Curriculum Vitae Creation for Premeds and Medical Students

Happy New Year! As 2022 begins, it is a good time to ensure that you have a comprehensive (yet concise), professional Curriculum Vitae (CV) template created that is also consistently updated. Your CV, a document that presents you as a health care professional to others in the medical community, should include your accomplishments and also be aesthetically pleasing to the reader. Although you may be in different stages of training (premedical or medical), it is important to always have an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV) ready to go as opportunities arise! Curriculum Vitae translates to "course of life". A CV is distinct from a resume as it is not limited in length (average CVs are at least 2-3 pages long) and is credential-based with a focus on education, certifications and licensure, research, professional memberships and more.

By keeping track of your activities and accomplishments as they are occurring (or are completed), you will save time when you ultimately are applying to residency and also develop the habit of doing so in your future career as a physician. A CV is also important for the purposes of applying for different scholarships/awards and also to provide to letter writers as you request letters of recommendation.

CV Categories include the following and, with the exception of Education which is always first, can be slightly modified in order based upon individual strengths and the relevant application opportunity focus:

• Personal identifying information

• Education

• Work Experience/Employment

• Leadership Experience

• Teaching Experience

• Volunteer Experience

• Research Experience

• Publications

• Oral Presentations

• Poster Presentation

• Honors/Awards/Scholarships

• Professional Memberships

• Conferences

• Certifications/Licensure

• Languages

• Hobbies/Interests/Skills

Helpful links for CV creation are available at the links below NIH Guide to Writing a CV NIH Comprehensive Guide to Writing a CV ACP Guide to Writing a CV

AAMC Careers in Medicine

Enjoy the process of fine-tuning your CV - it is an integral part of how you present yourself professionally!

For additional personalized guidance with creating your CV (helpful resources, structured template, content review), please visit https://www.medstudentcoach.com I look forward to meeting with you!