NHS CV template and example

Most NHS jobs ask for an application form, not a CV.

When an NHS Jobs advert takes a CV application, you paste your CV into the form rather than upload a file, and take out anything that identifies you, because shortlisting is anonymous (NHS Business Services Authority). This example is a medical secretary’s CV for an NHS outpatient post, in Word and PDF, with the same CV below ready to paste.

Plain design1 page

NHS CV template and example: fictional example, page 1. Full text is available below.

Read the example as text

Hannah Price

Secretary and audio typist

Leicester · 07700 900742 · [email protected]

Profile

Secretary with four years in a solicitors’ practice and two years on reception at a GP surgery. Types letters and reports from audio dictation at about 70 words a minute, runs the diaries of three partners and handles confidential files every day. Holds the AMSPAR Certificate in Medical Terminology. Looking for a medical secretary post in an NHS outpatient department.

Employment

Legal Secretary | Harcourt and Lowe Solicitors, Leicester | March 2022–present

Type letters, reports and court documents from audio dictation for three partners, about 30 a day, and check each against the file before it goes out.

Run the partners’ diaries: book client meetings and rooms, record court dates and send each client a reminder the day before.

Open, update and close client files on the case management system, keeping every file confidential.

Answer calls and emails from clients, courts and other firms, and take clear messages when a partner is out.

Raise invoices for finished cases and chase any still unpaid after 30 days.

Receptionist | Bramblewood Medical Practice, Leicester | January 2020–February 2022

Booked appointments and answered patients’ questions at the desk and on the phone, passing urgent calls to the duty doctor.

Scanned hospital letters and test results into patient records and sent each to the right GP.

Packed samples for the daily laboratory collection and logged every one sent.

Qualifications

Certificate in Medical Terminology, AMSPAR (2025)

Level 2 Certificate in Medical Administration, AMSPAR (2021)

GCSEs including English Language 6 and Mathematics 5

Skills

Audio typing at about 70 words a minute

Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel; case management and patient record systems

Medical terminology

Diary management for several people at once

Calm, clear calls with worried clients and patients

Additional information

Data protection and confidentiality training at both employers, most recently in 2026. Available full time, Monday to Friday.

Fictional example for a medical secretary applying to the NHS. Every person and employer in it is invented. Replace every detail with your own.

How NHS employers take applications

How you apply	What it means	What to do with your CV
An application form (most NHS jobs)	You fill in each section on NHS Jobs or the employer’s own system, such as Trac. Shortlisters judge how closely you match the person specification, so the supporting information does the work a CV would.	Use your CV to fill in the employment history, then write the supporting information against each criterion.
A CV application on NHS Jobs	The employer has chosen a CV application. NHS Jobs has no upload: you paste your CV into the ‘Your CV’ section and still complete contact details, right to work, unspent convictions and cautions, and the equal opportunities questions.	Paste the text below, with your name and contact details taken out. NHS Jobs does not save it for your next application, so keep your own copy.
A CV uploaded to the employer	Some organisations ask you to upload a CV, sometimes on their own system after a link from NHS Jobs. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, for example, accepts a CV only for medical posts, such as doctors and consultants.	Send the Word or PDF file, with your name and contact details, if the advert asks for it.

From the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Jobs and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, checked 17 October 2026. The advert says which way the employer has chosen.

Ready to paste into NHS Jobs

This CV with the name, phone number, email and town taken out, because an NHS Jobs CV application is anonymous. Choose an example closer to your job if you like, then change every detail to your own before you paste it into the ‘Your CV’ section.

Example

Profile
Secretary with four years in a solicitors’ practice and two years on reception at a GP surgery. Types letters and reports from audio dictation at about 70 words a minute, runs the diaries of three partners and handles confidential files every day. Holds the AMSPAR Certificate in Medical Terminology. Looking for a medical secretary post in an NHS outpatient department.

Employment
Legal Secretary | Harcourt and Lowe Solicitors, Leicester | March 2022–present
• Type letters, reports and court documents from audio dictation for three partners, about 30 a day, and check each against the file before it goes out.
• Run the partners’ diaries: book client meetings and rooms, record court dates and send each client a reminder the day before.
• Open, update and close client files on the case management system, keeping every file confidential.
• Answer calls and emails from clients, courts and other firms, and take clear messages when a partner is out.
• Raise invoices for finished cases and chase any still unpaid after 30 days.

Receptionist | Bramblewood Medical Practice, Leicester | January 2020–February 2022
• Booked appointments and answered patients’ questions at the desk and on the phone, passing urgent calls to the duty doctor.
• Scanned hospital letters and test results into patient records and sent each to the right GP.
• Packed samples for the daily laboratory collection and logged every one sent.

Qualifications
• Certificate in Medical Terminology, AMSPAR (2025)
• Level 2 Certificate in Medical Administration, AMSPAR (2021)
• GCSEs including English Language 6 and Mathematics 5

Skills
• Audio typing at about 70 words a minute
• Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel; case management and patient record systems
• Medical terminology
• Diary management for several people at once
• Calm, clear calls with worried clients and patients

Additional information
Data protection and confidentiality training at both employers, most recently in 2026. Available full time, Monday to Friday.

Length: 301 words, 2,016 characters including spaces.

What a medical secretary does, and where this CV shows it

The job asks you to	Where this CV shows it
Answer questions from patients, staff and consultants	Calls and emails from clients, courts and other firms; patients’ questions at the GP desk
Organise a doctor’s diary, book consulting rooms and meetings	Running three partners’ diaries, booking meetings and rooms
Update patient records and deal with confidential information	Scanning letters and results into patient records; confidential client files
Send samples for medical testing and record the results	Packing and logging samples for the daily laboratory collection
Type letters, clinical reports, minutes of meetings and do filing	About 30 letters and reports a day from audio dictation
Monitor an office budget and deal with invoices	Raising invoices and chasing unpaid ones after 30 days
Knowledge of medical terminology	The AMSPAR Certificate in Medical Terminology

The left column follows the National Careers Service medical secretary job profile, which also says you would be expected to understand how the NHS values apply in your work. For another NHS job, take the duties from its job description and person specification.

Facts checked against NHS Business Services Authority: Can I apply for a job listing using a CV? on 17 October 2026, NHS Jobs: Candidate terms and conditions on 17 October 2026, NHS Jobs: Making successful applications on 17 October 2026, National Careers Service: Medical secretary on 17 October 2026, GOV.UK: The NHS Constitution for England on 17 October 2026, Health Careers: Agenda for Change pay rates on 17 October 2026, Scottish Government: NHS Scotland pay rates on 3 November 2026, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Recruitment guidance for applicants on 17 October 2026 and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital: Applicant guidance on 17 October 2026.

The NHS values on a CV

Working together for patients
Respect and dignity
Commitment to quality of care
Compassion
Improving lives
Everyone counts

The NHS Constitution sets out six values, and each NHS organisation builds on them in its own way (GOV.UK: The NHS Constitution for England, checked 17 October 2026). A CV shows them through what you did, not by naming them: Hannah’s reminder to every client the day before, and passing urgent calls straight to the duty doctor, say more than “compassionate” would. Read the values in the job description and keep one line of evidence for the ones it stresses.

Pay bands

Most NHS staff are paid on Agenda for Change, nine bands that cover everyone except doctors, dentists and very senior managers. In England, from April 2026 band 3 starts at £25,760, band 4 at £28,392 and band 5 at £32,073 (Health Careers, a guide only, checked 17 October 2026). NHS Scotland pays on its own scale: for 2026 to 2027, band 3 starts at £29,103, band 4 at £31,537 and band 5 at £34,544 (Scottish Government, checked 3 November 2026). The advert gives the band. If you already work in the NHS, put your band beside each NHS job title, such as “Healthcare Assistant (Band 2)”, so a shortlister can see the step you are taking.

Inside this example

Profile: 60 words here
Employment: 159 words here
Qualifications: 22 words here
Skills: 36 words here
Additional information: 18 words here

How to write yours

Write to the person specification

NHS shortlisters judge how closely you match it (NHS Jobs). On an NHS Jobs advert it is a section of its own, below the job description, with each criterion marked essential or desirable. Use its words for work you have actually done, and put the essential criteria where they are seen first: in the profile and your most recent job.

Keep it plain

Text pasted into an online form keeps its words but not its layout, so tables, columns and text boxes fall apart. Plain headings and short bullet lines survive the paste, and read just as well in Word or PDF.

Take out what identifies you

For an NHS Jobs CV application, remove your name, address, phone number and email before you paste: they go in the form’s contact details, and shortlisting is anonymous. Leave out your date of birth and photo on any UK CV.

Name your training

Give each qualification and recent course its proper name and year, such as a medical terminology certificate, data protection training, basic life support or a care qualification, so a shortlister checking the person specification can tick it off.

Questions about NHS CVs

Can I upload my CV to NHS Jobs?

No. You cannot upload a CV to NHS Jobs. When an employer chooses a CV application, you copy and paste your CV into the ‘Your CV’ section, and you still complete contact details, right to work, unspent convictions and cautions, and the equal opportunities questions (NHS Business Services Authority, checked 17 October 2026).

Do NHS employers accept CVs at all?

Some do. NHS Jobs’ terms say some organisations may ask you to upload a CV, and some send you from NHS Jobs to their own recruitment system (NHS Jobs, checked 17 October 2026). Others do not: Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital says it does not accept CVs and every application comes through Trac (SaTH, checked 17 October 2026). The advert says which.

What do I take out of my CV for NHS Jobs?

Anything that identifies you, because the application is anonymous (NHS Business Services Authority). In practice that means your name, address, phone number, email and any photo or date of birth; your jobs, dates and qualifications stay.

Is my CV saved on NHS Jobs for next time?

No. NHS Jobs does not save CV information for future use, so a CV application cannot be reused (NHS Business Services Authority). Keep your own copy, in Word or as the text below, and adapt it for each post.

Do NHS boards in Scotland take CVs?

Check the advert. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, for example, shortlists only on the application form, which is anonymous, and accepts a CV only for medical posts such as doctors and consultants (NHSGGC, checked 17 October 2026). Use your CV to fill in the form, and answer every part of the job description in the supporting statement.

Keep the CV to one or two pages. An NHS shortlister reads it against the person specification, so a short CV that answers each criterion beats a long one that lists everything.