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Physician skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Stephen Weeks,

Charles Wolgemuth

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical physician skills. We ranked the top skills for physicians based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 22.0% of physician resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a physician needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 physician skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how physicians use patients:

Skilled at coordinating patient schedules, and dealing with the patients directly Demonstrated profound ability to provide excellent customer service repeatedly.
Examined patients, performs comprehensive physical examination, and compiles medical data including health history and results of physical exam.

2. Surgery

Here's how physicians use surgery:

Established and cultivated a comprehensive database of Physicians within the General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Anesthesiology specialties.
Participated actively as general surgery physician assistant in procedures such as hernia, appendectomy and acute abdomen problems.

3. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how physicians use patient care:

Provided and managed direct patient care including physical examination, evaluation, assessment and treatment of children with immunological diseases.
Rotated in the general out-patient care/critical care unit; monitored post-operative kidney transplant patients; and assisted in Hemo-Dialysis.

4. Internal Medicine

Here's how physicians use internal medicine:

Worked in Maternity, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine for emergency and non-Emergency ambulatory patients.
Job description: Medical consultation on Internal Medicine, Emergency MedicineAnd Family Medicine;

5. Primary Care

Here's how physicians use primary care:

Cared for patients in outpatient and primary care medical facility; practiced occupational medicine and assisted individuals suffering from industrial injuries.
Provided primary care services to uninsured/indigent patients from Southwest Houston and Sugar Land in this busy community clinic.

6. EMR

Here's how physicians use emr:

Learn Power Chart (EMR) Then Teach Power Chart (EMR) To Physicians Prior To Electronic System Going Live.
Initial audit of 110 physicians from EMR Audit E/M documentation, compliance and medical necessity Completion of audit form.

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7. Rehabilitation

Here's how physicians use rehabilitation:

Worked as a practitioner providing rehabilitation for sport and occupational injuries.
Developed & modified sales strategies and programming for rehabilitation programs.

8. Family Practice

A family practice is a specialization that constitutes those comprehensive medical services provided to people corresponding to all age groups and genders. It includes healthcare coverage for all diseases whether chronic or acute. Apart from the clinical cures, the practice also includes therapy treatments. Family practice is delivered by physicians who are commonly referred to as family doctors.

Here's how physicians use family practice:

Provided physician coverage for owner of a Family Practice/Occupational Medicine clinic during absences
Supervised UT Family Practice residents rotating through Memorial Hospital

9. Urgent Care

Urgent care provides assistance to patients on an immediate basis. Although the problems requiring this swift attention are not life threatening, if not seen to it immediately, they may become a bigger problem. Therefore, time plays a crucial role in such situations.

Here's how physicians use urgent care:

Designed and implemented the Urgent Care Clinical Excellence Program, an educational initiative to reduce practice variability and errors.
Streamlined operational methodology for medical home, urgent care, and elective referral operation and contracting.

10. Emergency Medicine

Here's how physicians use emergency medicine:

Served the population in Emergency Medicine Service Standards in shifts as one of the three physicians for one year
Provided examination, assessment and treatment to clients in emergency medicine setting with one on one instruction.

11. Diagnosis

Here's how physicians use diagnosis:

Provided urgent medical services including resuscitation, stabilization and assessment and diagnosis, treatment and referral as necessary.
Performed data entry using CPT and Diagnosis codes*Updated and verified insurance information*Performed other special tasks assigned to employees

12. Medical Care

Here's how physicians use medical care:

Provided primary medical care to the indigent in mini-medical clinics located in churches throughout metro Richmond
Provided comprehensive family-based medical care to a broad population cross-section in predominantly rural areas.

13. Oncology

Oncology is defined as the facet of medicine that deals with cancer. Oncology also deals with the prevention and diagnosis of these diseases. A medical professional who has studied the discipline of oncology is referred to as an â€˜oncologist'. An oncologist can further specialize in their discipline and become a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, or radiation oncologist.

Here's how physicians use oncology:

Received intense training and learned all aspects of Oncology, enabling me to market all specialized areas to outlying physicians.
Managed needs of JHCP and the Departments of Medicine, Anesthesiology, Radiation Oncology, and OB/GYN.

14. Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the area of study that focuses on pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. That means taking care of the pregnant woman, fetus, labor, and delivery, as well as the period immediately after birth. Obstetricians generally require a bachelor's degree, a 4-year college degree in medicine, and 3 to 7 years in internship and residency programs.

Here's how physicians use obstetrics:

Worked in single specialty group of four physicians specializing in general Obstetrics and Gynecology
Offered medical consults in areas related to general medicine, gynecology and obstetrics.

15. Cardiology

Cardiology refers to the medical scientific field which researches and treats various issues, developments, diseases, and other afflictions within or related to the human heart and, by extension, some of the circulatory systems within the body, too. Some of the afflictions of the heart include the following: cardiac arrest, hypertension, and various forms of cardiomyopathy. This branch of medicine deals with everything from diagnosis to treatment, whether by way of medical procedures or drug or physical therapy, to post-procedure and further check-ups.

Here's how physicians use cardiology:

Board Certified in Nuclear Cardiology, Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology, 2014.
Scheduled new, follow-up and diagnostic testing for cardiology patients.

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What skills help Physicians find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on physician resumes?

Dr. Stephen Weeks

Professor, Chair of Biology, The University of Akron

Generally, employers like to see "hands-on" skills for graduates. So, lab-based classes, internships, volunteer work (e.g., in hospitals or other health care settings), and experience in research labs look great on resumes. Because biology is such a diverse field, I cannot point to specific skills for the entire range of biology. Generally, however, having good writing skills will almost certainly be helpful for any biology career.

What physician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Charles Wolgemuth

Professor Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Arizona

This is, of course, going to depend on the specific industry that a student is applying to. However, one skill that I have heard that is largely sought out is problem-solving. Any activities that allow a graduate to improve their problem-solving abilities will be beneficial, especially if the activity provides a demonstrable outcome to highlight the graduate's problem-solving abilities. In addition, computers continue to play a larger role in most industries, and the ability to code is a skill that will be more and more sought after.

What type of skills will young physicians need?

Melissa Matusek

Director of Marketing and Communications, American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons

When DPMs enter the workforce after residency, the skills needed are many. First, they must have flexibility since the landscape and job descriptions of the profession of foot and ankle surgery are constantly changing. Those just out of training also must be motivated because the first few years out of training is when the stakes are high, when you are spending your time building a practice to prove your worth to patients and the profession.

Plus, aside from continuing to develop surgical skills and learn about the medical management of patients, there is an ever-changing need for a deep understanding of how the business of medicine works. Physicians are entering different work environments that place a variety of demands on them. Patients are also becoming more and more fixated on the costs of their health to themselves and are relying more and more on insurance coverage. These topics and skillsets are beyond the general knowledge base of resident physicians. They also need to be well-versed and adept in the changes in healthcare and insurance/billing practices.

The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons offers not the surgical skills courses needed for foot and ankle surgeons but also a coding and billing course to help practice management skills and show surgeons at all levels how to get paid for the services they perform.

What soft skills should all physicians possess?

Youngmin Kim

Assistant Professor of Physics, Colorado Mesa University

CODING. CODING. CODING. It doesn't really matter which specific language it will be. On professional level, the coding language will be specific anyway, but any background experience in coding will help graduates to learn and adapt quickly. This is a must requirement for anybody willing to find jobs through the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Do you want to know more?

List of physician skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a physician resume and required skills for a physician to have include:

Patients
Surgery
Patient Care
Internal Medicine
Primary Care
EMR
Rehabilitation
Family Practice
Urgent Care
Emergency Medicine
Diagnosis
Medical Care
Oncology
Obstetrics
Cardiology
Gynecology

Medical Services
Hematology Oncology
Private Practice
Radiology
Home Health
ICU
CPR
Social Work
Customer Service
MRI
Telemedicine
Compassion
Test Results
Tertiary Care
Surgical Procedures
Diagnostic Tests

Triage
Emergency Room
Medicaid
Echocardiogram
Advanced Life Support
Thyroid
EHR
Cerner
Infectious Disease
Excellent Interpersonal
Resuscitation
Neonatology
PET
Medical History
Taking Care

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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