How to Write Physician Bios: 5 Research-Based Tips

Dr. X graduated from Y University in 1999 …

Has your brain switched off yet? Ours, too.

Doctor bios are some of the most important pieces of content for patient acquisition. In our 2024 study (more on that soon), we found that 92% of patients read physician bios before scheduling their first appointment. Bios matter — a lot.

Yet, some bios read like they’re starring in “How to Lose a Reader in 10 Words.” They might cover the doctor’s educational background, credentials, and research — and even spice it up with a fun fact or hobby — but often fail to highlight the elements that truly matter to prospective patients.

What are those elements, you ask?

What goes into a great physician profile?

At Aha Media Group, we’re committed to producing patient-centric content. One way we deliver on our promise is by asking patients directly, “What do you want to see in healthcare content?”

In the summer of 2024, we asked this question about physician bios. 534 people shared their feedback about the most important factors they consider when choosing a physician.

We’ve used our research findings to inform this guide to writing doctor bios. Stick around for insights you can apply ASAP.

5 tips for writing doctor bios that convert

Learn how to deliver what patients are looking for in a physician bio.

1. Spotlight the doctor’s practical experience

Education, age, gender, hospital affiliation … Patients weigh several factors when choosing their physician. But 55% say experience is one of the most important factors.

What does this mean for healthcare content writers? Don’t harp on education and credentials at the beginning of the bio. Instead, lead with the doctor’s:

• Areas of expertise
• Specialties
• Years in practice
• Notable achievements, awards, or recognitions

A physician’s educational background still matters. Patients just consider it a given. (If the physician wasn’t qualified to practice medicine, then patients wouldn’t be reading their bio on a hospital’s website in the first place.)

2. Write with patients in mind

When you write a doctor bio for your hospital website, remember who it’s for. Your target audience isn’t the doctor’s peers, other hospitals, or the physician themselves … it’s prospective patients.

Medical jargon, out-of-context stats, and technical details about procedures won’t resonate with patients. They run the risk of boring your audience, or worse — scaring them away.

Write in plain language to make the bio accessible for all readers:

• Avoid using jargon: Patients might not know it! There’s almost always another word you can use or another way to explain a concept.
• Contextualize stats: Is a 73% success rate considered good for this procedure? What’s the average? Make the math make sense for patients.
• Be reader-centric: Focus on what patients want to know. (Not sure what that is? That’s what our study is for.)
• Keep it concise: A lengthy bio is a liability — not an advantage. Deliver the info patients need in short paragraphs with bullet points.
• Use active voice: This makes your writing easier for readers to process. Think “Dr. X did Y,” not “Y was done by Dr. X.”

Above all, lead with empathy. Imagine the tests, diagnoses, and sleepless nights that might have led up to this point for patients. Take the right tone when writing a physician’s bio to instill confidence, comfort, and hope.

3. Add trust-building details

Speaking of instilling confidence, how do you write a doctor bio that says, “You can trust me with your care”? Do you humanize the physician by sharing about their hobbies? Do you add a touch of humor? Do you write about their family or hometown?

Those details can’t hurt, but they aren’t top factors for patients. Our research showed that people care most about a doctor’s:

• Care philosophy
• Reason for practicing medicine (their “why”)
• Morals and values

It’s cool that your physician has a Bernedoodle named Teddy and roots for the Crimson Tide. It’s much cooler that they dedicated their life’s work to medicine after beating a rare blood disorder in their childhood. Tell that story instead.

(Want some inspo? Check out 6 stellar physician bio examples that focus on all the right elements of a provider profile.)

4. Ask physicians the right questions

There’s a catch when it comes to writing about these elements: They often sound the same, from physician to physician.

Canned questions like “Why did you become a doctor?” or “What’s your care philosophy?” will get formal-sounding, rehearsed answers:

• “I’m passionate about helping people.”
• “Medicine runs in my family.”
• “Trust is an important part of the patient-provider relationship.”

To help physicians get to the unique philosophies and special stories beneath the surface:

1. Ask them open-ended questions: “What’s something you wish every patient knew?”
2. Frame your question as a story prompt: “Tell me about the moment you chose to become a doctor.”

5. Optimize the doctor bio for search

Remember, 92% of patients seek out provider bios before scheduling a first appointment. Help them out — optimize your bios to show up where people are searching for physicians. Here’s how.

Expand your physician search strategy

Years ago, optimizing content for search meant following the latest version of the SEO checklist that lived rent-free in your head. The goal was simple: Rank on Google’s first page.

Now, people are searching through additional channels (like AI platforms). And even when they do use search engines, it’s harder for them to see organic results on cluttered search results pages. Organic rankings aren’t enough to drive visibility.

Update your optimization strategy for a more complicated search market:

• Incorporate multimedia: Use videos and images to help bio pages stand out on search engines and rank in video and image panels. (Read more about this here.)
• Don’t worry too much about bio pages ranking in AI: This sounds counterintuitive, but the goal is less about getting your bio pages to rank in AI, and more about getting your physicians recommended by the platforms. ChatGPT or Claude might name your providers and link your program page instead of their bios — that’s OK! Your physician’s names are still appearing in front of users.
• Optimize user journeys, not just the bios themselves: Patients might be landing on your service line pages, program pages, physician directory, or other places on your website after searching for a provider. Build clear pathways from those pages to your bios. Make it easy for users to find provider bio pages with a prominent “Find a Physician” CTA above the fold.

Target the right keywords

Don’t only focus on keywords like “cardiologist in Scottsdale.” It’s also important to target the physician’s name as a keyword. When a patient is referred to one of your providers, that’s the first thing they’ll search.

Learn more about choosing the right keywords for SEO.

Apply these insights to your doctor bios with confidence, healthcare content writer: You’re serving patients the info they want from your hospital website.

Want to hand the bio writing baton to a trusted team? We don’t love running, but we’d do it for you any day.

Get website content writing support.