Medical Doctor Resume Examples & Tips (+ MD CV Template)

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.

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Use this resume template

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

Sample Doctor Resume Template

Now let’s get you on your feet. Here’s how to write a job-winning doctor resume:

1. Structure Your Doctor Resume Template

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:

• Format: reverse-chronological resume format.
• Fonts: use respected, simple resume fonts.
• Font size: 11–12 point (resume headings are 2–4 points larger).
• Subheadings: put a little white space around them for readability.
• Resume margins: 1-inch margins all the way around.
• Line spacing: 1 to 1.15-inch.
• File type: save it as a PDF unless the job posting says not to.

Here are the parts of a resume you should include:

• Header: add the right contact information.
• Summary: a short rundown of the medical successes that make you a great fit.
• Experience: your past jobs, with descriptions and key achievements.
• Education: short picture of your schooling, with accomplishments.
• Skills: brief list of your skills that best fit this job.
• Additional sections: your license, volunteering, awards, etc.

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.

2. Start With a Doctor Work Experience Section

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:

1. Start with your most recent role.
2. Add your job titles, the facility name and location, and your working dates.
3. Write 3–6 bullet points to describe your physician job duties and responsibilities.
4. Tailor your resume so it fits this M.D. role.
5. Spotlight your best medical accomplishments with numbers to show size.
6. Use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula to give your resume more power.
7. Begin your sentences with action words to get attention.
8. Lather, rinse, repeat.

See these medical doctor resume examples:

Doctor Resume Job Description

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:

Entry-Level Doctor Resume Examples [Experience]

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.

Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, our online resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will 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?

3. List Your Education (It’s Harder than it Sounds)

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:

Doctor Resume Example [Education]

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]

4. Add Doctor Skills that Matter to the Role

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:

Doctor Resume Skills

• Family Medicine
• Internal Medicine
• Differential Diagnosis
• Budgeting
• Pediatrics
• Oncology
• Pharmaceutical Knowledge
• Critical Care
• Anesthesia
• Cardiology 
• Leadership Skills
• Efficiency
• Time Management
• Teamwork Skills
• Communication Skills
• Attention to Detail
• Compassion
• Work Ethic
• Active Listening
• Business-Minded

But—

You’ve got to pick the right skills, then prove you have them.

That happens in the bullet points:

1. Make a list of skills and resume keywords this clinic wants (they’re in the job ad).
2. List your skills. Look at your experience and education for clues.
3. Find matches between the two skills lists.
4. In your medical skills resume section, list 5–10 of the best-matching skills.
5. Include both hard skills and soft skills in your resume for doctors.

The next medical doctor resume example shows how.

Say the job posting asks for communication, networking, and collaboration.

Doctor Resume Examples [Skills]

Expert.

The metrics make it sing.

Need more info about the doctor job to customize your resume skills? Do some informational interviews to learn what the facility needs most.

5. Add Additional Activities to Your Doctor Resume

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:

1. Resume Licenses & Certifications
   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:

• Addiction Medicine Certificate
• Hospital Medicine
• Emergency Medicine
• Brain Injury Medicine
• Family Medicine Obstetrics

2. Resume Volunteer Work
   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.

3. Second Languages on a Resume
   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.

4. Conferences or Publications on a Resume
   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.

5. Memberships in Professional Organizations
   Listing your association in a doctor resume shows the clinic owner you’re a top choice. See these examples:

• American College of Physicians
• American Medical Association
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
• American Society of Internal Medicine
• College of American Pathologists

The sample doctor resume sections below give the plan of care.

Doctor Resume Examples [Other Sections]

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

6. Write a Doctor Resume Summary or Resume Objective

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:

Doctor Resume Summary

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:

Entry-Level Doctor Resume Objective

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

7. Write a Doctor Cover Letter

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:

1. Deep knowledge of this physician job
2. A couple facts that prove you’re the best doc for the role

Follow the 3-paragraph cover letter plan.

That works like this:

• Format your cover letter before you start to write it.
• Use the hiring manager’s name in your doctor cover letter.
• Write a cover letter first sentence that makes the hospital administrator want to read the rest.
• Show a few quick highlights of how you fit the role.
• End your cover letter with a powerful closing statement that asks for the interview.

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:

Create my cover letter now

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

Key Takeaway

Here’s what to remember:

• Format your doctor resume template with the right margins, line-spacing, professional resume fonts, and enough white space for easy reading.
• Write your doctor resume objective or summary last.
• Show your previous experience in a tailored approach, with 3–6 bullet points per job and action verbs.
• Choose the right medical skills by looking at the hospital or clinic’s list of job duties and responsibilities.
• Pay attention to how you list your education section and what key skills it proves.
• Get your resume noticed with additional sections that show you go beyond the call of duty.
• Write a doctor cover letter to maximize your chance to get the interview!

That’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you: 

• What are your biggest frustrations with writing a good doctor resume? 
• Are you struggling to find customized medical skills or achievements?
• Do you need help with writing a resume summary that gets noticed?

Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!

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Sources

• https://www.theabpm.org/become-certified/subspecialties/addiction-medicine/
• https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/professional-development/hospital-medicine-certification/
• https://www.abpsus.org/emergency-medicine
• https://www.abpsus.org/family-medicine-obstetrics
• https://www.acponline.org/membership?&gclid=Cj0KCQiApaXxBRDNARIsAGFdaB9R6UcWpxnTqOtE5FbqtWyZbtVNYxYyCPj3l4nfH09z_u8_34X-OegaAo1nEALw_wcB&jcpid=8a8ae4cd619867ed01619c95c7811ff7&jsf=de309cb7-d5ea-4071-80f9-454a0824bd4f:33443
• https://www.ama-assn.org/
• http://www.niams.nih.gov/
• http://www.acponline.org/
• http://www.cap.org/