What skills should a Ophthalmologist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Ophthalmologist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR, and Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Ophthalmologist work?

O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric, Glaucoma Specialist, Physician, and Retina Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Ophthalmologist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% reported their level of education as "Post-Doctoral Training". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Ophthalmologist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Ophthalmologist resume example

A resume for a Ophthalmologist needs to show the work itself: diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye. Day to day that means work like this: perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders; diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
Glaucoma Specialist
Physician
Retina Specialist
Clinical Ophthalmologist
Cornea Specialist
Oculoplastic Specialist
Ophthalmic Surgeon
Ophthalmologist Specialist
Surgical Ophthalmologist
MD
Cornea and External Disease Physician
Medical Doctor
Neuro-Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology Physician
Refractive Surgeon
Vitreoretinal Disease Physician

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders.
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids.
Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care.
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services.
Prescribe or administer topical or systemic medications to treat ophthalmic conditions and to manage pain.
Develop treatment plans based on patients' histories and goals, the nature and severity of disorders, and treatment risks and benefits.
Perform ophthalmic surgeries such as cataract, glaucoma, refractive, corneal, vitro-retinal, eye muscle, or oculoplastic surgeries.
Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision.
Document or evaluate patients' medical histories.
Perform, order, or interpret the results of diagnostic or clinical tests.
Provide ophthalmic consultation to other medical professionals.
Refer patients for more specialized treatments when conditions exceed the experience, expertise, or scope of practice of practitioner.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Allscripts PM
athenahealth athenaCollector
Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR
Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
CareCloud Central
Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management
eClinicalWorks EHR software
Email software
Epic Practice Management
EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems EyeMD EMR
GalacTek ECLIPSE
GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution
Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE

26 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Automated external defibrillators AED
Autorefractors
Binocular indirect ophthalmoscopes
Conjunctival sac scissors
Corneal scissors
Corneal topographers
Diagnostic exophthalmometers
Diagnostic ophthalmoscope sets
Digital still cameras
Electrosurgical coagulation units
Evisceration scoops
Eye speculums

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

prescribe medications

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Critical Thinking
02Reading Comprehension
03Active Listening
04Active Learning
05Complex Problem Solving
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Monitoring
08Social Perceptiveness
09Speaking
10Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Medicine and Dentistry
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Biology
Administration and Management
Education and Training
Mathematics
Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

42%Post-Doctoral Training
20%Doctoral Degree
14%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Ophthalmologist do?: Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye. Day to day that includes work like perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders and Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids.
What skills should a Ophthalmologist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Ophthalmologist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR, and Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Ophthalmologist work?: O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric, Glaucoma Specialist, Physician, and Retina Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Ophthalmologist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% reported their level of education as "Post-Doctoral Training". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Ophthalmologist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.