Nurse Educator Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 267-268 Copyright * 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Nurse Educator
Faculty Development The Curriculum Vitae Gateway to Academia Tom L. Christenbery, PhD, RN, CNE
I
n 1482, Leonardo Da Vinci submitted the first recorded self-marketing description. Da Vinci described himself as someone with both painting and sculpting experience who was applying for a royal commission as a designer of military armor.1 Like Da Vinci, graduates of nursing doctoral programs often pursue new career trajectories, applying for advanced opportunities, frequently in university settings. As one of the first review steps in the application process for acquiring an academic position, doctoral graduates are often required to submit a curriculum vitae (CV). A CV is an in-depth overview of an applicant’s academic and professional experiences. Faculty, in both PhD and DNP programs, need to stress the importance of a well-crafted CV as a tool for securing a position in academia. A CV prompts reviewers’ first impressions of the applicant. First impressions are often formed within 1/10th of a second and tend to have long-lasting effects.2,3 Research suggests interviewers adjust their interviewing behaviors to confirm the first impression they have about applicants.4 Because the CV is used to screen applicants, both the appearance and content of this document are critical in determining if the applicant may continue with the application process. This column provides suggestions and examples for creating a CV for maximum effectiveness.
Won’t a Resume Do? The terms re´sume´ and curriculum vitae have distinct definitions, serve separate purposes, and should not be used interchangeably in the application process. A re´sume´ is a succinct summary of an applicant’s education, professional development, and work history. In nursing, re´sume´s are typically used in applying for clinical or management positions. Literature recommends a re´sume´ be 1 to 2 pages in length.5 On the other hand, a CV is an extensive description of the applicant’s teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, service, and professional affiliations. The source of curriculum vitae is Latin and means ‘‘the course of one’s Author Affiliation: Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. The author declares no conflicts of interest. Correspondence: Dr Christenbery, School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, 461 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37240 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000083
Nurse Educator
life or career.’’ A CV is used to apply for positions in both academia and research and is the linchpin for tenure, promotion, and reappointment in higher education. In addition, a CV may be required for clinical privileges, membership in societies and academies (eg, American Academy of Nursing), and scholarships (eg, Hartford Foundation).6,7 Because a CV is a formal record of progression in academia, a thoughtful and thorough account should be paid to CV development.8 The CV is a dynamic document, constantly being updated as the applicant’s career evolves. The goal of the CV is to form a scholarly identity and entrance into academia for the applicant. The CV reflects the individual’s experiences and background in the areas of teaching, research, and service. New doctoral graduates are not necessarily expected to have principal investigative roles in research; however, there are other roles and scholarly endeavors in which new graduates may have had primary responsibilities and should be highlighted on the CV.
Curriculum Vitae Criteria Demographic Information. Demographics are the initial section of a CV providing context for the reviewer to assess the remainder of the document. The demographic section begins with the applicant’s full name. Credentials follow the applicant’s name and are typically listed in this order: (1) highest earned academic degree, (2) professional licensure, (3) certification and honorary fellowships (eg, Thomas Smith, DNP, RN, CNE, FAANP). Importantly, a degree should never be listed on a CV that has not been officially granted from the institution, even if graduation is imminent. Listing unearned degrees or credentials is considered deceitful. DNP-candidate or PhD-c are vague descriptions and best left off the CV. There is no need to include BSN or MSN as these degrees are usually required before a terminal degree can be attained. The demographic section also includes home and business addresses. Contact information includes an e-mail address, which should be stable. Unprofessional e-mail addresses are not used (eg, hotguy@ hotmail). Subtle religious symbols or religious affiliations, date and place of birth, marital status, children, and race/ethnicity should be omitted from the CV. Licensure and Certification: Licensures and certifications with identification numbers and full expiration dates generally Volume 39 & Number 6 & November/December 2014
Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
267
follow the demographic section. Applicants should list the full name of the certifying board, without abbreviations. The conferring licensure and certifying boards should be listed separately. Education Background. Education, including both nursing and nonnursing degrees, should be listed in reverse chronological order. The institution attended and the school within the institution should be named, including city and state. The date range, with month and year, for each institution attended should be identified. Academic degrees earned should be named; the degrees, such as DNP or PhD, can be abbreviated, but if the degree abbreviation is uncommon in nursing (eg, MFA), the full degree name (Master of Fine Arts) should be provided. Only colleges and universities confer academic degrees. Certificates are not included in this area of the CV. Applicants should use the education section of the CV to describe how their academic experiences may be related to the position for which they are applying, for example, specifying the doctoral minor consisted of education courses or indicating that Adult Learning Theory was the theoretical underpinning for the graduate’s scholarly project. Creating a table for education data will add clarity and enhance readability. Grade point averages are not reported on CVs. Professional Positions and Employment. Current and previous professional work positions are also listed in reverse chronological order. Four criteria are mandatory for this section: (1) employing organization, (2) city and state, (3) dates of employment, and (4) position title. The inclusion of responsibilities and skills may also be helpful in this section if they relate directly to position the employer is seeking. Teaching. Teaching activities should be tracked, using reverse chronological order, and include title of course, years taught, contact hours, number of students, and any role the applicant had with the course (eg, developed and coordinated course). The applicant may have limited formal academic teaching experience. Therefore, it is critical to indicate other forms of teaching, for example, preceptorship in the clinical area, tutorials, clinical teaching, and guest lectures. Healthcare setting or administrative appointments do not belong in the teaching section but should be in the professional work section. Publications. Publications in both refereed and nonreferred journals are included on the CV. Full citations should be provided for all publications and listed in reverse chronological order. Because doctorally prepared nurses are responsible for translating evidence into practice, other forms of publication related to practice should be referenced in addition to journals or book chapters, for example, staff learning modules, patient education materials, and health-related policies and procedures. Research and Clinical Scholarship. Doctoral students provide important contributions to rigorous, systematic programs of research, and these contributions should be indicated in the CV. Doctoral graduates often have critical input in development of institutional review board proposals and ongoing protection of study participants. Doctoral graduates are involved with participant recruitment and serve as expert clini-
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cal consultants and project directors for studies. In addition to research contributions, graduates often have had significant roles in the development, implementation, and evaluation of clinical scholarship such as through systematic reviews of the literature. These can be reflected on the CV. Professional Presentations. Quality poster and/or podium presentations are critical indicators of scholarship and should be emphasized in a separate section of the CV. For new graduates, presentations conducted in their doctoral programs may be included in this section. Professional Accomplishments. In this section, the applicant should list honors, awards, and any formal recognition for teaching or contributions to evidence-based practice. Awards or recognitions for volunteer service, for example, American Red Cross for outstanding work in disaster preparedness, also may be listed in this section. Service. Contributions to the college/university or health system should be listed. Service contributions include activities such a committee member, committee chair, ad hoc committee, task force, and search committee. It is important to categorize these contributions according to level, for example, university level (eg, faculty senate), school level (eg, chair curriculum committee), healthcare setting (eg, evidence-based practice committee). Professional Memberships. Applicants should list, in reverse chronological order, their professional organization memberships and offices held or special assignments related to the professional organization.
Summary A CV serves as formal documentation of the applicant’s career path and provides necessary demographic and historical information for career change or advancement. Therefore, each section of the CV should be a thorough accounting of the applicant’s academic, work, and professional responsibilities and attainments. The guidelines in this column also are relevant for nurse educators applying for positions in schools of nursing.
References 1. Nicholl C. Leonard Da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind. London: Allen Lane; 2004. 2. DiGirolamo GJ, Hintzman DL. First impressions are lasting impressions: a primacy effect in memory for repetitions. Psychonomic Bull Rev. 1997;4(1):121-124. 3. Willis J, Todorov A. First impressions: making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychol Sci. 2006;17(7):592-598. 4. Dougherty TW, Turban BB, Callender JC. Confirming first impressions in the employment interview: a field study of interview behavior. J Appl Psychol. 1994;79:659-665. 5. Schultze QJ. Resume 101: A Student Guide and Recent-Grad Guide to Crafting Resumes and Cover Letters That Land Jobs. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press; 2012. 6. Shellenbarger T, Chunta KS. The curriculum vitae: sending the right message. Nurse Educ. 2007;32(1):30-33. 7. Grimes DA. Sabotaging your curriculum vitae. Obstet Gynecol. 2010; 115(5):1071-1074. 8. Barret KE. Preparing your curriculum vitae. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2002;34(4):362-365.
Nurse Educator
Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Nurse Educator
Faculty Development The Curriculum Vitae Gateway to Academia Tom L. Christenbery, PhD, RN, CNE
I
n 1482, Leonardo Da Vinci submitted the first recorded self-marketing description. Da Vinci described himself as someone with both painting and sculpting experience who was applying for a royal commission as a designer of military armor.1 Like Da Vinci, graduates of nursing doctoral programs often pursue new career trajectories, applying for advanced opportunities, frequently in university settings. As one of the first review steps in the application process for acquiring an academic position, doctoral graduates are often required to submit a curriculum vitae (CV). A CV is an in-depth overview of an applicant’s academic and professional experiences. Faculty, in both PhD and DNP programs, need to stress the importance of a well-crafted CV as a tool for securing a position in academia. A CV prompts reviewers’ first impressions of the applicant. First impressions are often formed within 1/10th of a second and tend to have long-lasting effects.2,3 Research suggests interviewers adjust their interviewing behaviors to confirm the first impression they have about applicants.4 Because the CV is used to screen applicants, both the appearance and content of this document are critical in determining if the applicant may continue with the application process. This column provides suggestions and examples for creating a CV for maximum effectiveness.
Won’t a Resume Do? The terms re´sume´ and curriculum vitae have distinct definitions, serve separate purposes, and should not be used interchangeably in the application process. A re´sume´ is a succinct summary of an applicant’s education, professional development, and work history. In nursing, re´sume´s are typically used in applying for clinical or management positions. Literature recommends a re´sume´ be 1 to 2 pages in length.5 On the other hand, a CV is an extensive description of the applicant’s teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, service, and professional affiliations. The source of curriculum vitae is Latin and means ‘‘the course of one’s Author Affiliation: Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. The author declares no conflicts of interest. Correspondence: Dr Christenbery, School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, 461 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37240 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000083
Nurse Educator
life or career.’’ A CV is used to apply for positions in both academia and research and is the linchpin for tenure, promotion, and reappointment in higher education. In addition, a CV may be required for clinical privileges, membership in societies and academies (eg, American Academy of Nursing), and scholarships (eg, Hartford Foundation).6,7 Because a CV is a formal record of progression in academia, a thoughtful and thorough account should be paid to CV development.8 The CV is a dynamic document, constantly being updated as the applicant’s career evolves. The goal of the CV is to form a scholarly identity and entrance into academia for the applicant. The CV reflects the individual’s experiences and background in the areas of teaching, research, and service. New doctoral graduates are not necessarily expected to have principal investigative roles in research; however, there are other roles and scholarly endeavors in which new graduates may have had primary responsibilities and should be highlighted on the CV.
Curriculum Vitae Criteria Demographic Information. Demographics are the initial section of a CV providing context for the reviewer to assess the remainder of the document. The demographic section begins with the applicant’s full name. Credentials follow the applicant’s name and are typically listed in this order: (1) highest earned academic degree, (2) professional licensure, (3) certification and honorary fellowships (eg, Thomas Smith, DNP, RN, CNE, FAANP). Importantly, a degree should never be listed on a CV that has not been officially granted from the institution, even if graduation is imminent. Listing unearned degrees or credentials is considered deceitful. DNP-candidate or PhD-c are vague descriptions and best left off the CV. There is no need to include BSN or MSN as these degrees are usually required before a terminal degree can be attained. The demographic section also includes home and business addresses. Contact information includes an e-mail address, which should be stable. Unprofessional e-mail addresses are not used (eg, hotguy@ hotmail). Subtle religious symbols or religious affiliations, date and place of birth, marital status, children, and race/ethnicity should be omitted from the CV. Licensure and Certification: Licensures and certifications with identification numbers and full expiration dates generally Volume 39 & Number 6 & November/December 2014
Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
267
follow the demographic section. Applicants should list the full name of the certifying board, without abbreviations. The conferring licensure and certifying boards should be listed separately. Education Background. Education, including both nursing and nonnursing degrees, should be listed in reverse chronological order. The institution attended and the school within the institution should be named, including city and state. The date range, with month and year, for each institution attended should be identified. Academic degrees earned should be named; the degrees, such as DNP or PhD, can be abbreviated, but if the degree abbreviation is uncommon in nursing (eg, MFA), the full degree name (Master of Fine Arts) should be provided. Only colleges and universities confer academic degrees. Certificates are not included in this area of the CV. Applicants should use the education section of the CV to describe how their academic experiences may be related to the position for which they are applying, for example, specifying the doctoral minor consisted of education courses or indicating that Adult Learning Theory was the theoretical underpinning for the graduate’s scholarly project. Creating a table for education data will add clarity and enhance readability. Grade point averages are not reported on CVs. Professional Positions and Employment. Current and previous professional work positions are also listed in reverse chronological order. Four criteria are mandatory for this section: (1) employing organization, (2) city and state, (3) dates of employment, and (4) position title. The inclusion of responsibilities and skills may also be helpful in this section if they relate directly to position the employer is seeking. Teaching. Teaching activities should be tracked, using reverse chronological order, and include title of course, years taught, contact hours, number of students, and any role the applicant had with the course (eg, developed and coordinated course). The applicant may have limited formal academic teaching experience. Therefore, it is critical to indicate other forms of teaching, for example, preceptorship in the clinical area, tutorials, clinical teaching, and guest lectures. Healthcare setting or administrative appointments do not belong in the teaching section but should be in the professional work section. Publications. Publications in both refereed and nonreferred journals are included on the CV. Full citations should be provided for all publications and listed in reverse chronological order. Because doctorally prepared nurses are responsible for translating evidence into practice, other forms of publication related to practice should be referenced in addition to journals or book chapters, for example, staff learning modules, patient education materials, and health-related policies and procedures. Research and Clinical Scholarship. Doctoral students provide important contributions to rigorous, systematic programs of research, and these contributions should be indicated in the CV. Doctoral graduates often have critical input in development of institutional review board proposals and ongoing protection of study participants. Doctoral graduates are involved with participant recruitment and serve as expert clini-
268
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cal consultants and project directors for studies. In addition to research contributions, graduates often have had significant roles in the development, implementation, and evaluation of clinical scholarship such as through systematic reviews of the literature. These can be reflected on the CV. Professional Presentations. Quality poster and/or podium presentations are critical indicators of scholarship and should be emphasized in a separate section of the CV. For new graduates, presentations conducted in their doctoral programs may be included in this section. Professional Accomplishments. In this section, the applicant should list honors, awards, and any formal recognition for teaching or contributions to evidence-based practice. Awards or recognitions for volunteer service, for example, American Red Cross for outstanding work in disaster preparedness, also may be listed in this section. Service. Contributions to the college/university or health system should be listed. Service contributions include activities such a committee member, committee chair, ad hoc committee, task force, and search committee. It is important to categorize these contributions according to level, for example, university level (eg, faculty senate), school level (eg, chair curriculum committee), healthcare setting (eg, evidence-based practice committee). Professional Memberships. Applicants should list, in reverse chronological order, their professional organization memberships and offices held or special assignments related to the professional organization.
Summary A CV serves as formal documentation of the applicant’s career path and provides necessary demographic and historical information for career change or advancement. Therefore, each section of the CV should be a thorough accounting of the applicant’s academic, work, and professional responsibilities and attainments. The guidelines in this column also are relevant for nurse educators applying for positions in schools of nursing.
References 1. Nicholl C. Leonard Da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind. London: Allen Lane; 2004. 2. DiGirolamo GJ, Hintzman DL. First impressions are lasting impressions: a primacy effect in memory for repetitions. Psychonomic Bull Rev. 1997;4(1):121-124. 3. Willis J, Todorov A. First impressions: making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychol Sci. 2006;17(7):592-598. 4. Dougherty TW, Turban BB, Callender JC. Confirming first impressions in the employment interview: a field study of interview behavior. J Appl Psychol. 1994;79:659-665. 5. Schultze QJ. Resume 101: A Student Guide and Recent-Grad Guide to Crafting Resumes and Cover Letters That Land Jobs. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press; 2012. 6. Shellenbarger T, Chunta KS. The curriculum vitae: sending the right message. Nurse Educ. 2007;32(1):30-33. 7. Grimes DA. Sabotaging your curriculum vitae. Obstet Gynecol. 2010; 115(5):1071-1074. 8. Barret KE. Preparing your curriculum vitae. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2002;34(4):362-365.
Nurse Educator
Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
