What should go in my medical CV?

CV stands for “curriculum vitae,” meaning “course of life.” It traces your working life and captures everything that you do, learn, and achieve. Your CV will have many uses: for selling yourself when applying for jobs or training, as a summary of contents for your portfolio, and as a way of introducing yourself when networking. Your CV can be used as a place to capture all the experiences and achievements you are gaining at medical school. A list of sources of information would be too long to include here, but the BMA library has several books on the subject and Health Education England has a useful section on preparing your CV on its website (www.healthcareers.nhs.uk).

If you are writing your CV for the first time, start by setting out basic information: your personal details; current medical degree; qualifications from school and courses attended with grades and dates; and jobs that