t want to hire Zoidberg.
So prove to them you know all the ins and outs of resume anatomy and design your resume the right way.
Here’s how to format a doctor resume template:
Here are the parts of a resume you should include:
Considering an alternate M.D. resume format? See our guide: How to Pick the Perfect Resume Format
Psst—don’t start your resume at the top.
Do the easy parts, like your work history and education. Then back up and fill in. It’s so much easier that way.
Success!
They want to hire you. Congrats!
How did you do it?
By showing you’ve already done the physician job they’re hiring for. That comes down to how you list work history on a doctors resume. You’ve got to bone-screw yourself to the job to stand out.
Here’s how it’s done:
See these medical doctor resume examples:
Right |
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Work Experience
Physician, Internal Medicine Concord Regional Medical Center, Concord, CA Oct 2015 - Jan 2020
Key Achievement:
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Wrong |
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Work Experience
Physician, Concord Regional Medical Center, Concord, CA Oct 2015 - Jan 2020
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First-rate.
The first of those doctor resume examples has the right prescription for the job.
But the second only says, “I was a doctor.”
Next—what about an entry-level doctors resume? How can you put shadowing a doctor on a resume?
These examples cover that:
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Work Experience
Intern, St. Egregious Medical Center, Pismo, CA Jan 2019 - Jan 2020
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Wrong |
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Work Experience
Intern, St. Egregious Medical Center, Pismo, CA Jan 2019 - Jan 2020
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See that?
You don’t need a ton of medical experience to prove your skills.
Just list the best bits from your internship or schooling.
Pro Tip: Struggling to find physician jobs? Go to conferences and join a pro association like the AMA. Networking matters, especially in the medical field.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
How many jobs should you include in your resume? See: How Far Back Should a Resume Go?
You worked your tail off for that medical degree.
Don’t waste it.
Doctor resumes can’t just say you graduated. That’s like having a Medtronic Bennett ventilator and using it to fill balloons. To get noticed, list your degree and school name. But—
Add one or two academic accomplishments. The next of our medical doctor resume examples shows how:
Right |
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Education
Doctor of Medicine Loma Linda University, CA 2007–2011 Internal Medicine Residency, San Jose Hospital
BS in Biology University of California-Davis 2003–2007 |
Impressive.
That could be a young Christiaan Barnard.
If you’re writing an entry-level resume, think of adding extras such as a GPA or Dean's List.
Pro Tip: Don’t have any big medical school accomplishments? That’s fine. Use the extra space to add more physician accomplishments from past roles.
Want more tips to write a great doctors resume education section? See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]
Your doctor resume needs the right skills. Which soft skills or hard skills do hospital administrators and recruiters like?
See this list of skills for doctors resumes:
But—
You’ve got to pick the right skills, then prove you have them.
That happens in the bullet points:
The next medical doctor resume example shows how.
Say the job posting asks for communication, networking, and collaboration.
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Expert.
The metrics make it sing.
Pro Tip: Need more info about the doctor job to customize your resume skills? Do some informational interviews to learn what the facility needs most.
Don’t just list the first few skills you think of on your doctors resume. See our guide: +30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)
They won’t hire you.
That is, not unless they know you’re great to work with.
How can your doctors resume show that?
With Cleveland-Clinic-style additional sections.
You can include:
Your M.D. license should be high and visible on your resume—just under your summary. But if you’ve got other certifications, show them in a special section. Here are a few:
Have you done pro bono medical work? That’s a great way to show you know a canule from a cantaloupe, especially if you’ve got little on-the-job experience.
Do you speak French? Spanish? A second language on a doctor resume can make a good impression. That goes double if the hospital’s patients speak that language too.
Have you attended medical conferences? Given talks on heart disease? Written research papers or articles? Those things can give you another chance to show your Christian-Barnaard-level skills.
Listing your association in a doctor resume shows the clinic owner you’re a top choice. See these examples:
The sample doctor resume sections below give the plan of care.
Right |
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License
Member, AMA
Conferences
Publications
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Wrong |
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Hmm.
The first of those medical doctor resume examples is a lifesaver.
It shows you care about healthcare like Jonas Salk.
Pro Tip: Should you make a longer resume for physician jobs? If you want to fit more non-work accomplishments, a doctor’s resume can be 2 pages, 3, or 5.
What kinds of interests work in an M.D. resume? See our guide: List of Hobbies & Interests for a Resume or CV
The bad news:
If you think doctors are busy—
Just look at a hospital administrator.
They don’t have time to read your doctors resume.
What they do instead is skim.
It’s up to you to grab them like a signed limb.
Do that with a resume summary or resume objective..
The conventional wisdom says if you're an entry-level doc, write a resume objective, but if you're experienced, write a summary.
But—
They should both actually be the same thing—a summary of your experience, skills, and a key achievement or two that fits the job. But in a resume objective, you'll need to take your achievements from school or internships.
The trick with either? Show your best stuff in brief.
These two medical doctor resume examples point the way:
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Responsible physician with 9 years of experience maximizing patient wellness and facility profitability. Seeking to deliver healthcare excellence at Mercy Hospital. At CRMC, maintained 5-star healthgrades score for 112 reviews and 85% patient success. |
Wrong |
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Hard-working doctor who is highly skilled in patient assessment, differential diagnosis, pharmaceutical knowledge, and prescribing treatment. Excellent bedside manner and flawless interpersonal skills. Works exceptionally well with nurses and other staff. |
Diagnosis?
The first of those doctor resume examples nails it. It mentions the facility, then gives a quick rundown of your shining moments.
But—
What if you’re writing an entry-level M.D. resume?
See these entry-level doctor resume examples:
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Dedicated physician with proven skills in patient education and preventive care. Seeking to enrich healthcare excellence at CRMC. As intern at SJH, was commended 6x by attending physician for efficiency and diagnosis skills. |
Wrong |
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Applicant for residency position, skilled in family practice, HIPAA compliance, and documentation. Seeking good position with respected hospital. High-level differential diagnosis skills and expert time management and efficiency. |
The second of those doctors resume examples is CTD. See how it fails to differentiate you from the crowd?
Pro Tip: Struggling with what to say in your doctor resume objective or resume summary? Leave a gap, then come back and write it later.
If you want your resume objective or resume summary for doctors to shine, see our guides: +20 Resume Objective Examples and Professional Resume Summary Examples
Do doctor resumes need cover letters?
Every time.
It’s true that some recruiters don’t read cover letters.
But almost half depend on them.
Show:
Follow the 3-paragraph cover letter plan.
That works like this:
Pro Tip: A cover letter for doctor jobs should show your passion and medical competence. Make it short, but add Mayo-Clinic-style details to make it memorable.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Last, here’s a guide to write the best doctor cover letter on the ward: Physician Cover Letter Guide
Here’s what to remember:
That’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you:
Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!
Do I need a cover letter? Is it important? What if the job offer doesn’t require a cover letter? Read this guide to find out all you need to know.
The layout of your resume matters just as much as its contents. In this guide, you’ll find 20+ best resume layout examples and tons of expert tips!
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