Medical CV Template: 5 UK Examples, Student to Consultant
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
9 min read
A medical CV template for the UK puts your GMC number and current grade at the top, then clinical posts in reverse order, then the sections a consultant panel scores: audit and quality improvement, teaching, research, courses and leadership. The constraint is length and honesty; a foundation doctor fits two pages, a consultant applicant rarely needs more than four, and every audit you list must be one you can talk through at interview. The National Careers Service gives the reason in one line: "Employers get lots of CVs to look at and have to decide quickly who they're going to interview." Below are five complete medical CV examples, checked in October 2026, one for each stage from medical student to consultant. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Most doctors write their first CV the night before a deadline, by pasting the portfolio into a document and hoping. The portfolio is the evidence. The CV is the index to it, and a panel reads the index first.
Medical student CV template
Medical student: CV for an elective or a foundation interview (140 words)
AMINA HASSAN Final year medical student, University of Leeds | Leeds | 07700 900123 | amina.hassan@email.co.uk
EDUCATION MBChB, University of Leeds, expected graduation July BSc (Hons) intercalated degree in Clinical Sciences, 2:1
CLINICAL PLACEMENTS Acute medicine, St James's University Hospital: clerked patients on the acute medical unit, presented cases on the post take ward round General practice, a practice in Bradford: ran supervised consultations, two sessions a week
AUDIT AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Venous thromboembolism risk assessment on a surgical ward: collected data, presented results at the departmental meeting; a reminder on the admission checklist followed
TEACHING Peer tutor for second year anatomy, weekly sessions for one academic year
PRESENTATIONS Poster, regional student surgical conference: outcomes of day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy
PRIZES AND ACTIVITIES Year prize in clinical skills; volunteer at a hospice, one evening a week
REFERENCES Available on request
The student version leads with education because there is no post yet. Keep it to one or two pages, and put the intercalated degree and any prizes where a reader sees them without turning the page.
Foundation doctor CV template
Foundation doctor (FY2): CV for a clinical fellow post (153 words)
DR DANIEL OKAFOR GMC 7654321, full registration | Manchester | 07700 900456 | d.okafor@email.co.uk
CURRENT POST Foundation Year 2, North West Foundation School
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE FY2 Emergency Medicine, Salford Royal: four month rotation, majors and resus under supervision FY2 General Practice, a practice in Stockport FY2 Paediatrics, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital FY1 General Surgery, Acute Medicine and Psychiatry, Wythenshawe Hospital
EDUCATION MBChB, University of Manchester MRCP Part 1, passed
AUDIT AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Sepsis six within one hour in the emergency department: led the audit, introduced a sepsis sticker for the triage notes, re-audited three months later and closed the loop
TEACHING Weekly bedside teaching for third year medical students; Teach the Teacher course
COURSES Advanced Life Support (Resuscitation Council UK); Paediatric Immediate Life Support
LEADERSHIP Foundation doctor representative on the trust junior doctors forum
REFERENCES Dr Sarah Lin, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, educational supervisor Dr Ravi Shah, Consultant Physician, clinical supervisor
The GMC number and registration status go in the header, not at the bottom, because medical staffing checks them before anything else. One audit with a closed loop is worth more than five you only collected data for.
When you need a medical CV and when the form replaces it
Many national training applications in the UK use an online application form, so the form, not your CV, is what gets scored at shortlisting. A medical curriculum vitae still matters in four places: trust grade and clinical fellow posts, locum agency registration, consultant and specialty doctor posts, and the interview itself, where panels often ask for a CV alongside your portfolio. Keep one master CV up to date and cut a version for each post.
The National Careers Service hospital doctor profile sets out the path every medical CV follows: a medical degree, "a foundation course of general training which takes 2 years", then "specialist training which can take between 5 to 8 years depending on the speciality". Your CV should make it obvious where on that path you are in the first three lines.
Medical CV section order
| Section | What goes in it | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Name, GMC number and registration status, phone, email | Everyone except students |
| Current post | Grade, specialty, trust, start date | Doctors |
| Education and qualifications | Medical degree, intercalated degree, postgraduate exams such as MRCP or MRCS | Everyone |
| Clinical experience | Each post in reverse order with specialty, hospital and dates | Doctors |
| Audit and quality improvement | Project, your role, the change that followed, whether you closed the loop | Foundation level and above |
| Teaching | Who you taught, how often, any teaching qualification | Everyone |
| Research and publications | Papers, posters, presentations, in standard citation form | Where you have them |
| Courses | ALS, ATLS, specialty courses, with dates | Doctors |
| Leadership and management | Rota coordination, committee roles, service projects | Core level and above |
| References | Usually your clinical and educational supervisors | Everyone |
Two rules the table cannot show. Do not add a photo, date of birth or marital status; a UK CV leaves them out. And spell out every acronym the first time unless it is one any doctor knows, because the person shortlisting a trust grade post may be in medical staffing, not medicine.
Core trainee CV template
Core trainee (CT2 surgery): CV for a registrar post or interview portfolio (144 words)
DR PRIYA RAMAN GMC 7123456, full registration | Bristol | 07700 900789 | priya.raman@email.co.uk
CURRENT POST Core Surgical Trainee Year 2, Severn Deanery
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE CT2 Trauma and Orthopaedics, Southmead Hospital CT1 General Surgery and Urology, Bristol Royal Infirmary Foundation Programme, Severn Foundation School
QUALIFICATIONS MBChB, University of Bristol; MRCS Parts A and B
OPERATIVE EXPERIENCE Logbook summary attached: appendicectomy and incision and drainage performed independently; hemiarthroplasty performed under supervision
AUDIT AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Time to theatre for hip fracture: second cycle audit led, presented at the regional orthopaedic meeting
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Raman P, Clarke J. Day case management of simple abscesses: a single centre review. Oral presentation, regional surgical meeting
TEACHING Organised the core surgical skills teaching programme for foundation doctors
COURSES ATLS; Basic Surgical Skills; Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient
REFERENCES Mr Tom Hughes, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, educational supervisor
For surgical posts, the logbook carries the operative numbers; the CV gives a summary and says the logbook is attached. Do not round up procedures you assisted with into procedures you performed.
Specialty registrar CV template
Specialty registrar (ST5 cardiology): CV for a fellowship or senior post (141 words)
DR JAMES WHITFIELD GMC 6987654, full registration | Leicester | 07700 900321 | j.whitfield@email.co.uk
CURRENT POST Specialty Registrar ST5, Cardiology and General Internal Medicine, East Midlands
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE ST3 to ST5 Cardiology, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary: coronary care, echocardiography and pacing lists Internal Medicine Training, Nottingham University Hospitals
QUALIFICATIONS MBChB, University of Birmingham; MRCP (UK); British Society of Echocardiography accreditation in progress
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Redesigned the heart failure discharge pathway with the specialist nurses; the new checklist is now trust policy
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS First author, one peer reviewed paper on atrial fibrillation in heart failure; two national conference posters Sub investigator on a multicentre heart failure trial; Good Clinical Practice certificate
TEACHING Regional teaching lead for internal medicine trainees in cardiology
LEADERSHIP Registrar rota coordinator for the cardiology department
REFERENCES Dr Helen Moss, Consultant Cardiologist, educational supervisor
At registrar level the panel wants to see a direction: a subspecialty interest, a research thread and a leadership role. List publications in a standard citation format so a reader can check them.
Consultant CV template
Consultant applicant: CV for a consultant in acute medicine post (166 words)
DR FIONA MCALLISTER GMC 6543210, on the Specialist Register for Acute Internal Medicine | Glasgow | 07700 900654 | f.mcallister@email.co.uk
CURRENT POST Specialty Registrar ST7, Acute Internal Medicine, West of Scotland; CCT expected in four months
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE ST3 to ST7 Acute Internal Medicine, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary: acute medical unit, ambulatory care and point of care ultrasound
QUALIFICATIONS MBChB, University of Aberdeen; MRCP (UK); Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT Set up a same day emergency care clinic for suspected pulmonary embolism with the nursing team; patients now go home with a plan instead of waiting overnight for a bed
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Three peer reviewed papers, one as first author; regional audit lead for acute medicine
TEACHING AND TRAINING Clinical supervisor for foundation doctors; faculty on the regional simulation course
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Trainee member of the hospital clinical governance group; NHS leadership course
REFERENCES Dr Alan Reid, Clinical Director, Acute Medicine; Dr Karen Ross, Training Programme Director
The consultant CV is where service development carries the most weight, because the post is a service job. Show what changed for patients and who you worked with to change it.
How to fill in the medical CV template
Write each clinical post as a line, not a paragraph: grade, specialty, hospital, dates. Put the detail where it is scored: one or two sentences per audit saying your role and what changed, one line per teaching role saying who and how often. The National Careers Service's general advice applies to doctors too: "use a clear font like Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri in size 11 or bigger", one style throughout, headings a reader can scan.
NHS recruitment is values based, and NHS Employers describes the approach as one that "will help you find people whose personal values match with your organisation." On a CV, values show in what you chose to do outside the rota: the teaching programme you ran, the patient leaflet you rewrote, the rota you fixed for everyone else. Put those in, briefly, with what they changed.
If you are an international medical graduate applying to the NHS, add your GMC registration status and the route to it in the header, and see our guide to visa sponsorship on a UK CV. For the letter that goes with the CV, use the medical cover letter examples, and for NHS forms the NHS supporting information example shows how to answer the person specification. Nurses have their own conventions in the nursing CV example.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a medical CV be?
A medical student or foundation doctor CV fits on two pages. A core trainee or registrar usually needs two to three, and a consultant applicant three to four, with publications in a list at the end. If it runs longer, cut detail from older posts before you cut audit, teaching or leadership.
What should a medical CV include?
Your GMC number and registration status, current post, qualifications and postgraduate exams, clinical posts in reverse order, audit and quality improvement, teaching, research and publications, courses such as ALS, leadership roles and references from your supervisors. Students replace the clinical posts with placements and lead with education.
Is a medical curriculum vitae different from a normal CV?
Yes. A normal UK CV focuses on achievements in each job, while a medical curriculum vitae is organised around the domains a medical panel scores: clinical experience, audit, teaching, research and leadership. It also carries professional details a normal CV does not, such as the GMC number and postgraduate exams.
Should I put my GMC number on my CV?
Yes, in the header next to your name, with your registration status, such as full registration or the Specialist Register. Medical staffing and locum agencies check it first. If your registration is in progress, say so and give the expected date rather than leaving it out.
Do I need a CV for foundation or specialty training applications?
Usually not at shortlisting, because many national applications use an online form instead. You will still want a current CV for the interview, for your portfolio, for clinical fellow and trust grade posts and for locum work, so keep one master version updated after every rotation.
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