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Explain the seniority, not just the job title
Titles such as Medical Officer, House Officer, Registrar and Resident are used differently across healthcare systems. Some overlap with UK terminology, although the responsibilities and training arrangements may be quite different.
Keep the job title used by your employer. Rather than assigning it an assumed NHS equivalent, show the level at which you practised, including what you managed independently and the senior support available. If the post formed part of a recognised training programme, identify the programme and your stage of training.
Example of an overseas clinical post
Fictional example. Use your own duties, dates and figures.
Medical Officer, General Medicine
Example General Hospital, Country
January 2023 to December 2024
- Worked on a 40-bed general medical ward, with overnight on-call responsibility for new admissions one night in four.
- Independently assessed admissions and initiated treatment. Management plans were reviewed on the morning consultant ward round, with consultant advice available by telephone overnight.
- Supervised two interns within the consultant-led team.
Give substantial overseas experience proper space
Some doctors devote more space to a short UK clinical attachment than to several years of substantial overseas practice.
Experience managing acute admissions, performing procedures, covering emergency rotas or running a ward with limited immediate senior support deserves proper attention. A clinical attachment can demonstrate familiarity with an NHS setting, but should be identified as an observership where that was its scope.
Include reliable figures for your clinical workload. For procedures, record how many you observed, assisted with or performed independently.
Give unfamiliar hospitals some context
A UK shortlisting panel may know little about the hospital where you trained or worked. A brief description alongside the institution’s name can help:
Example Hospital: 850-bed tertiary referral centre with a regional trauma unit.
You could also mention a relevant specialist service or the type of clinical workload.
Make your GMC registration status clear
Put your GMC registration status near the top of your CV, along with your GMC reference number if you have one. Specify whether you hold full or provisional registration and whether you have a licence to practise. If your registration application is still in progress, state its current stage.
Under qualifications, list any PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 passes with dates, alongside your medical and postgraduate qualifications.
For registration requirements, refer to the GMC’s guidance on how to register as a doctor in the UK.
Use a clear UK medical CV structure
For an IMG medical CV, a useful order for most clinical applications is:
- Contact details and GMC registration status
- Short professional profile
- Medical and postgraduate qualifications
- Clinical employment, beginning with your most recent post
- Audit and quality improvement
- Teaching, leadership and management
- Research and publications, where relevant
- Courses and continuing professional development
- References, if requested
The order is not fixed. A research fellowship may warrant greater emphasis on publications, while a clinically focused post will usually require more detail about recent practice and relevant competencies.
List your clinical posts from most recent to oldest, giving more detail to experience relevant to the vacancy.
Photographs, date of birth, marital status and religion are not normally included on UK medical CVs. Nationality is also generally unnecessary unless specifically requested.
If your employment history includes a break, our medical CV employment gap guide covers how to present it. For clinical audit and quality improvement work, see our audit and QI guide.
Match your experience to the vacancy
Check the person specification before you send your CV, especially where it asks for specific competencies, recent experience or NHS experience.
Overseas practice cannot be presented as NHS experience where a post explicitly requires it, but relevant overseas experience should not be understated either. Make the connection to the criterion explicit, whether it concerns acute medical admissions, outpatient practice, procedural competence or supervision of junior doctors.
Where the application asks for supporting information, address the person specification directly rather than repeating your employment history. A separate CV does not replace a required application form. Our NHS supporting information guide covers how to organise your evidence. For individual help with a draft, see our NHS and Trac application support.
Get your medical CV reviewed
For a detailed assessment or help editing your CV, compare our medical CV services.
Our work is limited to accurately presenting your existing qualifications and professional experience. We cannot establish eligibility for GMC registration, provide immigration advice or guarantee recruitment outcomes.
Further guidance
For official advice on NHS applications, see NHS Jobs: making successful applications.
The instructions for the individual vacancy should always take priority over general CV guidance.