Nursing Resume

Nursing is one of the noble and responsible professions in the world and it is one of the largest employment generators in the USA. 

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics USA, from the year 2019 to 2029, registered nurses’ job opportunities will grow by 7%, and it will generate 221,900 more employment for nursing professionals. 

In this fierce competition, a job seeker needs more than a generic resume to get a registered nurse job. 

In this article, we have outlined five essentials to write a winning nursing resume with tips and tricks on how to choose the right resume format in accordance with your experience and skills. 

Compose a Professional Experience Section

The professional experience section does not only list the previous job profiles. You need to highlight your accomplishments in the professional experience section to get noticed by the hiring manager. 

Here are a couple of tips to compose the professional experience section:

  • List your previous nursing experience in reverse chronological order.
  • Incorporate the CAR (Context-Action-Result) method to craft the accomplishment statements.
  • Use keywords related to nursing to craft accomplishments. 
  • Quantify the accomplishment if possible to put more emphasis on your skills. 
  • Club 3-4 bullet points under a single sub-bullet point to improve readability.

Write a Separate Skills Section

To make a better impression on the hiring manager, and pass the ATS systems, showcase your skills in a separate “Key Skills” section.

Here are some tips to compose the Key Skills section:

  • Place the “Key Skills” section after the resume summary.
  • Use bullets to separate the key skills and make it easier to scan
  • Avoid abbreviations in the key skills section.
  • Align the  skills with your previous experience and the skills mentioned in the job description

Here is a list of common skills of a registered nurse you can add to the nursing resume: 

  • Surgical Assistant
  • Patient Care
  • Wound Care
  • Nursing Administration 
  • Medication Administration
  • Record Maintenance
  • Infection Control
  • Bedside Monitoring
  • Blood Administration
  • Emergency Room care

Craft a professional summary

Nursing Resume

Writing a professional summary is the perfect way to grab the hiring manager’s attention. It gives the hiring manager an overview of the candidate’s skills and experience. 

However, that does not mean you start writing about your experiences in detail. A resume summary should not exceed 3-4 lines. 

Tips to craft a nursing resume summary:

  • Start the resume summary with your years of experience, followed by certifications and the designation.
  • Avoid writing the summary in the first or second-person perspective. Use power words like “Adept at”,, “Proficient in” to begin the sentences. 
  • Include points to highlight your key skills to improve your chances of getting a job. 

If you incorporate these tips, the nursing resume summary may look like this:

  “5+ years experienced and CCRN certified registered nurse adept at delivering optimum patient care while ensuring compliance with the hospital policy and procedures. Possesses expertise in basic life support to increase patient healing effectiveness and reduce discharge time. Proficient in developing patient care plans and instructing patients and caregivers about medications and restrictions to bolster the treatment’s effectiveness.“

Include Keywords

According to CIO.com, more than 40% of employers use the ATS system in their hiring process

That means you need to ensure that the nursing resume is well-optimized with the relevant keywords to pass the ATS system.

Here’s how to do that:

  • Go through the job description. 
  • Find your key responsibilities and skills requirements for the job.
  • Match the responsibilities with your own experience. 
  • Identify the keywords and include those throughout the resume. 

Note: Ensure to include the keywords in the relevant section. Do not randomly include keywords to pass the ATS test. 

Bonus TIps

Here are two bonus tips for writing the nursing resume:

  • Do not use “Resume” or “CV” as the resume title. Instead, add your name in the title section. 
  • Only the resume summary is in paragraph format. Every other information on the resume must be single-line bulleted points. 

Key Takeaways

Here are the Key Takeaways:

  • Write a professional summary of 3-4 lines to grab the hiring manager’s interest in your resume.
  • Use job-specific keywords throughout your resume to make it ATS-friendly.
  • Use reverse chronological order to craft the professional experience section of the resume.