In this blog, you will learn what the purpose of a medical school resume is, what to include in your resume, and how to create a perfect resume to make your medical school application stand out. Finally, you will get to read an outstanding example of a medical school resume!
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What is a Medical School Resume?
A medical school resume is a concise summary of your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, research experience, and work history, tailored to highlight your qualifications and potential as a candidate for medical school. It serves to present a comprehensive snapshot of your personal and professional development relevant to pursuing a career in medicine.
And although it's not required by many of the medical programs in the US and Canada, a well-crafted medical school resume can be a great way to demonstrate your accomplishments and stand out from the crowd by showcasing your relevant experiences. It’s always recommended that you check our each of your prospective school’s application timeline and medical school requirements prior to starting your medical school resume.
If the thought of preparing a medical school resume strikes you as daunting, don’t worry, you’re not alone! Working with an academic advisor with years of experience helping students craft stellar application materials may be worth considering. Take it from our former student, Lily:
“I met with Dr. John Atytalla today and he was phenomenal at going over my activities and experiences resume. We talked about what I had written so far, as well as how to best showcase my strengths as an applicant. Coming into the session, I felt nervous and overwhelmed by the process, but he assuaged my fears and made the whole process seem so much more manageable. “ – Lily, Former BeMo Student
How to Make Your Medical School Resume Stand Out
Because medical school resumes aren’t always a mandatory application component, many students often wonder if admissions committees review each resume they receive; and the answer is, probably not. There are thousands.
However, most admissions committees will scan your resume, looking for something that may catch their attention, while taking a closer look at your medical school personal statement, AMCAS Work and Activities, and other application components.
Some schools may even use automated systems to sort through the resumes, searching for certain keywords within the text that will pre-qualify the curriculum vitae or resume for further review.
That means you must be very strategic in the keywords you use for subheadings and titles, knowing exactly what is expected of you.
Here are a few examples of keywords to include in your medical school resume:
- Leadership
- Creativity
- Community Service
- Motivation
- Experience
- Internships
- Science
- Teaching
Content of Your Medical School Resume
Some sections of your resume are not ‘must haves’ whereas others are extremely vital.
No matter how confident you are in your final copy, we strongly recommend that you have an expert, or at the very least, someone with experience, review your medical school resume. If you need assistance, BeMo is happy to help you, just like we’ve helped thousands of others:
“The review of my resume was very detailed with lots of helpful suggestion. Despite having many corrections, it only encouraged me to try again and do more. I definitely recommend that you have a Bemo expert take a look at your resume before submitting.” – Mo, Former BeMo Student.
Now, let’s look at the information you must include in your medical school resume and how to organize it in different sections.
Formatting Your Medical School Resume
Here are some tips for formatting your medical school resume:
Finally, save your resume as a PDF to ensure readability and that the format won’t change when opened in a different computer.
Medical School Resume Sample and Template
The following sample demonstrates which sections and types of experiences you may include in your own resume. Pay close attention to actionable verbs and keywords used by the writer.
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Download our Medical School Resume Template and fill out the sections with the corresponding information to build your own.
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Sample Medical School Resume
JOHNNY JOHNSON
1111 Boul Rene-Levesque, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 0B8
(514) 8905-5760 | [email protected]
EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: HONORS BIOLOGY 2010 - 2014
McGill University, Montreal, QC
GPA: 3.95/4.0; Dean’s Honor List Sciences Graduate
WORK AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER May 2012 - Aug 2014
Vogel Lab-McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- Honors research project investigating the dynamic localization of Kar9 on the mitotic spindle
- Undergraduate research looking at Kar9 as a reporter of spindle assembly
- Awarded three consecutive Summer research grants to study the Spindle Pole Bodies role in influencing microtubule behavior project through long range signaling
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT Oct 2011 - Apr 2012
Vogel Lab-McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- Assisted graduate students with carrying wet-lab work including protein purification and strain preparation
- Trained on the confocal microscope and gained experience coding with MATLAB
CLINICAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT Jun 2011 - Aug 2011
Department of Psychiatry-McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- Conducted medical chart reviews and data mining
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- Poster Presentation: Johnson, J. (2015, Aug 28) Age dependent symmetry breaking of Kar9. Poster session presented at the 5th Annual Symposium of the Cellular Dynamics of Macromolecular Complexes Program, Montreal, Canada.
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
SOCCER COACH Sep 2016 - May 2017
McGill Intramurals, Montreal, Quebec
- Founded, organized, and coached the McGill Biology Student Union’s soccer team (Socceromyces) for 2 years
- Organized and coached the McGill Medicine intramural soccer team during the first year of medical school
HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER October 2014 - May 2016
McGill University Health Center- Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec
- Friendly visitor in the dialysis unit and orthopedics unit
- Emergency room volunteer: portered patients to and from imaging and prepared stretchers
ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
First Class Honors in Biology 2014
- Awarded to students graduating with a GPA of 3.75 or higher and having successfully completed the Honors program.
Dean’s Honors List Graduate – Bachelor of Science (Graduating Student) 2014
- This distinction is conferred upon no more than the top 10% of graduating students in each faculty based on cGPA
Science Undergraduate Research Award May 2014 - Aug 2014
- Awarded for 16 weeks of full-time research and development activity under the supervision of a McGill science professor.
NSERC Cellular Dynamics of Macromolecular Complexes Undergraduate Fellowship May 2013 - Aug 2013
- NSERC CDMC Undergraduate Research Fellowship was part of the NSERC CREATE program.
NSERC Cellular Dynamics of Macromolecular Complexes Undergraduate Fellowship May 2012 - Aug 2012
- NSERC CDMC Undergraduate Research Fellowship was part of the NSERC CREATE program.
Advisory Board Scholarship in Science 2012
- Awarded by the Faculty of Science Scholarships on the basis of high academic standing.
Dean’s Honors List Graduate – Bachelor of Science (Continuing Student) 2012
- This distinction is conferred upon no more than the top 10% of students. Continuing students are named to the list based on the combined GPAs for the Fall and Winter terms.
NON-ACADEMIC AWARDS
McGill Science Undergraduate Society’s (SUS) award for best new initiative of the year 2014
- Non-monetary award presented at the SUS appreciation night to recognize the best new initiative among the different science departments for that year
McGill Science Undergraduate Society’s (SUS) award for best event of the year 2013
- Non-monetary award presented at the SUS appreciation night to recognize the best event among the different science departments for that year
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT May 2013 - August 2014
The McGill Biology Student Union, Montreal, Quebec
- Represented the undergraduate biology student body during the departmental general council meetings
- Coordinated and supervised the affairs of the McGill Biology Student Union
- Managed a budget of $40,000
- Implemented a locker and study space renewal initiative; awarded the Science Society’s best new initiative award
VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Sept 2011 - April 2012
The McGill Biology Student Union, Montreal, Quebec
- Organized information sessions and networking events
- Organized the biology note taking club
- Organized the department’s first career symposium; awarded the Science Society’s best event of the year
ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
- Self-Sustainability – Including wood working and gardening, mainly using a homemade hydroponic system to maximize produce yield
- Soccer – Multiple seasons organizing, coaching, and playing for university intramural soccer teams
LANGUAGES
- English and Arabic (Fluent written and spoken)
- French (Advanced intermediate written and spoken)
Want a quick recap? Check out our video:
FAQs
1. Is the medical school resume always required for admission?
No. Not all medical schools require a resume as part of the application documents. However, a well-crafted medical school resume can be a great way to demonstrate your uniqueness and stand out from the crowd, showcasing your relevant experiences.
2. If it’s not a required medical school application component, can I still submit the medical school resume?
If your school of choice does not require a medical school resume, you can simply submit your biographical information, educational background, and work experience through the application system you’re using.
3. What do medical school admissions committees look for in a resume?
First, they are looking for your educational background to see that you will be able to handle the medical school coursework. This can be demonstrated with your academic record, GPA, and MCAT score.
They also want to see all the relevant professional, clinical, and research experiences, including jobs, volunteer work, internships, and community involvement.
4. What should I include in my resume?
There are some must-have sections like your contact info, education, and experiences that you can't leave out. Other optional sections include a professional objective, skills and interests, teaching experience, research groups and publications. Do not include a cover letter. For your medical school application, you already have a personal statement and other essays that would replace the cover letter used for job applications.
5. What information should I add to the education section?
You should at least include the following:
- The degree earned
- Major/minor
- School name and location
- Graduation year
- GPA
- Awards
- Honors
- Achievements
6. What if I have a low GPA?
If your science and cumulative GPA are lower than the medical school GPA requirements of your chosen schools, it will be difficult to convince the admissions committees that you are a strong candidate. However, there are a few things you can do to get into medical school with a low GPA.
7. If one of my resume sections is weaker than others, does that hurt my chances of acceptance?
It’s impossible to have experiences in every section of the medical school resume. However, there are some activities you should prioritize if you want to attend medical school. Try to have some quality clinical and shadowing experiences, because they signal that you know what it takes to be a physician.
If you’re applying to programs that value medical research, make sure to gain some quality research experience before you apply. Additionally, demonstrate your versatility and interests outside of academia – this will help admissions committees understand your personality and character.
8. How important is a medical school resume? Do I really need to write one?
If your schools of choice require a medical school resume as part of the application, you must submit one. If not, you can choose to forgo this application component. A resume can really help you organize your timeline and show progress – something medical schools truly value.
9. Should I bring a copy of my resume to the medical school interview if I am invited?
Yes. It is a good idea to have this document with you during the interview.
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1 Comments
Cherry Htun
I had gained a bachelor of engineering (Naval Architecture) in 2019. But now I'd like to pursue medicine. Could you please guide me to make a perfect CV to get admission in medical university being as an engineer.
Reply