Most doctors write a CV that is essentially a list of posts, examinations, and achievements in roughly chronological order. The problem is that UK specialty training (ST) and foundation programme applications on ORIEL are not scored by reading the CV — they are scored against a Person Specification that has defined scoring criteria for each domain. A doctor with a genuinely strong portfolio who does not map their evidence to the Person Specification domains scores systematically lower than a doctor with a weaker portfolio who does. In US residency applications via ERAS, the equivalent error is writing a work experience section that describes clinical duties rather than demonstrating clinical judgment, independence, and progression. The solution is not more achievements — it is presenting existing achievements in the format that the scoring system actually rewards.

What Doctor Applications and ATS Systems Require in 2026

Doctor applications are filtered in two stages: the ATS or digital portal that parses the submitted application (ORIEL, ERAS, NHS Jobs, Trac.jobs) against structured criteria, and the shortlisting panel that scores the application against a Person Specification or selection criteria framework. Both stages penalise generic CVs.

GMC registration and foundational credentials (UK): GMC provisional registration (Foundation Year 1 — F1/FY1 doctors hold provisional registration; full registration with licence to practise granted on satisfactory completion of F1 year — F2/FY2 doctors hold full registration); GMC number must be stated on all UK medical applications; licence to practise status (separate from registration — must be current; suspended licence = cannot practise); Revalidation (all UK doctors with a licence to practise undergo revalidation every 5 years via annual appraisal with Responsible Officer — first revalidation typically at consultant or GP level; junior doctors have F-ARCP or ARCP instead); NMC is nursing — do not confuse; for doctors: GMC. UK Foundation Programme (UKFP): UKFPO (UK Foundation Programme Office) application — allocated via UKRIMS (national matching system for FY1 posts); foundation year applications require an Educational Performance Measure (EPM) score (derived from medical school decile ranking) and Situational Judgement Test (SJT) score — no traditional CV at F1 allocation; the CV becomes critical at F2 year when applying for CT/IMT/GP/academic posts; International Medical Graduates applying for foundation-equivalent posts: approved F2 equivalent programme or standalone F2 competency assessment — CREST form or FACD (Foundation Achievement of Competency Document) required.

ORIEL and specialty training application structure (UK): ORIEL (NHS specialty and foundation training recruitment system — replacing Staffordshire Recruitment System and RCGP Online for most specialties by 2025–2026); applications are scored using a structured longlisting process against Person Specification (PS) criteria; Person Specification domains typically: Qualifications (essential: primary medical qualification; desirable: intercalated degree, postgraduate qualification), Clinical Knowledge and Expertise (clinical audit, academic and research, teaching), Personal Attributes (leadership, teamwork, communication), Application Completion and Accuracy; shortlisting score components: white space questions (250–500 words each, scored 1–4 by two assessors) are the highest-scoring application element and are where most doctors lose points; portfolio evidence (publications, presentations, QIPs, teaching) is verified at assessment day or portfolio interview; application errors that trigger automatic rejection: incomplete GMC details, incorrect qualification dates, leaving required fields blank. The most common scoring loss: white space answers that describe what was done rather than reflecting on what was learned and how it improved clinical practice — assessors are specifically trained to identify this difference.

US residency and fellowship application via ERAS: ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service — AAMC): standard platform for US residency and fellowship applications; ERAS components: work and activities section (15 entries maximum — prioritise by relevance, not chronology), publications (PubMed-linked automatically if PMID provided), personal statement (per specialty — do not reuse; 1 page), medical school transcript, MSPEs (Dean's letter), USMLE transcript, letters of recommendation (3–4 depending on specialty); ERAS work and activities section structure — for each entry: activity type, title, institution, dates, hours/week, description (700 characters maximum — approximately 100 words); the 700-character description is insufficient for narrative — it must make one specific claim with one specific evidence point; IMG (International Medical Graduate) ERAS applications: ECFMG certification required before matching; USMLE scores are screened heavily — most competitive specialties require Step 1 ≥240, Step 2 CK ≥245 (score reporting changed to Pass/Fail for Step 1 from 2022 — affects IMGs who sat before the change differently from those who sat after); research output and publications are IMG's primary differentiator when USMLE scores meet threshold; observership experiences (not counted as clinical training by ACGME programs) vs clinical elective rotations (counted — preferred); Sub-internship (Sub-I) grades are the most heavily weighted clerkship performance indicator for residency selection; Letters of recommendation: specialty-specific (surgery letter from general surgery attending, not internal medicine), named letter rather than form letter, program director letter carries more weight.

Person Specification mapping — the framework that determines UK application scores: Every specialty training application in the UK is scored against a nationally agreed Person Specification (PS) published by Health Education England and each Royal College. The PS lists: Essential criteria (must have at minimum to be considered); Desirable criteria (score additional points); Evidence required (when assessed — application, portfolio, assessment day); The scoring grid has defined 0–4 or 0–3 scales per domain with anchor descriptors. The most impactful change a doctor can make to their UK application is to read the PS for their target specialty before writing a single word of the application — and then write each section with explicit reference to the PS criteria. Example: Internal Medicine Training (IMT) PS includes "demonstrates commitment to the specialty" as a scored criterion. An IMT applicant who lists an audit on calcium management on an endocrine ward without explicitly connecting it to a career interest in medicine — versus one who states "designed and completed an audit on inpatient calcium management against NICE guidelines (NG132), implemented a nursing-led treatment protocol, re-audited to 94% compliance — chosen as evidence of commitment to general internal medicine quality improvement" — will score differently on an assessor rubric where "commitment" requires both the activity and the reflection. White space questions should be drafted against the assessor marking guide, which is also often publicly available.

Foundation year CV structure and common errors: F2 doctors applying for Core Training or specialty posts often make the error of submitting a CV structured as a list of F1/F2 rotations (which every applicant has done) rather than a document demonstrating what was achieved within those rotations. A Foundation CV must demonstrate: progress toward independence (moving from supervised to unsupervised procedures, taking on registrar responsibilities in F2); quality improvement evidence (audit or QIP completed within foundation — full cycle, not just data collection); teaching evidence (even one session of medical student teaching, documented); presentation or publication if available (case report, audit poster); ALS/ILS/BLS certification (mandatory for all junior doctor posts). F1 CV entries: state not just "medical and surgical rotations" but specific competencies signed off: "Achieved F1 competencies for: IV cannulation, ABG sampling, urinary catheterisation, ECG interpretation, basic airway management, end-of-life conversations (DNACPR documentation supervised)." Specific clinical encounters that demonstrate clinical reasoning are more valuable than general statements: "Managed independent out-of-hours review of 14 acutely unwell patients per shift by F2 year, with registrar escalation rate below ward average" communicates independence; "gained experience managing acutely unwell patients" does not.

Locum and SAS doctor CV requirements: Locum doctors (locum agency registration, direct trust applications): GMC status verified as primary check; ALS/ILS up to date; current DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check within 3 years; occupational health clearance; specialty-specific competency evidence (for specialist locums — anaesthetic locums: ALS + direct supervision record in the specialty; surgical locums: procedure log + RCS Portfolio of Surgical Training (PoST)); NHS Professionals (NHSP) and Locum's Nest and Me at NHS and similar agency registrations require explicit GMC number, registration confirmation, DBS, and occupational health; SAS (Specialty and Associate Specialist) doctors applying for SAS posts or SAS grade with CESR ambition: evidence of equivalent training for CESR application is compiled from work history — the SAS CV should be structured with this in mind (procedural logs, supervised practice records, educational supervisor reports).

Salary context 2026: UK FY1: £36,866 base (2024 contract, NHS England) with London weighting; FY2: £43,923; IMT1/CT1: £43,923; ST3–7 average: £55,000–£61,000; GP trainee ST1–3: £43,923–£55,000; Locum FY1 rate: £30–£38/hour (day) via trust framework; Locum ST-equivalent: £55–£85/hour; US Medical Resident: $65,000–$85,000; US Fellow: $70,000–$105,000; US new attending Hospitalist: $220,000–$280,000.

ATS Keywords for a Doctor Resume

Doctor applications are keyword-screened by ORIEL (UK), ERAS (US), NHS Jobs, and Trac.jobs — and subsequently parsed by panel members looking for specific evidence types.

Essential ATS terms:

  • Title variants: Doctor, Medical Doctor, Junior Doctor, Foundation Doctor, FY1, FY2, Foundation Year 1, Foundation Year 2, Core Trainee, CT1, CT2, IMT, Internal Medicine Trainee, GPST, GP Trainee, Specialty Registrar, ST3, ACCS, Core Surgical Trainee, SHO, Staff Grade, Specialty Doctor, SAS, Associate Specialist, Academic Clinical Fellow, ACF, Clinical Research Fellow, Medical Officer
  • Registration: GMC, GMC number, provisional registration, full registration, licence to practise, revalidation, DBS, occupational health clearance, ECFMG, USMLE, PLAB 1, PLAB 2, Foundation Achievement of Competency, FACD, CREST
  • Examinations (UK): MRCP, MRCP Part 1, MRCP Part 2, PACES, MRCS Part A, MRCS Part B, MRCGP, AKT, CSA, RCA, MRCOG, FRCA Primary, FRCR Part 1, FRCSEd, FRCEM, intercalated degree, BSc, BMedSci
  • Examinations (US): USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3, COMLEX, shelf exam, Sub-I, sub-internship, clerkship, MSPE, ERAS, NRMP, Match, ECFMG
  • Foundation and training: Foundation Programme, UKFPO, ORIEL, ARCP, e-portfolio, DOPS, Mini-CEX, CBD, CbD, MSF, Multi-Source Feedback, SJT, Situational Judgement Test, EPM, Educational Performance Measure, Person Specification, F-ARCP, Foundation Competency, Prescribing Safety Assessment, PSA
  • Quality and audit: audit, quality improvement, QIP, PDSA, re-audit, NICE, NCEPOD, Person Specification, closed loop, clinical governance, morbidity and mortality, M&M, serious incident, Never Event
  • Teaching: medical education, undergraduate teaching, medical student, OSCE, bedside teaching, ALS, ILS, BLS, simulation, teaching portfolio, clinical teaching
  • Research: publication, PubMed, abstract, poster, oral presentation, conference, research fellow, case report, systematic review, grant, ORCID
  • Life support: ALS, ILS, BLS, ACLS, PALS, APLS, ALS provider, Resuscitation Council
  • Systems: ORIEL, NHS Jobs, Trac, ERAS, EPIC, Cerner, EMIS, SystmOne, Lorenzo, Meditech, ICE, PACS, e-Portfolio (HEYH, NHS)
  • Long-tail: doctor resume, doctor cv, junior doctor cv, medical doctor resume, FY1 cv, foundation doctor cv, ST application cv, how to write a doctor cv, specialty training application, doctor resume examples, IMT application cv, doctor cv uk 2026, medical cv template uk, ERAS cv medical student

Placement: GMC number and registration status at the very top. ALS date in certifications (with expiry date — not just "ALS trained"). Audit — state whether the cycle is complete (re-audit result) or in progress. Teaching — document the specific session, level (medical students / FY1 / CT), and hours. White space question answers should reference PS criteria explicitly — not generic achievements.

Doctor CV Structure: Foundation Year Through Specialty Training

The structure of a doctor's CV changes significantly across career stages:

Foundation Year CV (F2 applying for CT/IMT/GP): Personal details → GMC registration (full, with date) → ALS/ILS certification (with date) → Medical Degree (university, graduation year, class of degree/honours if applicable) → Intercalated degree (if held) → Foundation Programme Posts (chronological — hospital, trust, specialty, grade, dates — 4–6 rotations) → Competencies Achieved (F1 and F2 sign-offs — IV cannulation, ABG, catheterisation, ECG interpretation, basic airway, DNACPR) → Audit and QI (any completed or in-progress — state stage: data collection / change implemented / re-audited) → Teaching (any sessions delivered — date, topic, audience level) → Presentations (any — audit, conference) → Publications (case reports, research) → Prizes and Distinctions → Extracurricular (leadership, voluntary, relevant non-medical) → References. Two pages maximum for F2 application.

Core Training / IMT CV (CT/IMT applying for ST3): Add specialty examination passes (MRCP Part 1, Part 2 if sat); specialty-specific procedures (with numbers); audit cycle completion and re-audit; teaching hours accumulated and any formal teaching roles; research publications or in-progress; leadership evidence (departmental committee, rota co-ordination, trust-level involvement); relevant courses (specialty simulation days, ECHO workshops, respiratory skills days). Three to four pages.

Higher Specialty Registrar CV (ST3–7 applying for consultant or fellowship): Full publication list in citation format; presentations (oral and poster — distinguish); grant applications (any, regardless of outcome — state outcome); teaching experience including any formal educational appointment; audit/QI portfolio; leadership evidence (specialty interest group, regional training committee); procedural competency with volumes; subspecialty experience (visiting fellowships, tertiary centre attachments); Royal College Fellowship examinations (all parts, with dates); international experience if applicable. Four to six pages.

Three example doctor CV entries at the required specificity level:

  • F2 audit entry (correctly structured): "Audit: VTE prophylaxis prescribing in medical admissions, North Middlesex University Hospital (February 2025). Standard: NICE NG89 (VTE prophylaxis in hospital inpatients — risk assessment documented within 24 hours of admission for all medical patients; appropriate prophylaxis prescribed). Data collection: 65 consecutive medical admissions audited. Baseline result: 71% had risk assessment completed within 24 hours; 62% had appropriate prophylaxis prescribed where indicated. Change implemented: designed one-page VTE proforma integrated into the Trust's admission clerking document — approved by governance committee (April 2025). Re-audit (July 2025): 91% risk assessment completion; 88% appropriate prescribing. Presented as oral presentation at Department of Medicine governance meeting (August 2025)."

  • ST application white space answer structure (skeleton for "demonstrate commitment to specialty"): "My commitment to [specialty] is evidenced through three distinct activities. First, [specific audit or QIP in the specialty area with quantified outcome]. Second, [specific publication, presentation, or course directly relevant to the specialty]. Third, [specific clinical experience or voluntary experience demonstrating sustained interest beyond standard training requirements]. Each of these activities developed my [specific clinical skill or knowledge domain named in the Person Specification], as evidenced by [named competency assessment or supervisor feedback]." — This structure ensures each element maps to a PS scoring domain and provides the specific evidence type the assessor expects, rather than a narrative of general enthusiasm.

  • US ERAS work and activities entry (700-character limit): "Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, University Hospital (2024–2025, 20 hrs/wk). Led scheduling for 34-resident programme, reducing call errors by 22%. Redesigned handoff protocol adopted across 3 services. Mentored 6 interns; one recipient of departmental teaching award. Presented QI data at Grand Rounds. Responsibilities: quality metrics reporting, wellness programme coordination, faculty liaison." (664 characters) — Every sentence makes a concrete claim. No generic descriptions ("gained experience," "participated in").

Three Doctor CV Mistakes That Lower Application Scores

Person Specification not consulted before the application is written. The most universal error in UK specialty training applications is writing a CV or white space answer without having read the Person Specification. The PS is a public document (published on Health Education England specialty pages, RCGP, RCS, and specialty programme websites) that lists exactly what will be scored, how it will be scored, and what evidence is expected. An applicant who states "I have an interest in audit" without referencing the PS is unlikely to score well on an audit domain that specifically requires: a completed cycle (not just data collection), documented re-audit, presentation of results, and evidence of change implemented. An applicant who reads the PS, sees "closed audit cycle with change implemented and re-audited," and then writes "completed audit of VTE prophylaxis prescribing — baseline 62% compliance, implemented prescribing proforma, re-audit 88% compliance, presented at departmental governance meeting" will score the full 4 on that domain. The difference is not the quality of the audit — it is the understanding of what the scoring system rewards.

Clinical posts listed without competency progression demonstrated. A standard doctor CV lists every post with hospital, grade, specialty, and dates — and stops there. This is necessary but not sufficient, particularly for foundation year CVs and core training CVs where all candidates have similar posts. The differentiating information is what was achieved within the post: competency sign-offs completed (with dates where possible), clinical responsibilities taken on by grade level, any specific experience (night shifts, on-calls, out-of-hours registrar cover attempted), or achievements that were not required by the rotation but were undertaken. A F2 doctor who was one of the first in their cohort to achieve the full 17 F1 competency sign-offs, took on a registrar-level on-call mid-F2, and ran two teaching sessions for attached medical students in a single rotation has information that is highly relevant to an IMT assessor — but only if they document it explicitly. "F2 rotation in General Medicine" without detail scores identically to a rotation where none of that happened.

Audit in progress, not completed. Audit is scored differently depending on whether the cycle is closed. A completed audit cycle (standard identified → data collected → change implemented → re-audit demonstrated → results presented) scores the maximum on most UK specialty training Person Specifications. An in-progress audit (data collected, change not yet implemented) scores lower. An audit where results have not been presented scores lower still. Doctors who list an "ongoing audit" as their main QI evidence are reducing their own application score relative to what they could achieve by completing the cycle before the application deadline. The re-audit does not need to show dramatic improvement — even a modest improvement (5–10% compliance increase) with appropriate reflection on the reasons for residual non-compliance scores well. What does not score well is an audit cycle that ended at data collection because the doctor moved to the next rotation.

If you are a foundation doctor, core trainee, or registrar applying to specialty training and want your CV rebuilt around Person Specification criteria, closed audit cycles, teaching evidence, and examination pass dates from your actual clinical experience, Resumegpt generates your doctor CV from your work history in under 60 seconds — GMC registration stated clearly, audit cycle structure included, PS domains addressed, examinations listed with all parts, and exported as a PDF ready for your ORIEL or ERAS application.