Ultimate Guide to Building a Residency CV for DO Graduates in Medicine-Psychiatry

Understanding the Medicine-Psychiatry CV Landscape as a DO Graduate

Combining osteopathic training with a med psych residency is a powerful combination—but it also means your CV has to do more heavy lifting. You are not only competing in the osteopathic residency match; you are applying to a relatively small, highly selected group of medicine psychiatry combined programs that want evidence you can thrive in both domains.

Your CV is one of the first documents program directors see—often before your personal statement. For DO graduates in particular, it’s a key place to:

• Demonstrate parity with MD applicants
• Highlight distinct osteopathic strengths (holistic care, OMT exposure, whole-person approach)
• Show a genuine, long-term commitment to both internal medicine and psychiatry

This guide will walk you through how to build a CV for residency in Medicine-Psychiatry as a DO graduate, with specific residency CV tips tailored to the combined specialty and osteopathic training.

We’ll focus on:

• Core CV structure and formatting for the osteopathic residency match
• How to spotlight experiences relevant to med psych residency
• Strategic positioning of your DO background
• Common pitfalls and practical examples

By the end, you should have a clear model and checklist to refine your medical student CV into a polished, residency-ready document.

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Core Structure of a Strong DO Residency CV

Before the details, you need a clean, predictable structure. Most program directors skim dozens of CVs at once; they favor documents that feel standard and easy to scan.

A typical DO graduate residency CV structure for Medicine-Psychiatry:

1. Contact Information & Identifiers
2. Education
3. Examination Scores & Certifications
4. Clinical Experience (including rotations & sub-internships)
5. Research & Scholarly Activity
6. Teaching & Leadership
7. Work Experience (non-clinical)
8. Honors & Awards
9. Professional Memberships
10. Volunteer & Community Service
11. Skills, Interests, and Languages

1. Contact Information & Identifiers

Include at the top:

• Full name (as it appears in ERAS/NRMP)
• DO degree designation
• Email (professional, frequently checked)
• Phone number
• City/State (no full address needed in most cases)
• ERAS AAMC ID and/or NRMP ID (especially once assigned)

Example (strong):
Jane A. Smith, DO
Email: jane.smith.do@gmail.com | Phone: (555) 123-4567
Current Location: Kansas City, MO | AAMC ID: 12345678 | NRMP ID: 87654321

Avoid nicknames, outdated emails (e.g., from high school), or including personal details like marital status.

2. Education

List in reverse chronological order:

• Osteopathic medical school (with city, state, dates, degree)
• Undergraduate institution (and major)
• Optional: advanced degrees (MPH, MS, etc.)

You may optionally include:

• Class rank or quartile (if favorable and allowed)
• Significant thesis titles or capstone projects (especially if med/psych related)

Example:
Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, MO
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Expected May 2025

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
B.S., Neuroscience, May 2019 | Minor: Philosophy

For a Medicine-Psychiatry focus, neuroscience, psychology, public health, or philosophy minors/majors are highly relevant—highlight them.

3. Board Exam Scores & Certifications

Program directors want quick clarity on your examination history, especially if you are a DO graduate navigating the ACGME landscape.

Include:

• COMLEX Level 1, 2-CE (and PE, if applicable)
• USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK (if taken)
• Basic certifications: BLS, ACLS, potentially PALS

Present this section cleanly:

• Scores (if solid/competitive and you’re comfortable disclosing)
• “Pass” only, if your school or personal strategy dictates

Example Layout:

Licensing Examinations

• COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE: 625, July 2024
• COMLEX-USA Level 1: 595, June 2023
• USMLE Step 2 CK: 244, August 2024
• USMLE Step 1: Pass, May 2023

Certifications

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Expires 06/2026
• Basic Life Support (BLS), Expires 06/2026

For combined med psych residency programs, strong Step/Level 2 scores help demonstrate readiness for the medicine-heavy portions of training.

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Showcasing Clinical Experience for Medicine-Psychiatry

For a medicine psychiatry combined application, your clinical section is where you prove that your interest in both fields is grounded in real, sustained experience.

Organize your clinical experience strategically:

1. Core Clinical Rotations
2. Sub-internships / Acting Internships
3. Electives (especially in psychiatry, internal medicine, addiction, consult liaison, etc.)
4. Longitudinal experiences (free clinics, continuity clinics, integrated care clinics)

Highlighting Rotations for a Med Psych Narrative

Instead of listing every rotation identically, emphasize those that support your chosen path.

Example Format:

Clinical Rotations
Kansas City University COM, Kansas City, MO

• Internal Medicine Sub-Internship, University Hospital, Kansas City, MO

  • 4-week sub-internship on general medicine ward
  • Managed 6–8 patients daily; focused on complex multimorbidity (CHF, COPD, diabetes)
  • Collaborated with psychiatry consult service for delirium and substance use cases

• Psychiatry Core Clerkship, State Psychiatric Center, Topeka, KS

  • 6-week rotation, inpatient and outpatient settings
  • Independently conducted psychiatric interviews and risk assessments
  • Presented weekly on psychopharmacology in medically complex patients

• Consult-Liaison Psychiatry Elective, University Hospital, Kansas City, MO

  • Evaluated patients with co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions (e.g., post-MI depression, delirium, catatonia)
  • Assisted with integrated treatment planning alongside internal medicine teams

• Addiction Medicine Elective, VA Medical Center

  • Managed patients with opioid use disorder and concurrent chronic pain
  • Observed motivational interviewing and medication-assisted treatment

For each rotation relevant to med psych, include a brief 2–4 bullet summary focusing on:

• Co-management of medical and psychiatric issues
• Work in collaborative or integrated care settings
• Experience with complex, high-acuity populations

Emphasizing Osteopathic Clinical Strengths

As a DO graduate, you can strengthen your osteopathic residency match appeal by:

• Highlighting experiences with holistic assessment (biopsychosocial-spiritual model)
• Including OMT exposure where relevant (especially in chronic pain, somatic symptom disorders, headaches, etc.)

Sample Bullet:

• Applied osteopathic structural examination and OMT principles to patients with chronic low back pain and comorbid depression, focusing on function and quality of life.

This demonstrates the added dimension you bring to a med psych residency: a hands-on, whole-person orientation that aligns naturally with integrated medicine-psychiatry care.

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Research, Scholarly Activity, and Academic Engagement

Strong Medicine-Psychiatry programs frequently emphasize scholarship. They want residents who can approach complex mind-body conditions with an evidence-based mindset.

Even if you don’t have extensive publications, you can showcase:

• Posters at regional/national meetings
• Quality improvement (QI) projects
• Case reports
• Institutional research projects
• Educational projects (curriculum development, journal clubs)

Prioritizing Med/Psych-Relevant Work

In your medical student CV, list your scholarly activities in reverse chronological order, grouped as:

• Peer-reviewed publications
• Abstracts and poster presentations
• QI and systems-based projects
• Invited talks or grand rounds

Example:

Peer-Reviewed Publications
Smith J, Patel R, Nguyen L. “Integrated Management of Diabetes and Major Depressive Disorder in a Primary Care Setting: A Case Series.” Journal of Integrated Care, 2024.

Posters & Presentations
Smith J, Lee A. “Somatic Symptom Presentations in Osteopathic Primary Care: Recognizing Underlying Trauma.” Poster presented at the American Association of Community Psychiatrists Annual Meeting, 2023.

Quality Improvement Projects

• Improving Depression Screening on Internal Medicine Wards
  Kansas City University/University Hospital, 2023–2024
  • Led a QI initiative to increase PHQ-9 screening rates from 40% to 85% on a general medicine service
  • Developed an algorithm to route high-risk results to psychiatry consult service

For med psych programs, this kind of QI work can be just as compelling as traditional bench research.

Connecting Research to Your Narrative

In your bullets, explicitly tie your work to the medicine psychiatry combined focus:

• Highlight integrated care models
• Emphasize outcomes that address both physical and mental health
• Show understanding of social determinants of health

This gives program directors confidence that you don’t just like both fields—you think in integrated, systems-level ways.

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Leadership, Teaching, and Service: Proving You’re a Future Med Psych Leader

Medicine-Psychiatry programs often attract applicants with broad, system-oriented interests: education, advocacy, community mental health, addiction services, health policy. Your CV should reflect this.

Leadership Roles

Include roles that show you can manage complexity and work across disciplines:

• Psychiatry or internal medicine interest group leadership
• Student government or curriculum committee roles
• Leadership in student-run free clinics
• Ombuds, wellness committee, or professionalism committee positions

Example Entry:

President, Psychiatry Interest Group
Kansas City University COM, 2023–2024

• Organized joint events with Internal Medicine Interest Group on topics like “Depression in Chronic Disease” and “Delirium on the Medicine Wards”
• Coordinated resident and attending panels, highlighting Medicine-Psychiatry career paths

This not only shows leadership, but also clear interest in the medicine psychiatry combined pathway.

Teaching Experience

Medicine-Psychiatry residents are often tapped to teach others because of their broad expertise. Highlight:

• Peer tutoring (e.g., anatomy, neuro, behavioral science)
• OSCE facilitation
• Teaching sessions for preclinical students or undergraduates
• Mental health education in community settings

Example:

Peer Tutor, Behavioral Medicine & Neuroscience
Kansas City University COM, 2022–2023

• Led weekly review sessions for first-year students focusing on neural pathways, psychopharmacology basics, and osteopathic considerations in mental health

This builds a case that you’ll contribute meaningfully to the educational mission of a program.

Community Service and Advocacy

In a DO graduate residency CV, community engagement matters, especially for med psych programs interested in underserved populations.

Examples to highlight:

• Volunteering in mental health clinics or crisis lines
• Participation in homeless outreach, especially with mental illness/substance use overlap
• Health education on topics like depression, anxiety, or substance use
• Work with refugee clinics, immigrant communities, or rural populations

Be specific about:

• Populations served
• Your role (organizer vs. participant)
• Any measurable impacts (numbers served, interventions implemented)

Example:

Volunteer, Student-Run Free Clinic – Behavioral Health Track
Kansas City, MO, 2022–2024

• Conducted intake interviews focusing on both medical and psychiatric history
• Collaborated with supervising physicians to address hypertension, diabetes, and depression in an integrated visit model

This directly mirrors the kind of work done in many med psych residency settings.

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Tailoring Your CV: Osteopathic Identity and Medicine-Psychiatry Focus

Your CV should not be generic. It must send a clear message: you are a DO graduate whose training and interests align specifically with med psych residency.

Emphasizing Osteopathic Principles Without Overdoing It

Integrate osteopathic identity throughout your CV by showing how you:

• Think holistically (body–mind–spirit)
• Value function, quality of life, and prevention
• Are comfortable with hands-on clinical assessment

Appropriate places to emphasize this:

• Clinical experiences (e.g., OMT in chronic pain, somatic symptom disorders)
• Research or QI (e.g., integrative care, mind-body interventions)
• Volunteer/service (e.g., whole-person wellness programs)

Avoid generic or repetitive references like “I practice holistic medicine” without concrete examples.

Stronger Bullet (specific):

• Performed structural exams and developed OMT treatment plans for patients with tension headaches and co-occurring anxiety, emphasizing patient education and self-management.

Aligning Every Section with Med Psych Themes

When refining how to build CV for residency, read through each section and ask:

• Does this item support my Medicine-Psychiatry narrative?
• If not, can I rephrase or reorder to strengthen the alignment?

For example, if you have research only tangentially related:

Instead of:

• “Studied cardiovascular outcomes in post-MI patients.”

Consider:

• “Analyzed cardiovascular outcomes in post-MI patients with comorbid depression and anxiety, highlighting the impact of mental health on cardiac recovery.”

You are not changing the facts—just framing them in a way that connects to your chosen specialty.

Ordering Sections Strategically

You can also reorder sections to emphasize strengths:

• If you have substantial research: put “Research & Scholarly Activity” above “Teaching & Leadership.”
• If you have standout leadership in psychiatry/medicine: place “Leadership & Teaching” above “Research.”
• If your academic metrics are solid but not stellar, let your body of experiences carry more weight by emphasizing clinical and service first.

There is no single universally “correct” order; use the order that best tells your story.

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Practical CV Formatting Tips and Common Pitfalls

Strong content can be undermined by poor formatting. Program directors scan quickly; your CV should make it effortless to understand your trajectory.

Formatting Essentials

• Length: 2–4 pages is typical for a medical student CV or DO graduate; avoid unnecessary padding.
• Font: Professional, readable (e.g., 11–12 pt Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri).
• Consistent style: Same bullet style, dates alignment, and section headings throughout.
• Reverse chronological order within each section.
• File name: “LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf” (avoid “final_v2_reallyfinal.pdf”).

Language and Bullet Quality

Use:

• Action verbs (led, developed, conducted, coordinated, implemented)
• Concrete details (numbers, populations, outcomes)
• Past tense for completed roles, present tense for ongoing roles

Avoid:

• Long paragraphs
• Vague descriptors (“helped with patients,” “exposure to lots of things”)
• Excessive jargon

Weak bullet:

• Helped on service with patients with mental and physical problems.

Stronger bullet:

• Managed 6–8 patients daily with co-occurring chronic medical illnesses (e.g., CHF, COPD) and major depressive disorder, coordinating care with psychiatry and social work teams.

Common Pitfalls for DO Graduates Applying to Med Psych

1. Under-emphasizing Internal Medicine:
   Some applicants focus almost exclusively on psychiatry experiences. Programs want to see clear readiness for internal medicine as well. Highlight both.

2. Not Explaining Gaps or Transitions:
   If you took time off, changed career directions, or have non-traditional paths, briefly note dates and roles. Unexplained gaps raise questions.

3. Overcrowding Early Undergraduate Experiences:
   As a graduating DO, med school and recent experiences matter most. Truncate smaller pre-med roles to keep the focus on your current phase.

4. Mixing CV and Personal Statement Content:
   Your CV should be factual and concise. Save narrative, introspection, and “why med psych” storytelling for the personal statement and interviews.

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FAQs: CV Building for DO Graduates in Medicine-Psychiatry

1. Should I include both COMLEX and USMLE scores on my CV?

If you have taken both, it’s usually advantageous to list both COMLEX and USMLE scores on your residency CV—especially for a DO graduate residency aiming at ACGME-accredited Medicine-Psychiatry programs. Many program directors are more familiar with USMLE; showing both can help them calibrate your performance. If one exam is significantly weaker, you can consider listing it as “Pass” only, but be prepared to discuss it if asked.

2. How can I make my CV stand out if I don’t have much research?

You can still present a competitive profile by emphasizing:

• Strong clinical experiences that bridge medicine and psychiatry
• Meaningful community service and advocacy in mental health or chronic disease management
• Leadership roles (e.g., interest groups, free clinics, peer teaching)
• Quality improvement projects (which are often more accessible than formal research)

For med psych residency, a well-developed track record of integrated clinical and service experiences can be just as compelling as publications—especially when framed clearly.

3. Do I need a separate CV for each program or one general CV?

You generally maintain one master CV, but for certain situations (e.g., emailing a program director, networking at a conference), you might slightly tailor it:

• Adjust the order of sections to highlight research vs. leadership, depending on the program’s emphasis
• Add or emphasize specific experiences relevant to that program’s patient population or focus (e.g., VA, addiction, rural health)

However, your core document should remain consistent. Tailoring is more about subtle emphasis than rewriting.

4. How far back should I go with experiences on my residency CV?

For a medical student CV or recent DO graduate, prioritize:

• Medical school experiences (highest priority)
• Select undergraduate experiences that are highly relevant (e.g., neuroscience major, mental health advocacy, long-term clinical work)

Older, less relevant activities (short-term volunteering from early college, high school awards) can be removed or dramatically condensed. The more advanced you are, the more your CV should center on med school and current roles.

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A well-constructed CV is more than a list of accomplishments—it’s a clear, integrated portrait of who you are as a future Medicine-Psychiatry physician. As a DO graduate, use it to highlight both your osteopathic roots and your readiness to thrive in complex, interdisciplinary environments where medical and psychiatric care meet.