Importance of components of the curriculum vitae in determining appointment to senior registrar posts

To evaluate the opinions of regional education advisers, academics and other consultants about features of the curriculum vitae, we undertook a small attitude survey. The response rate was 73%, which provided data from a total of 78 influential anaesthetists. The respondents' attitude to each feature of the curriculum vitae was reported using a linear visual analogue scale. The three groups had similar attitude scores to most features, but not to research time, training time, higher degrees and abstracts of papers presented to the Anaesthetic Research Society. Publications in the main anaesthesia journals, time in other major medical specialties, research and the possession of a higher degree were scored highly by all respondents. Papers in non-peer-reviewed journals, letters, unsubmitted papers, and time in training for general practice attracted lower scores. The free text comments of many respondents indicated a considerable disillusionment about the whole appointments process.