In typical circumstances, medical professionals are in a high-demand and need to cope with high stress situations. In these extraordinary times, when both conditions are heightened, hiring managers need qualified staff who can handle the pressure with grace and excellence. You are ready for a change and a great medical professional cover letter will make those hiring managers’ hearts beat a little faster.
Shelter-in-place and other pandemic restrictions hit the non-emergency medical field hard and employers are taking time to reassess their needs, according to CompHealth, so you may have to have a bit more patience before you start seeing patients again.
In this market, your medical cover letter is all the more important. How do you write one that shows off your temperament and talent without getting veering into bragging or flowery language? Resume.io is here to help.
In this cover letter guide, along with the corresponding medical cover letter examples, we’ll cover the following topics to help you design the best cover letter possible:
The guide below will analyze the details and give you ideas on how to make the most of this one-page addition to your application. (You can also check out our library of 125+ cover letter examples.)
Before a doctor meets a patient, they check their chart to understand better how to proceed. The format for your cover letter charts its course the same way. Here is the skeleton you will use to create your medical cover letter:
The cover letter complements your resume and allows you to get into more detail. To make the most of this addition to your job application, deliver a strong argument for your qualifications by adopting the correct tone and addressing the needs of each clinic, hospital or practice you apply to. Use strong action words and descriptors throughout.
This comprehensive cover letter guide is an impressive stop for general advice on writing cover letters, but this text gets deeper into each paragraph and the specifics of writing for position in the medical field.
The medical cover letter example below gives an overview of how to create your own application:
Dear Ms. Skoronska,
I am hoping to be considered for a Medical Assistant position at Excel Healthcare. I bring forth extensive experience working as a Lead Medical Assistant as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Manhattan College. My professional journey in healthcare began after I was confronted with my own personal medical issues. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support and superior care I received from my medical team, and I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others as well.
In my previous employment positions as a Medical Assistant, I helped to plan and implement appropriate and powerful patient care plans that led to optimal health and wellness. I am highly adept in assisting with examinations, procedures and treatments, as well as performing diagnostic tests.
I believe that teamwork is essential to achieving excellent patient care and positive results. I very much hope to be afforded the opportunity to work alongside the amazing medical professionals at Excel Healthcare. I can assure you that I will continuously work to bring health and happiness to your patients there,
Most Sincerely,
Jared Linberg
Looking for additional inspiration for cover letter writing? View our related medical cover letter samples here:
The header of your medical professional cover letter has two purposes:
Why does the header matter? First, if your contact information is not readily available, hiring managers may not make the effort to find it and you will lose an opportunity. Second, a visually pleasing document is more memorable and leaves a positive impression.
Align document styles
Just as all the information you have on one patient creates a full picture, the combination of your medical cover letter and resume creates a full picture of your career.
The two documents should complement each other in content and style. One way to achieve that is to use the same layout and fonts for your contact information in each. The other purpose of this method is to make it easier to put the pieces of your job application together if the hard copies get separated.
The aim of this section: Create a favorable first impression and make clear the main artery to scheduling an interview.
The greeting sets the tone for the entirety of your medical cover letter, therefore we recommend beginning with the standard “Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms. Surname.” You will note that our cover letter examples use this greeting. Remember to triple check that you have the spelling correct. Many head nurses and medical staff other than physicians also have advanced degrees, so make sure you get their titles correct. There’s no quicker way to lose points (or the interview) than to misspell someone’s name or get their gender wrong.
If you cannot get the name of a person, “Dear (hospital or company name) Hiring Team” is a fine alternative. We suggest staying away from more casual greetings such as “Dear Imaging Department” because it may come off as flippant.
Dear Ms. Skoronska,
Your medical cover letter introduction sets the tone for your letter (and your career) by injecting your biggest career highlight with your personal style.
A healthy medical cover letter establishes both your knowledge of your field and your bedside manner within the first few sentences. You want the hiring manager to think right off, “Aha! This is why I should hire this candidate.”
To get started, ask yourself: “What message do I want to convey?” Perhaps you have a caring touch or are a great diagnostician. Decide what you want to highlight and then thread that message throughout your letter.
The aim of the cover letter intro: Get the hiring manager interested and deliver a message that defines your career.
Check out the cover letter sample introduction below.
I am hoping to be considered for a Medical Assistant position at Excel Healthcare. I bring forth extensive experience working as a Lead Medical Assistant as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Manhattan College. My professional journey in healthcare began after I was confronted with my own personal medical issues. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support and superior care I received from my medical team, and I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others as well.
You’ve set the tone and intrigued the recruiter. Now, within the middle paragraphs of your cover letter, you are going to offer a medical history that points to your excellence. The body section gives you a bit of space to explain your philosophy of patient care.
No matter what area of heath care you are in, your personality and efficiency may be a matter of life or death. Offer an example of your grace under pressure, a time when you caught what could have been a serious error or how you help family members in crisis.
Make sure your examples highlight your knowledge of your specialty and address how you will enhance the medical team. Describe yourself and your work with strong adjectives and action words.
Use bullets to focus the body of your medical cover letter on your achievements and to break up blocks of text. Use the STAR method: describe the situation, tell what your task was, detail your action and explain your results.
The aim of the middle part of your cover letter: Use anecdotes to show off your medical knowledge and professional demeanor.
Here is the body of our cover letter sample to help get you started.
In my previous employment positions as a Medical Assistant, I helped to plan and implement appropriate and powerful patient care plans that led to optimal health and wellness. I am highly adept in assisting with examinations, procedures and treatments, as well as performing diagnostic tests.
Your entire medical cover letter is designed to get you that interview. As the conclusion of your text approaches, they are waiting for a big finish, so deliver it. How? Reiterate why you are the right person for the job, of course, but also offer a more personal note.
Here are a few ideas:
Make it a story that you can expand upon when you talk to the hiring manager. Then, come right out and politely request an interview. Our cover letter sample finish with the classic “Sincerely.” You can also use “Regards,” but always stay professional.
The aim of the close of your cover letter: Offer a story you can expand upon and remind the recruiter why you’re a great candidate.
I believe that teamwork is essential to achieving excellent patient care and positive results. I very much hope to be afforded the opportunity to work alongside the amazing medical professionals at Excel Healthcare. I can assure you that I will continuously work to bring health and happiness to your patients there,
Most Sincerely,
Jared Linberg
Of course you are going to say you’re a hard-worker who always puts the patients first, who wouldn’t? So how do you prove it? The following tips will guide you.
Your page layout conveys professionalism and interest to the hiring manager before they even read a word on the page. A cover letter template can help ensure you get the formatting right.