Curriculum Vitae Tips for Residents

Create appropriate headings to organize and highlight specific aspects of your education and experience. Headings can be modified to fit a specific purpose or focus (eg, application for committee, fellowship, faculty position). Note: Not all of these headings may be appropriate for your CV.

• Include full name, address, phone number, email address at top
• Include LinkedIn or other relevant personal webpage.
• Use professional contact details, if possible.
• Consider including as a header, so it appears on every page. Alternatively, include at least full name as a header or footer.
• Degrees will be included in later sections so don’t have to be included.
• Antidiscrimination laws have made information about age, marital status, family, religion, place of birth optional.
• Photographs are unnecessary and considered unprofessional by some. If included, must be a professional photograph.
• Citizenship and visa status should be included only if to your advantage or is requested.

• Relevance is application specific. If included, limit to 1-2 sentences, tailored for prospective organization.
• Consider including in cover letter. Highlight how you are suitable for the role in question.
• Typically included on a resume, not a curriculum vitae.

• List in chronological order with the most recent first.
• Don’t include high school background.
• Residents should include data back to undergraduate education. Include school name, degree completed, graduation date for each.
• After residency, only include education no older than medical school data. Include school name, degree completed, graduation date.
• Subheadings for undergraduate, postgraduate, continuing education may be helpful.
• Include important distinctions.
• Continuing education is not traditionally included in a CV. Include only if it adds to your application, and consider including at the end under ‘Other’ heading.

• Include name of organization, location, specialty, leadership roles, if applicable.

• Do not include license numbers or scores for exams.
• Include provisional or permanent state licenses, as well as board certification/eligibility, e.g., awaiting results, board-eligible.

• Include experience relevant to medicine or to show your range of experience.
• Include position, organization name and address, dates of employment, and a short description of duties.

• Create a complete publication list. List chronologically with most recent first. Group under appropriate subheadings if numerous.
• Include complete bibliographic citations (AMA format preferred). Include PMID, if available. Include “in press” articles.
• For presentations and other activities, include titles or event names, as well as dates and locations.
• Separate major scholarly papers presented at professional association meetings, conferences, research symposia, etc.
• Don’t mention every student seminar or hospital grand grounds; consider summarizing these types of presentations.
• List editorial/reviewer work for medical journals under separate heading. For book reviews, include detailed information. If a reviewer of scientific articles, just list the journal and year your work was acknowledged to maintain anonymity.
• Include section for professional activities if not covered under professional memberships. Include committee work and any offices held.
• List accomplishments of committees or projects, or list in a separate section, if appropriate.
• Consider separate headings for “Publications” and “Presentations and Posters”, if appropriate. Don’t list non-peer-reviewed publications under a heading that implies they were peer-reviewed.

• Include all funded projects with source and amount of funding.
• List current projects with papers in progress or submitted and not yet accepted.
• May mention research colleagues.

• Section can be highlighted if applying for an academic position. 
• Include any teaching experience at any level, topics and audience, and what you gained, if applicable. 
• Include information in other sections if experience is limited.

• Include if they add value to your CV.
• Don’t include courses related to examination preparation.
• Can also relate to management, teaching, research.
• Include date and title and list chronologically with most recent first.

• Include if you want to highlight expertise over and above what is typical/expected, eg, statistics packages, research databases.

• 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 date received.
• Do not include civic, church, or social groups.
• Include financial assistance for educational endeavors only if competitive.

• Optional. If included, show how activities helped you develop skills such as leadership, supervision, communication, or collaboration, if possible (but briefly, and only if not self-explanatory). May help illustrate how you are a good fit for the organization.
• Volunteer/non-medical experience can be included here. Useful to highlight what you gained from it, e.g. management or leadership experience.
• May introduce bias, so consider carefully.

• May call out if you are multilingual. Indicate proficiency, e.g., “Fluent in Spanish.”

• Optional. Include only if you are listing names/contact information, and they have agreed to provide a reference for you. Do not list “available upon request”. This information is often left for the application form.

• Leave plenty of white space. Margins ~1 inch.
• Use simple, professional font such as Times New Roman or Arial. Use 12-18 point font for name; 12-14 point font for headings, 10-12 point font for text. Sans-serif fonts read most easily. Pick one font and use throughout.
• Create distinct conceptual divisions. Experience may be divided between headings such as “Teaching” or “Research”; education may be divided between “Degrees” and “Advanced Training” or similar. Dividing lines are helpful between sections.
• Include a name header or footer and page number on all pages.
• Because we read from left to right, avoid placing the date on the left. It puts the emphasis on the date as opposed to the activity.
• Choose a format and stick to it. Layout, spacing, structure should be consistent.
• Use parallelism: keep structure of phrases and/or sentences consistent. Use present tense for current positions, past tense for previous positions.
• Use gapping – incomplete sentences to present information concisely.
• Use implied pronouns and avoid “I” or “my”.
• Proofread for spelling and grammar.
• If printed, use good quality paper.
• Do not include your social security number, age, gender, race, religion, political affiliation, marital/parental status, disability or national origin, DEA numbers, citizenship, why you’re leaving current position, or salary history.
• Bulleted points more common in resume, less so on a C.V.
• Organize sections based on position you are applying for, but keep education first.
• Remember: Be Clear – Concise – Complete – Consistent - Current

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Weber KJ, Lee J, Decresce R, Subhasis M, Prinz R. Intraoperative PTH monitoring in parathyroid hyperplasia requires stricter criteria for success. Paper presented at: 25th Annual American Association of Endocrine Surgeons Meeting; April 6, 2004; Charlottesville, VA.

Carrau RL, Khidr A, Crawley JA, Hillson EM, Davis JK, Pashos CL. The impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on patient-reported quality of life. Laryngoscope. In press.