When developing the leadership and teaching sections of your resume as an early career doctor, it is common to feel uncertain about what is relevant, how much detail to include, and how to pitch your experience appropriately for either training program applications or service roles such as HMO or unaccredited registrar positions.
This resource provides practical guidance to help you present your experience clearly, strategically, and in a way that aligns with selection criteria and supervisor expectations.
Unlike medical student applications, employers and colleges are now assessing how you function within healthcare teams, contribute to service delivery, and support the development of others. Your leadership and teaching experience is a key part of demonstrating readiness for increased responsibility.
What to include
These sections should reflect your progression from participation to responsibility. Focus on roles where you have influenced others, contributed to systems or processes, or supported teaching and supervision within a clinical or professional context.
Consider including the following categories.
Leadership roles
These may be formal or informal and can be clinical, professional, or organisational in nature. Examples could include:
Acting registrar or leadership responsibilities while relieving
Term or unit-based representative roles
Quality improvement or audit leadership
Committee membership with active contribution
Hospital, College, or professional association roles
Project lead roles for service improvement initiatives
Teaching and supervision
Teaching experience is highly valued across training and service roles. Include both structured and workplace-based teaching, such as:
Teaching medical students, interns, or junior HMOs
Bedside or ward-based teaching
Tutorial or lecture delivery
Teaching associated with exam preparation or skills training
Supervision or orientation support for junior staff
Educational resource development
Professional development and educational leadership
This may overlap with leadership or teaching and can include:
Facilitation roles in education programs
Completion of formal teaching or leadership courses
Involvement in curriculum design or training initiatives
Conference presentations or workshop facilitation where relevant
Organising the content
A clear structure is essential, particularly when applications are reviewed quickly or assessed against explicit criteria.
Group similar experiences - Start by listing all relevant leadership and teaching roles, then group them into logical subcategories such as Leadership, Teaching and Supervision, and Professional Development. This allows selectors to quickly locate evidence relevant to their priorities.
Use reverse chronological order - List roles from most recent to oldest within each category. This highlights your current level of responsibility and progression over time.
Prioritise relevance - For training program applications, prioritise roles that demonstrate leadership, initiative, teamwork, and contribution to education. For HMO and unaccredited roles, prioritise service leadership, teaching of junior staff, and reliability in supporting team function.
Describe your roles effectively - For each role, include:
Role title
Organisation or site
Dates
One to three bullet points outlining impact or responsibility - Focus on what you did, who you influenced, and what changed or improved as a result. Avoid listing duties without context.
Formatting tips
Use subheadings clearly - Separate leadership and teaching experiences using bolded subheadings. This improves readability and aligns well with selection panel scanning behaviour.
Keep roles distinct - Each role should have its own entry. Avoid combining multiple roles into a single block unless they are clearly linked.
Be concise but specific - One to three bullet points per role is usually sufficient. Focus on quality over quantity.
Match tone and content to the role applied for - Your resume should read as professional, reflective, and progression-focused. Avoid overstating early experiences, but do not undersell responsibility you have genuinely held.
Final considerations
Your leadership and teaching sections are an opportunity to demonstrate readiness for the next stage of training or responsibility. Used well, they show not only what you have done, but how you contribute to teams, learning environments, and patient care.