In the healthcare and medical industry, medical workers treat sick people and help them have a better quality of life. By doing so, they earn money through noble means. As such, many people would like to become a medical professional.
But before you land a job in this field, you need a medical resume. With this, you can present your interest in healthcare. You can use it to highlight your skills, experience, and expertise. To show your important job traits, you must use a standard medical resume format that can be easily read and understood.
Medical Resume vs. CV: What’s the Difference?
A resume is different from a curriculum vitae (CV), and these two terms should not be used interchangeably. How are they different? Here are the major differences between a resume and a CV:
| Resume | Curriculum Vitae | |
| Purpose | – Apply for nonclinical positions – Convince recruiters that you are the right candidate – Highlight your accomplishments and transferable skills | – Apply for academic positions – Present a timeline of your professional activities – Provide a complete professional history – Show your expertise and contributions |
| Length | – Short (about 1–3 pages) | – As many pages as needed |
| Chronological Presentation | – Reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent detail to the oldest information | – Chronological order (i.e., earliest date to the most current) |
| Publications, Research, Grants | – Include them only if they are relevant to the desired position | – Include them even though they are not essential for the target job |
| Honors, Professional Memberships, and Presentations | – Include them only if they are relevant to the desired position | – Include them even though they are not essential for the target job |
| Highlights | – Key achievements in previous positions and experiences, especially if they are pertinent to your target position | – Training, titles, grants and awards, publications, and invited presentations |
| Design | – Eye-catching or creative touch, with white space, bullets, italics, and colored highlight – Generic or customized depending on the target positions | – Simple, objective list of qualifications |
Quick Guide to Writing a Multipurpose Medical Resume
With a well-crafted medical resume, you can create a good impression on your recruiter. You can also have more chances of getting interviewed. You can follow the resume writing tips to make a well-written medical resume.
1. Showcase your medical skills.
Highlight your most relevant hard and soft skills. You can do so by checking the job description and making a list of the required skills. Then, select the skills that apply to you and include them in your resume.
Keywords from the job description should also be included in your resume. When you add skills from job ads, your application can pass applicant tracking systems (ATS). Thus, you increase your chances of getting interviewed.
2. Create resume sections that highlight your qualifications.
Describe your qualifications in various sections, including resume summary, work experience, education, and skills.
3. Prepare a cover letter.
Together with your resume, which shows your qualifications, a cover letter helps clarify why you are the best person for your target job. It describes your skills and expertise, while also explaining your career goals. It serves as your way of introducing yourself to your recruiters. Thus, it is a vital part of your job application.
Medical Resume Writing Tips
To get hired in the medical field, you must have a medical resume that stands out. With a well-crafted resume, you can showcase the skills that make you the most suitable candidate.
To prepare an impactful resume, you can apply the following medical resume writing tips.
Medical Resume Format
Here are some tips on how to format your medical resume:
- Make a resume header. Provide your name and contact details. Include your phone number, email address, home address, and LinkedIn profile.
- Use the reverse-chronological resume template. Present your strongest skills and traits and the most recent experiences first.
- Select an appropriate typeface and a readable resume structure.
Writing a Medical Resume Objective
A medical resume objective is a catchy, precise, and brief statement. It presents your qualities and interest in your desired job. As the first thing that recruiters see after your personal information in your resume, it captures their attention. As such, your objective statement should be impactful. It should include the following details:
- Degree in medical sciences
- Ability to manage difficult situations and exhibit good communication skills
- Technical proficiency, such as Microsoft Office Suite and other medical software
- Core skills required for the job and years of experience
- Job-specific keywords that can make your resume pass the ATS
List of Medical Skills for a Resume
Skills vary depending on the specific job that you are applying for. As such, you need to review the job description and make sure that your resume highlights the required skills. Your skills should match the requirements specified in the job posting. Thus, you have better chances of being invited for an interview.
Here are some examples of a list of medical skills:
- Providing consultation
- Implementing ICD 10 codes
- Preparing electronic health records
- Monitoring ongoing patient conditions
- Prescribing and administering medication
- Providing patient education and assessment
- Handling the budgeting, billing, discharge, and admissions
- Performing wound dressing and phlebotomy
- Conducting clinical research and policy development
- Ordering tests, making differential diagnosis, and interpreting test results
Medical Resume Sections
Apart from your objective and skills, the following sections should be included in your medical resume:
Main Achievements
If you have a few years of experience, you should make a list of your main achievements instead of an objective. This section will definitely catch your recruiter’s attention. Doing so makes your section look strong and appealing.
Include three to five of your achievements. Use action words to showcase your main achievements. For example: Earned selection to represent the internship body to improve hospital efficiency, achieving a 30% increase in efficiency over one year.
Medical Education
Highlight your medical qualifications in this section. Follow the reverse chronological order. Indicate your most recent degree. Include your course, educational institutes and their location, graduation dates, and other professional qualifications.
Medical Work Experience
Organize your work experience in reverse chronological order. Focus on your achievements. In this way, your resume stands out. For example: Spearheaded a team of surgeons that performed a groundbreaking surgery involving a novel orthopedic technique.
Activities
If you have just graduated, you should present relevant activities on your medical resume. They help support or improve your work experience section. Include internships, awards, and voluntary work. On the other hand, if you are a senior medical professional, you can list memberships of professional organizations. Use action words to make this section impactful.
Medical Resume Template
We’ve listed the top medical resume writing services here, and they provide top-notch medical resumes for all levels of the field. For a brief rundown, here they are:
- ResuMeds
- Resume Professional Writers
- Resume Prime
- 1-Day Resume
- ReadyHireMedicalResumes
- Resume Valley
- Resume4Dummies
- JobStars USA
- Skillroads
- Resume Target
Below is a sample dentist resume from ResuMeds.
How to Build a Medical School Resume?
A medical school resume is an important aspect of your medical school application. If written well, it can highlight your accomplishments. It can also present your relevant experiences.
Purpose of a Medical School Resume
You need a medical school resume to showcase your most relevant achievements. With a well-crafted resume, you can sell yourself as the most suitable candidate for your target medical school.
Just like in a medical resume, the following sections should be included in a medical school resume:
- Objective
- Contact information (full name, address, telephone number, email, and LinkedIn profile)
- Education (degrees earned, major/minor, schools attended, graduation year, GPA, awards, honors, and achievements)
- Professional experience (relevant professional, clinical, and research experience, including jobs, volunteer work, internships, and community involvement)
- Extracurricular activities
- Skills and interests
- Research groups and publications
Medical School Resume Example
Writing your resume seems daunting. To help you get started, you can check out the following sample of a medical school resume.
All of us have experienced many COVID-19-related challenges, such as grief, isolation, and job loss. And these events can influence our work and life decisions. For instance: If you are a medical student about to graduate or search for jobs, you may be worried about the effects of COVID-19 on your future career.
Conversely, if you are a professional who wants to pursue a medical career or an experienced healthcare worker who aims to move up the career ladder, you may have high stress levels just thinking about how to stay healthy and alive.
With all the anxiety and stress that you’ve been experiencing for the past year, you may feel the need to change your workplace, probably closer to home. Or you may want to have a job in the medical field to help fight this pandemic. If this is the case, then you must start preparing your medical resume.
Hire Experts from the Best Medical Resume Writing Services
Still worried if you can land that job with your medical resume? Fret no more! You can hire experts from the best medical resume writing services. They are qualified professionals who can provide a well-crafted medical resume that will definitely help you have your dream job in the medical field. Check out our list today.
