Medical Consultant CV example

As a consultant, you’re the person others turn to when things get complicated. Your advice carries weight and your leadership helps whole departments run smoothly. But to land the next post, you need a CV that conveys all of that in a couple of concise pages.

This guide takes you step-by-step through writing a CV that reflects your clinical expertise and the value you bring to healthcare delivery.

In a consultant post, structure is everything – from multidisciplinary meetings to treatment protocols. And your CV should reflect that same clarity and organisation. Recruiters and trust boards need to quickly understand your experience and suitability without hunting through dense, disorganised information and avoidable formatting mistakes.

Here’s the layout to follow:

• Name and contact details – Place your personal details at the top so employers can get in touch easily.
• Profile – Kick things off with a concise overview of what makes you the ideal candidate for the job.
• Core skills – Briefly highlight those qualities which make you the best candidate.
• Work experience – List your previous roles in reverse chronological order, with your most recent first.
• Education – Go through the academic history which underpins your expertise.
• Additional info – This optional section can include professional memberships, awards, or hobbies that showcase your suitability for the role.
  

Use a clear and formal layout with professional font choices, and keep things to a maximum length of two pages. Use bullet points to break down text, and make sure each section is easy to navigate with bold headings. Prioritise readability – think more peer-reviewed journal than conference flyer. Strong formating won’t win you the role alone, but it’ll ensure your experience actually gets read.

Your CV profile should deliver a snapshot of your consultant-level experience, your specialist field, and the clinical and leadership value you bring. This section should position you as a senior clinician who can balance expert care with operational insight and system improvement.

It’s about framing your expertise in a way that matters to a hiring trust or private hospital, and earning attention from recruiters in just a few sentences.

Include the following:

• Where you worked – Briefly describe the hospitals, trusts, or private organisations you’ve consulted for, including any notable specialisms.
• Your top qualifications – Include your medical degree and any postgraduate or fellowship-level training.
• Essential skills – Focus on leadership, complex decision-making, patient safety, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Team structure or leadership – Explain whether you supervised junior doctors, led MDTs, or managed service delivery.
• Value delivered – Describe your clinical outcomes, improvements to pathways, or contributions to teaching, research, or governance.
  

This section gives employers a quick visual overview of the expertise you bring – a useful checkpoint before they dive deeper into your experience. Make sure it reflects the specific role you’re applying for, especially if you’re switching specialties or stepping into a more strategic post.

Focus on technical strengths and areas of responsibility that align directly with the job description. This isn’t the place for soft buzzwords – prioritise concrete, role-relevant skills for your CV and capabilities that demonstrate you’re ready to contribute at consultant level.

This is the section that proves you’re ready for – or have already excelled in – a consultant post. It should reflect both your clinical accomplishments and your leadership role in the wider system of care. List roles in reverse order, starting with your current or most recent. 

For each part of your work experience, begin with a brief overview of the trust, department, or hospital, and the focus of your position. Then use bullet points to outline your daily responsibilities and achievements, from service improvements to research or QI contributions.

• Outline – Summarise the role, the setting (e.g. district general hospital, tertiary referral centre), and your specialist responsibilities.
• Responsibilities – Use action words like “led” and “developed.” For example: “led weekly MDT meetings for complex oncology cases” or “developed clinical guidelines to reduce inpatient sepsis rates.”
• Achievements – Quantify your impact. This could include reduced readmission rates, audit results, published research, teaching outcomes, or system-wide changes you helped implement.

Consultant roles require years of training. However, there’s no need to list every placement or course. Focus on the qualifications that underpin your clinical authority, in reverse chronological order.

Include your medical degree, your postgraduate training pathway (e.g. MRCP, FRCA, FRCEM), and any higher education or diplomas in leadership or management. Briefly mention relevant academic achievements or distinctions, especially if they support your specialism or future direction.