Medical Resume—Templates and 25+ Writing Tips [+Objective]

This medical resume sample works like an ACE bandage.

That’s good, because even though medical jobs are growing fast, the flood of new applicants vying for those jobs is growing even faster.

So your medical field resume has to stand out like Edward Jenner to get noticed.

In this guide:

• A medical resume sample better than most.
• How to write a successful medical resume.
• How to customize your medical job description to the job you’re after.
• Why you can’t just list medical skills (and what to do instead).

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Do you need a certain type of medical field resume? See our guides:

• Medical Assistant Resume Examples
• Medical School Resume Examples
• Medical Billing Resume Examples
• Doctor Resume Examples
• EMT Resume Examples
• Certified Nurse Assistant Resume Examples
• Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Examples
• Nursing Resume Examples
• Occupational Therapy Resume Examples
• LPN Resume Examples
• ER Nurse Resume Examples
• Nursing Student Resume Examples
• Home Health Aide Resume Examples
• Patient Care Technician Resume Examples
• Phlebotomist Resume Examples
• Pharmacy Assistant Resume Examples
• Chemistry Resume Example
• Science Resume Examples
• Science Research Resume Examples
• Healthcare Resume Examples
• Physician Assistant Resume Examples
• Vet Resume Examples
• Nurse Manager Resume Examples

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our Resume Samples.

Medical Resume Sample You Can Copy and Use

Here’s how to write a medical resume that restarts your career:

1. Choose the Best Medical Resume Format

How to start a resume? With a medical resume format that will get you hired.

That’s an easy one.

The reverse-chronological resume format works best.

It lists your most Lasker-level achievements at the top.

Use these resume format tips to perfect it:

Medical Resume Format

• Create a single–page resume for medical jobs with 1-inch resume margins.
• Pick a respected resume font like 11–14pt Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid an overstuffed look by adding white space.
• What to put on a resume? Write resume sections for Heading, Summary, Experience, Education, and Skills.

Expert Hint: Do brag. If you have lots of relevant medical experience under your belt, go for a two-page resume.

2. Write a Medical Resume Objective or Summary

Pulse check:

Most medical professional resumes get skimmed, then binned.

To give yourself a fighting chance—

Make sure the parts they skim grab them like an EpiPen.

Do it with a resume profile. It comes in three forms: a resume objective (for entry-level candidates) and a resume summary or a summary of qualifications (for seniors). Regardless of how much work experience you have, use this simple formula.

Include:

1. An adjective (certified, energetic)
2. The job title from the online listing (RN, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, CNA...)
3. Years of experience (1+, 9+)
4. What you’ll do and who for (deliver expert-level care at PPMC)
5. Best resume accomplishments(saved $120K through...)

See these medical resume examples:

Medical Resume Summary—Example

Certified Medical Assistant with 6+ years of experience providing excellent administrative support in hospital and clinic settings. Seeking to deliver expert-level care at PPMC. At Shawna Taylor Medical Center, saved $120K through attention to detail.

Licensed RN with 8+ years of experience providing excellent patient care in busy hospital. Seeking to deliver high-level patient education, wound-dressing, and other health care at PVMC. Slashed RN turnover by 22% at Saint Egregious through improved communication. Helped increase nursing portions of HCAHPS patient scores 25% through revamped patient education.

Skilled nurse practitioner with 4+ years of NP experience and 5 years of medical experience. Seeking to elevate the standard of care at Chalinsky Medical. At ARMC, mentored 8 nurse practitioners and 15 nurses to raise patient exit scores 18% in 14 months.

Ready for discharge.

But why do they work?

Because they mention the job and facility by name, then show a track record of medical excellence.

See those percents and other numbers? They’re proof positive you can do the job.

Do that in your medical professional resume, and you’ll get noticed like Charles Richard Drew.

Not quite that kind of medical superhero yet?

You can still make a full recovery. See these entry-level medical resume samples:

Entry-Level Medical Resume Objective

Efficient medical office assistant with associate degree and 1 year of volunteering experience. Skilled in office administration and billing. Received high marks in customer service and patient education classes at Keiser University. Seeking to use my skills to improve patient care at CRMC.

Licensed CNA (GPA 3.8) eager to use skills in patient advocacy and mobility to enhance assisted living care at Hart Glade Retirement Home. As intern in elderly care setting, commended by supervisors for work ethic and attention to detail. Certified in basic life support.

See why those work?

They’re both entry-level medical resume examples. But they show real medical skills.

Expert Hint: Create your medical field resume objective last. It’s much easier to pull together all the moving parts of your career when you’ve already done the legwork of writing your other sections.

3. Fine Tune Your Medical Resume Job Description and Skills

What skills should you put in a medical resume?

Use these sample skills to put on a resume:

Medical Resume Skills

Medical Skills for Nurses

• Wound dressing
• Patient education
• Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• Budgeting
• Record keeping
• Phlebotomy
• Recording vital signs
• Medicine administration
• Discharge planning
• Creating plan of care

Medical Resume Skills

• EHR
• Patient assessment
• Phlebotomy
• ICD 10 codes
• Recording medical histories
• Inventory and supplies
• Clinical research
• Taking vital signs
• Patient education
• Billing

Medical Skills for Nurse Practitioners

• Consultation
• Ordering tests
• Differential diagnosis
• Interpreting test results
• Patient evaluation
• Monitoring ongoing patient conditions
• Discharge & admissions
• Developing policy
• Prescribing and administering medication
• Patient education

Medical Skills for CNAs

• Gloving & gowning
• Patient mobility
• First aid
• Foot care of chair bound residents
• Assisting with toileting
• Patient care
• Changing linens
• Dressing residents
• Recording vital signs
• Mouth care

Transferable Medical Resume Skills

• Customer service
• Time management
• Problem solving
• Interpersonal skills
• Foreign languages
• Communication
• Stress management
• Teamwork
• Compassion
• Multitasking
• Computer skills

That’s a lot!

Which ones should you put in your medical professional resume?

That’s easy.

Write a customized resume by tracking down resume keywords in the medical job ad.

These medical resume samples show how:

The job wants skills in pre-certifying patients, cleaning and stocking examination rooms, HIPAA compliance, and medical equipment inspection.

Medical Job Description for a Resume [Sample]

Experience

Medical Assistant

Shawna Taylor Medical Center, Sugarland, Texas

2016–2020

• Provided expert medical assistance in busy hospital, including documentation, filing, patient care, education, and vital sign collection.

• Pre-certified 25% more patients than average for health care through insurance providers facilitating 15% revenue increase.
• Cleaned and stocked examination rooms for use by staff.
• Sent and received patient records as needed, maintaining 100% HIPAA compliance at all times.
• Assisted with the maintenance, calibration, and inspection of medical equipment according to daily checklist.

Key Achievement:

• Saved the hospital an estimated $120,000 by spotting four serious malfunctions in medical equipment during inspections.

Here’s another medical resume example. It’s for a job that needs skills in leadership, infection control, HIPAA compliance, and scheduling.

March 2016–July 2019

Joyce Allen Hospital, Katonah, New York

Certified Nursing Assistant

• Led team of 4+ CNAs when RN manager was absent.
• Managed other CNA staff to improve infection control and understanding of infectious disorders and best practices for care.
• Maintained patient privacy and HIPAA compliance by non-medical employees.
• Educated patients and patient families about conditions and care.
• Facilitated creation of new scheduling system that slashed errors in medicine administration and increased patient comfort scores.

Key achievement:

• Implemented new medicine administration controls that cut risk of incorrect medicine delivery by 95%.

Well done.

Both of those medical resume examples will get the interview.

They stitch your work history to the new job, skill by skill.

But what about an entry-level resume for medical jobs?

See these entry-level medical field resume examples.

The first one is for a medical job that wants data entry, communicating with insurance vendors, and inventory management.

Entry-Level Medical Resume Job Description [Sample]

Medical Office Assistant

MedFast Network, Pearland, Texas

2014–2016

• Worked as office assistant in high-volume medical clinic. Performed patient intake and documentation and assisted nurses and doctors.

• Welcomed and processed patients on arrival to clinic. Processed and performed data entry on applicable forms with 99.9% accuracy.
• Transmitted patient forms to insurance vendors. Achieved reimbursements 10% faster than clinic average.
• Maintained supplies inventory and restocked examination rooms. Worked with vendors to achieve 17% savings on medical supplies.

Now here’s an entry-level medical resume example for a nurse practitioner.

The applicant has only worked as a nurse. The NP job he wants needs skills in charting and treatment plan creation.

Nurse

Amesbury Medical Center, Indiana

2015–2020

• Increased daily number of patients seen by 17% with improved charting process.
• Collaborated with attending physicians to create treatment plans.

Perfect.

Both of those entry-level medical resume samples use high-level medical skills from low-level experience.

Do that for a Cedars-Sinai-level medical field resume.

Expert Hint: In the next 10 years, there will be 1.9 million new medical jobs, according to research by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Which ones get the most pay for the least schooling? Dental hygienists and nuclear medicine technologists make $74,000+ with an associate’s degree.

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4. Revitalize Your Education Section

Not sure how to list education in a medical professional resume?

There’s a trick to it.

Tell them your school name and degree title. But—

Improve the education section of your resume by adding medical skills proof.

See these medical resume samples:

Medical Resume Example—Education

Education

Sugarland High School

2014

• Recognized by teachers for work ethic.

Education

Master of Science, Nursing

University of Indiana

2015–2017

• Pursued a passion for healthcare planning and leadership.
• Conducted master’s project in patient consultation.

Bachelor of Science, Nursing

University of Nebraska, 2015

Notice anything?

In a medical resume, more recent education needs more details such as relevant coursework. Older education doesn’t matter as much, so clip it short.

5. Add More to Your Medical Resume

There are about 346,000 new medical jobs each year.

Healthcare is growing faster than any other industry.

But there are 200,000 new nurses a year. 4,000 nurse practitioners. 90,000 medical assistants. 300,000 CNAs.

Get the picture?

There are lots  of new medical jobs. But there are more new medical job applicants.

You need to hustle to get hired.

To give your medical job resume a fighting chance, add bonus material.

Select from:

• Certifications (RN, NP, CMA, CPhT, etc.)
• Associations (AACN, ANA, AANP, etc.)
• Freelance work
• Volunteer work
• Awards & honors
• Conferences & speaking appearances
• Publications
• Foreign languages
• Additional activities
• Hobbies
• Sports & fitness

See these medical resume examples:

Medical Resume—Other Sections

Certifications

• Certified Medical Assistant, AAMA 
• Basic Life Support, American Red Cross

Additional Activities 

• Freelance typist.
• Volunteer 2x per month for Habitat for Humanity.
• Ride bike 70+ miles per week as self-care.

Conferences

• 2018 - Pharmacy Assistant National Conference, Spoke on panel about contraindications.
• 2017 - Pharmacy Technician Stakeholder Consensus Conference.

Additional Activities 

• Member, NPTA.
• Mentor 5 pharmacy assistants in best practices.

Heads up:

Those medical resume samples have Virginia-Apgar-worthy details. They’ll stand out in a good way to the hiring team.

Expert Hint: Learn how to write a cover letter for your medical field resume. Make them see your love of healthcare. But also, show your top 2–3 medical achievements that’ll make them notice you.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

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Key Points

Here’s how to write a medical resume:

• Start with a good medical resume template. Flesh it out with your best medical skills and accomplishments.
• Add medical skills like patient assessment or filing. Put some numbers in to show their magnitude.
• Write a medical resume objective with a mix of your best health care wins.
• Add extra material like a CPhT certification or conferences you’ve spoken at.
• Write a good cover letter. Get some inspiration from our physician cover letter sample. 

Got questions on how to write good resumes for medical jobs? Wondering how to put medical experience on a resume? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!

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