Stunning Doctor Resume Examples for You to Use This Year

Updated August 24, 2022562

Doctors can be responsible for a person’s overall health and even survival. Here’s how you can use your resume to show that you’re up to the challenge.

Doctor Resume Examples

A doctor is responsible for the health and well-being of countless individuals who pass through their care. With that knowledge, it makes sense that recruiters would be looking for job seekers who know what they’re doing. Here’s how you can build the perfect resume for your doctor job.

What To Highlight in a Doctor Resume

Doctors need to rely heavily on their skills and education. This also includes specific skills and education for medical professionals in certain specializations. Here are a few specialties that you might have on your resume:

Internal medicine
Cardiology
Pediatrics
Family medicine
Dermatology
Emergency medicine
Neurology
Psychiatry

There are many more but these are some of the most prominent. Your resume should indicate why you’re especially skilled in your specialty.

Structure of a Doctor Resume

Your first step should always be to choose the right resume format. Depending on your needs, you can choose between the chronological, functional and combination formats. From there, you can start filling out these resume sections.

Header

Your header includes all of your contact information. Add your name, phone number, email address and professional social media links, like your LinkedIn profile.

Resume summary or objective

The two- to three-sentence paragraph at the top of your resume is your professional summary or objective. A resume summary is best for experienced doctors. It highlights your best experiences and major accomplishments. A resume objective is best for doctors who have recently finished their internships. It relies on your skills and education, ending with a goal you hope to achieve.

Skills

Doctors need intensive training. This means you need to include both hard skills, which are the health care skills you are trained to excel in and soft skills, which are the skills that you use in all your jobs and life experiences. Here are a few bullet points that might help your resume:

Medical diagnosis
Creating treatment plans
Reading medical history
Requesting medical records
Communication skills
Promoting patient care and wellness
Reading test results
Time management

There are also specific skills that you’ll use for each specialty. A dermatologist, for example, may include “Managing infectious skin diseases” on their resume.

Work experience

No matter how many years of experience, your work experience section should cover any relevant professional experience. This can include work as a medical student, other doctor jobs you’ve had, and any volunteer work you’ve done. List them in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent jobs first.

Education

The main component of your education section will likely be your Doctor of Medicine or higher degree; you can also include your bachelor’s degree. This section may also contain any special certifications you hold, indicate that you’re board-certified, along with the name of the medical board that certified you.

Do’s and Don’ts for a Doctor Resume

Here are some additional tips to help you write your doctor resume:

Do:
- Use resume templates to make it easier for you to write a beautiful resume. With resume templates from ResumeNerd, you can find the perfect appearance for any resume.
- Read the job description carefully before you submit your application. You want to mirror the wording in the job description for the best results.
- Proofread your resume multiple times before you submit it. Even a single typo can make a hiring manager decide to move on from your resume.
Don’t:
- List job experience outside of the medical field. Relevant experience for a doctor resume will be medical field experience, including experiences as a nurse, student doctor or volunteer.
- Include your GPA in your resume unless the application specifically requests it. GPA tends not to be as good an indication of academic success as awards, like the dean's list.
- List skills that you’re only somewhat confident in. Your skills list should include only skills that you’re 100% secure in showcasing.

FAQ: Doctor Resumes

Do I need to include a cover letter for a doctor application?

A cover letter is a great tool for anyone to include with their job application, regardless of whether the application states that you need a cover letter. Cover letters allow you to share more information about who you are and provide more detail about your past experiences and successes. The ResumeNerd cover letter builder makes it easy to create your doctor cover letter.

How can I write a doctor resume without a lot of experience?

If you’re freshly out of medical school, you can still get a position as an entry-level doctor. Just remember to rely largely on your skills and education. If you have any experience as an intern, experience gathered during your academic years or experience in volunteer positions, you can also include these in your medical doctor resume to help improve your resume overall.

How do I change my doctor resume to apply to different jobs?

Before you apply for a new job, you must personalize your resume to that job posting. If you just keep submitting the same resume to a variety of jobs, you’ll come off as less perfectly suited for the job. Read through the job description to find the skills and experiences the hiring manager is looking for, then include those skills in your resume.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.