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CV Preparation: Basic Physician Curriculum Vitae Outline

Tips & Reminders
  • Do not label your CV as "Dr. Last Name's CV"or "Curriculum Vitae"
  • Only list valid contact information
  • Add a footer to your CV using "last name, page number" format
  • List dates in reverse chronological order
  • Do not include non-medical information unless it explains a gap in employment
  • CV should be 2-5 pages
  • Always submit the CV as .pdf when sending electronically
  • Keep the same format throughout entire CV

The following is a standard and recommended format for your CV: Header, Postgraduate Training, Education,Professional Experience, Licensure,Certifications, Honors and Awards, Professional Memberships,Research, Presentations, Abstracts, and Publications, References.

Header

Your full name and degree, indicating MD, DO, FACP,pb-1 ml-3 PhD, etc. — these go at the top of the first page of your CV

Directly under your name, include your contact information — list your full mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address

Only list addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses where you want to be contacted about job opportunities

Postgraduate Training

Record your postgraduate training in reverse chronological order

List program name, type of program, city, state, and start and finish dates (month/year) for each of the following:

  • Fellowships
  • Residencies
  • Internships

Education

    List your education in reverse chronological order

    Medical school name, city, state, degree obtained (MD or DO), and start and finish dates (month/year)

    Undergraduate school name, city, state, degree, major, and start and finish dates (month/year)

    Do not include high school information

    Professional Experience (include military experience and branch of service, if applicable)

      Include medically related work history dating back to the start of medical school, beginning with your most recent practice location — list position held, name of facility, city, state, and start and finish dates

      It is only necessary to list non-medical employment if it explains a gap in your professional experience or education

    Licensure

      List states in which you are licensed, have been licensed, or have applied for a license (license number is not necessary on a CV, but you can include it if you wish)

      List the expiration month and year of each license

      List the status of each license, such as Active or Pending

      List DEA license, if you have one, with the expiration date (do not list the license number)

    Certifications

      List board certification and status (e.g., board certifiePhysiciand, board eligible, or awaiting date of exam), and include specialty or subspecialty of certification

      List exams taken (passed only) and dates (e.g., Flex, National Boards, and the like)

      List current certifications such as ACLS, ATLS, BCLS, or PALS and the issue date

    Honors and Awards

    List medically related honors and awards and dates received

    List month and year for each award and honor

    Professional Memberships

    List medically related organizations and societies, beginning with the most recent.

    Research, Presentations, Abstracts, and Publications

    List works in reverse chronological order

    Use the appropriate format for citing abstracts and publications

    If applying for a non-academic position, it may be preferable to state, "Fifty-six papers published from 1995 to 2004. Citations furnished on request,"rather than list them individually

    If there are numerous publications, research, presentations, or abstracts that make the CV too long (exceeding 6 pages) it is recommended to select specific citations to showcase — title that section with "Selected Research", "Selected Presentations", "Selected Abstracts", or "Selected Publications"

    References

    References should be provided only upon request, and you do not need to list them on your CV

    For more reference tips check out the PracticeMatch Reference Letter page.

  • Join the Physician Ambassador Program to earn additional income during training;
  • Create your free PracticeMatch profile so you can apply for jobs with a click of a button;
  • Download the Career Fair List so you can save the dates.