What Is a Physician CV?

A curriculum vitae (CV) is similar to a resume. It documents your educational and professional accomplishments. Unlike a resume, it's typically more detailed and can be used to highlight personal interests and activities. While this extra information is optional, including it can help distinguish you as a candidate.

When developing your CV, think about what your prospective employer is looking for in a candidate, and then try to present your competencies and experiences in a way that speaks to those needs.

9 common sections to include on a physician CV

How much you include on your CV will depend on the stage of your career, but there are several areas you'll want to be sure to cover. New physician, experienced physician, and academic physician members of the AAFP can download FREE custom CV templates to fit their experience.

#1. Contact and personal information

Include your full name, address, phone number, and email address at the top of the CV. If you have a LinkedIn profile or relevant personal webpage, include this information as well.

#2. Objective statement (optional)

Limit your objective statement to one or two sentences, tailored for your prospective organization. If you choose not to include an objective in your CV, you can include it in your cover letter.

#3. Education

List schools attended (medical school, graduate education, and undergraduate education) in reverse chronological order, with the most recent listed first. Include the school name, degree completed, and graduation date for each.

#4. Internships, residencies, fellowships

Include the name of the organization, the location, your specialty, and leadership roles, if applicable.

#5. Board certification, specialty, and states in which you are licensed

Do not include license numbers.

#6. Professional experience

List experiences that are relevant to medicine or that show your range of experience. Be sure to include the following in the order listed:

• Position
• Organization name and address
• Dates of employment
• Short description of duties

#7. Publications, presentations, and other activities

For publications, include complete bibliographic citations. For presentations and other activities, include titles or event names, as well as dates and locations.

#8. Professional memberships, awards, and honors

Include full names of organizations, years of membership, and leadership positions held, if applicable. For awards and honors, include the name of the honor or award, the location, and the date received.

#9. Extracurricular activities and interests (optional)

Although this information is not required, it can help the person reading your CV learn more about who you are and whether you are a good fit for the organization. Try to show how your activities helped you develop skills such as leadership, supervision, communication, or collaboration, if possible.

CV Formatting Tips

Because your CV is typically your first, and often your only, chance to make a good impression, it’s important to ensure that it is error-free and uncluttered. Ask others to proofread it several times to ensure it is free of grammar, spelling, or other errors. Download member-exclusive CV templates to build a professional CV with ease.

• Leave plenty of white space.
• Use a simple, professional font such as Times New Roman or Arial.
• Include a name header and page number on all pages.
• Place job title, organization name, and duties on the left side and dates on the right.
• Choose a format and stick to it. Layout, spacing and structure should be consistent.
• Use parallelism: Keep the structure of your phrases and/or sentences consistent throughout your document.

Free CV Review and Matching Services

Once your CV is drafted, AAFP CareerLink can provide you free professional CV review and help you get matched with potential employers. Create an account to get started and to upload your CV confidentially. You'll be sent jobs that align with your skills and interests, but your personal and contact information won't be shared with recruiters and employers.