CV WORKBOOK.DMW.09.30.16

CAREER EDUCATION PROGRAM
OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AND SERVICES

PREPARING A PROFESSIONAL CURRICULUM VITAE
FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL

Deana M. Wilbanks, MS, LPC, NCC
Coordinator of Career Education & Counseling

Office of Student Affairs and Services
A-112 Clinical Center/376 Secchia Center

[email protected]

WORKBOOK CONTENTS

Page Topic
3 What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?
4-5 10 Tips to Writing a Resonating CV
6 Common Errors in CV Preparation
7-9 Curriculum Vitae Headings

10-13 Basic CV Examples
14 Writing Resources

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WHAT IS A CURRICULUM VITAE?

The Curriculum Vitae is a reflection of your values and interests. A Curriculum
Vitae or “CV” is used primarily when applying for academic, education, scientific
or research positions. It is also applicable when applying for fellowships or grants.
Curriculum Vitae means “course of one’s life” and is a document used to outline
academic and research experiences. The CV may include additional information
in the areas of work experience, clinical experience, publications,
certifications/licensure and presentations/teaching. The CV should be printed on
professional watermarked conservative paper and one to two pages at length.

WHY DO I NEED ONE?

Simply, the CV is a marketing tool. The CV should resonate with your reader.
Remember, a professionally presentable CV can help distinguish the CHM medical
student from another competitive candidate applying for the same scholarship,
research position, clinical internship/externship, away elective, or eventually a
residency position.

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10 Tips to Writing a Resonating CV

1. Be concise and to the point:
Present credentials in a brief, clear and concise manner so the reader can
immediately zero in on the most important and impressive aspects of your
candidacy. (less is more)

2. State relevancy of each achievement:
State the relevance of each achievement rather than simply listing things as
they happened.

3. Use reverse chronological order:
List experiences in a reverse chronological order-from most recent to
oldest-and include dates for education and experiences. Job titles, names
of degrees, names of schools, etc. should be clear at first glance.

4. Be Honest:
Dishonesty is unprofessional and just plain unethical.

5. Use Action Words:
Use action words such as “Received, Accomplished, Won, Managed, and
Initiated” at the beginning of descriptions.

6. Guide Content Toward Position or Specialty:
If it is not relevant information to support candidacy, toss it!

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7. Show yourself as “Well Rounded”:
Be sure to highlight achievement and experiences reflecting you as a well-
rounded candidate (Volunteering, ability to work with diverse populations
of people, leadership, international, clinical, research experiences, etc.).

8. Format & Structure:
Use the same font consistently throughout your CV (Times New
Roman/Calibri); avoid underlining and italicizing alot, use bold headings
instead; font size should be 14 for name and 12 for text; don’t forget to
justify the format of the text (see sample CV).

9. GPA and Awards:
It is not necessary to include your GPA or Academic Standing in your CV
unless you are submitting the CV for a strong letter of recommendation.
This information can be represented as accolades, “Valedictorian”. Awards
should be listed under Honors.

10.CV Length:
The CV is generally presented as 1 to 2 pages at length; can be longer if you
have extensive professional or academic achievements. Your CV may be
longer if you’ve had previous professional work experiences prior to coming
into medical school.

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Common Errors in CV Preparation

Résumé – it is not.
Do not put a statement such as “desire a position as a fast-paced EM
resident” or ANY mission statement or statement of intent in your
document.
“Dr. Dr.”:
it is never “Dr. John Smith, MD”, but should read “John Smith, MD”. Also,
name followed by academic degree(s) should supersede leading with “Dr.”
or “Professor” alone.
Periods:
The only place for periods is at the end of a complete sentence or following
an annotated reference. Do not use at the end of items in a list.
Too much info:
Other than listing information, it is okay to give brief descriptions of things.
However, full paragraphs are never needed (nor read) in CVs. You will have
more room for descriptions in your ERAS application.
Typos:
Not much to say here again, except don’t have any. You have a long time
to prepare this document.
Letting go of the past:
At some point, you must lose things from your past not belonging on a CV.
Awards from high school, summer jobs, etc., probably need to go away.

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Curriculum Vitae Headings

(You can choose from a variety of headings & combine similar categories)
Heading

• Include first and last name, street address, home telephone number, email
address, NRMP# (in year 4)

• Consider using a bold and larger font for first and last name

Education
• List most recent first
• List year(s) of attendance
• Degree Earned
• University Name/College of Medicine
• City, State

Honors
• Year
• Awards, scholarships (brief description of award if not obvious)
• Clerkship honors
• Graduation honors (ex. Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude)
• Awards from previous degrees if relevant

Licensure/Certifications
• United States Medical Licensing Exam, Step I
Month, Year-Three Digit score and percentile
• United States Medical Licensing Exam, Step II CK
Month, Year-Three Digit score and percentile (or Pending)

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• United States Medical Licensing Exam, Step II CS
Month, Year-Three Digit score and percentile (or Pending)

• Type of Certification, Level of Mastery, Name of Institution, City, State

Research/Electives
(Research)

• Year
• List any research activities (independent or assisted)
• Include role (ex. Primary Investigator, Assistant)
• List title of research project and institution where conducted (department,

hospital name, city, state)
• Brief description of duties (no longer than one sentence)
(Electives)
• Year, Elective, Hospital Name, City, State
Publications
• Abstracts, articles, papers published or process of being published
• Use bibliographic reference style
• Do not list publications not accepted

Presentations
• Year
• Poster, research, professional presentations (conferences, symposiums,
etc.)
• City and state of presentation

Work Experience
• Year
• Position title, name of employer or academic setting
• Be sure to list all major or medically related work experiences whether paid
or volunteer

Extracurricular and Community Activities
• Year
• List organizations, committee work, community service projects, etc.
• Identify role (ex. Coordinator, Assistant, Chairperson Volunteer, etc.)

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Memberships and Affiliations
• Year joined
• List professional organizations of membership
• List any leadership positions (President, Vice President, Coordinator, Asst.
etc.)

Related Skills
• List any additional skills (ex. Fluency of a foreign language, computer skills,
etc.)

Interests and Hobbies
• Ex. Music, Art, Sports, Photography, Travel etc.

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JORDAN D. SMITH

1234 Ada Creek Drive
East Lansing, MI 48824-1317

(555) 123-4567
[email protected]

EDUCATION
M.D., Expected June 2017
Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine
East Lansing, MI 48824-1317
M.P.H., June 2013
Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
Atlanta, GA 30322
B.S. Microbiology, June 2011
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85701

HONORS and AWARDS
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, 2017
Junior Surgery, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine Clerkship Honors, 2016
Rural Health of Michigan Scholarship Award, 2013
Alpha Epsilon Phi National Premedical Honor Society, 2011

RESEARCH
Research Assistant
Michigan State University Department of Ophthalmology and Neurology, 2015-Present
Principal Investigator: A.V. Jones M.D.
Investigated how Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR1) and -2 (ESR2) regulate the severity of
clinical experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in male mice
Graduate Research Assistant
Emory University Department of Microbiology, 2009-2011
Principal Investigator: Beverly McKenzie, Ph.D.
Determined negative effects of sucralose on growth of streptococcus in the presence of
fructose or phenylalanine in primates

PUBLICATIONS
Jones, A.V., Smith, J.D. “Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR1) and -2 (ESR2) Regulate the Severity of
Clinical Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis in Male Mice”, American Journal of Neurology.
Vol. 78 (5) Pgs. 3-7, April 2016.

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Smith, J.D.
[email protected]

McKenzie, B., Smith, J.D. “Effects of Sucralose on Growth of Streptococcus in the Presence of
Fructose or Phenylalanine”, Microbiology Today.Vol.1 (2) Pgs. 34-35, May 2011.

PRESENTATIONS
Smith, J.D. Genetic and Sex Steroid Hormone Contributions to Experimental Allergic
Encephalomyelitis, University of Indiana College of Medicine Research Symposium, February
14, 2017 [Oral Presentation].

WORK EXPERIENCE
Teaching Assistant, 2012-2013
Emory University Microbiology Department
Supervisor: Beverly McKenzie, Ph.D.
Provided undergraduate student instruction and assisted in microbiology curriculum
development

LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES
President, 2014-Present
Medical Students for Human Rights Society (MSHRS)
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI
Initiated and organized annual campus toy donation and food drive for underprivileged
children and families in East Lansing community; raised $5,000 in funds.

Volunteer, 2014-2016
Sparrow Hospital, East Lansing, MI
Tutored hospitalized children in the Pediatric Wing biweekly (Saturdays)

Volunteer, Summer 2015
Project (HOPE) Health Opportunity for People Everywhere
Assisted in constructing a medical clinic for underserved in Ecuador for 8 weeks

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
Medical Students for Human Rights (MSHRS), 2014-Present
Member of American Medical Student Society, 2014-Present

RELATED SKILLS
Fluency in speaking, writing the Spanish language; Website design/graphics

INTERESTS
Guitar, classical piano, photography, traveling abroad

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Jordan D. Smith
1234 Ada Creek Drive
Grand Rapids, MI 48824-1317

(555) 555-5555
[email protected]

Education M.D., Expected 2017
2013-Present Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing,
Michigan

2011-2013 Masters of Public Health
Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia

2008-2011 Bachelor of Science in Microbiology
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Honors Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
2017 Junior Surgery, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Family Medicine Clerkship
2016 Rural health of Michigan Scholarship Award
Honors Alpha Epsilon Phi National Premedical Honor Society
2013
2011

Research Research Assistant
2015-Present Michigan State University Department of Ophthalmology and Neurology
Primary Investigator: A.V. Jones, M.D.
Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR1) and -2 (ESR2) regulate the severity of
clinical experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in male mice

2009-2011 Graduate Research Assistant
Emory University, Department of Microbiology
Primary Investigator: Beverly McKenzie, Ph.D.
Determined negative effects of sucralose on growth of streptococcus in
the presence of fructose or phenylalanine in primates

Publications
Jones, A.V., Smith, J.D. “Genetic and Sex Steroid Hormone Contributions to Experimental
Allergic Encephalomyelitis”, American Journal of Pathology. Vol.78 (5) Pgs. 3-7, April 2016.

Smith, J.D. “Effects of Sucralose on Growth of Streptococcus in the Presence of Fructose or
Phenylalanine”, Microbiology Today Vol. 1 (2) Pgs. 34-35, May 2011.

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Smith, J.D.
[email protected]
Presentations
Smith, J.D. Genetic and Sex Steroid Hormone Contributions to Experimental Allergic
Encephalomyelitis, University of Indiana College of Medicine Research Symposium, February
14, 2017 [Oral Presentation].

Work Experience Teaching Assistant
2012-2013 Emory University, Microbiology Department
Supervisor: Beverly McKenzie, Ph.D.
Provided undergraduate student instruction and assisted in microbiology
curriculum development

Leadership and Community Advocacy Activities
2014-Present President
Medical Students for Human Rights Society (MSHRS)
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Initiated and organized annual campus toy donation and food drive for
underprivileged children and families in East Lansing community

2014-2016 Volunteer
Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI
Tutored hospitalized children in the pediatric wing biweekly (Saturdays)

Summer 2015 Volunteer
Project (HOPE) Health Opportunity for People Everywhere
Assisted in constructing a medical clinic for underserved in Ecuador for 8
weeks

Memberships and Affiliations
2014-Present Medical Students for Human Rights Society (MSHRS)
2013-Present Member of American Medical Student Society

Related Skills Fluency in speaking, writing the Spanish language; Website
design/graphics

Interests Guitar, classical piano, photography, traveling abroad

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WRITING RESOURCES
PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB (OWL)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/641/1/
The Elements of Style: Updated and Annotated for Present-Day Use 2nd Edition
Mr. Stanford K. Pritchard (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Updated-Annotated-Present-
Day/dp/1469955903/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=14NTTCENZ
3XP1AMQ0QBN
AAMC Careers in Medicine Website CV examples
https://www.aamc.org/cim/
AAMC: Preparing your CV (with template)
https://students-residents.aamc.org/training-residency-
fellowship/article/preparing-your-curriculum-vitae/

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