Putting together a nursing resume can be tough—it's a competitive field, and you need to make your skills and qualifications stand out from the crowd. While some elements are consistent across the board (e.g. having your name, contact info, and education listed, for instance), it’s easy to underestimate the power of nuance and individuality in resume writing.
Below, we’ve outlined how to create (and update) an effective nursing resume, thanks to expertise from Nursing Professional Development & Education Specialist, Damion K. Jenkins, MSN, RN.
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How to write a nursing resume in 5 steps
When crafting a nursing resume, Jenkins emphasizes the importance of following a structured approach to ensure that yours makes an impression with the hiring manager. Above all, you want your resume to be organized, easy to read, and succinct.
Step 1: Start with a strong summary statement
“Begin with a strong summary that highlights your qualifications and career goals,” Jenkins says. “Make sure to use keywords from the job description and qualifications required.” (Here's how to read a job description the right way.)
Your summary statement will speak to your past, present, and future as a nurse, while also making it easy for a recruiter to draw clear connections between your professional life and the job in question.
Need specific ideas? Read this next: 20 Resume Summary Examples to Make Writing Your Own Easier
Step 2: Include non-negotiable sections
Next, make sure you’ve accounted for the non-negotiable sections that every nursing resume needs. According to Jenkins, these include: your contact information, a professional summary of your achievements, your nursing education, licensure and certifications, clinical experience, and relevant role-specific skills.
On top of that, list any professional affiliations, volunteer work, and professional references. Together, these sections will make up the bulk of your resume.
Step 3: Highlight your most valuable skills
A good nursing resume includes hard and soft skills, both of which are necessary for patient care. Jenkins suggests highlighting specific clinical and interpersonal skills that are considered very valuable in the nursing world, including patient assessment, medication administration, wound care, critical thinking, conflict resolution, customer service, and effective communication.
Certifications like BLS, ACLS, PALS, or a specialty-specific certification should also be prominently featured.
Step 4: Do a thorough check for mistakes
As a nurse career coach and mentor, Jenkins has come face-to-face with countless nursing resume mistakes. To make your resume shine, he urges you to check their resumes for the following:
- Grammatical errors and typos
- An unprofessional email address (e.g. anything besides your first and last name, with a number, if necessary)
- Irrelevant information that doesn’t pertain to the role
- Dense blocks of text
Using this list to clean up your resume will improve your chances of getting noticed during your job search. Consider this your list of “don’t dos.”
Step 5: Follow nursing resume best practices
In terms of what you should do, Jenkins endorses the use of bullet points for better readability (vs. long text blocks), using keywords from the job description to help your resume pass through application tracking systems (ATS), tailoring your resume for each job application, and proofreading vigorously.
Your nursing resume format should be clean and professional, and up to date with any new skills, certifications and experiences.
“Remember, keeping your resume concise and relevant matters,” he says. “If you are including a detailed summary about the dog-sitting job you had as a teenager for a charge nurse position, chances are that your resume won’t make it through the initial screening process.”
Nursing resumes FAQs
How often should you update your nursing resume?
Nurses should update their resume at least every six months, or immediately after acquiring a new skill, certification, or job experience. “Regular updates ensure that your resume is always current and ready for new opportunities, reflecting your most recent and relevant qualifications,” Jenkins says.
How should nurses describe their nursing experience and clinical skills?
To make your experience and clinical skills stand out, use action verbs and quantify your achievements, says Jenkins.
For example, a solid resume bullet point could be:
Provided care for a 30-bed unit, reducing patient falls by 20% through the
implementation of a new safety protocol and interprofessional collaboration with hourly rounding.
“Highlight specific clinical skills and procedures you’re proficient in, and showcase any leadership roles or special projects you’ve undertaken,” he says. “Be proud of your positive outcomes, and include stories that highlight how you’ve grown professionally through some failures and unanticipated setbacks. Hiring managers don’t want robots—they want to know that they have people who are resilient and willing to adapt to the needs of the organization.”
What are the essentials for a new grad nurse resume, versus a nursing student or experienced nurse resume?
For a new grad nurse…
- Emphasize your clinical rotations, relevant coursework, and any nursing-related internships or volunteer work. Include a strong objective statement tailored to the role you’re applying for
For a nursing student resume…
- Focus on your education, clinical placements, and any healthcare-related work experience.
And for an experienced nurse…
- Prioritize your professional experience, listing roles in reverse chronological order (most recent experience first) with detailed descriptions of your responsibilities and achievements.
How should a nursing assistant, travel nurse, or nurse practitioner tailor their resume?
Per Jenkins’ advice, a nursing assistant resume should…
- Highlight your direct patient care experience and any specialized skills like phlebotomy or EKG administration, as well as team work, interdisciplinary collaboration and ability to follow instructions & escalation of abnormal findings.
A travel nurse resume should…
- Emphasize your adaptability, diverse clinical experiences, and ability to quickly integrate into new teams.
And a nurse practitioner resume should…
- Detail your advanced practice skills, patient caseload, and any specialized areas of practice, as well as leadership or teaching roles.
What are the essentials for a critical care nurse or emergency room nurse resume?
As for critical care nurses and ER nurses, Jenkins recommends emphasizing your ability to handle high-stress environments, proficiency in advanced life support, and experience with critical interventions such as intubation and other bedside emergency procedures.
Be sure to mention the diverse populations you’ve worked with, such as pediatric or trauma patients, and highlight your experience with critical care monitoring equipment and protocols.
What about nurses re-entering the workforce or changing specialties?
“For nurses re-entering the workforce or changing specialties, consider taking refresher courses or obtaining new certifications relevant to your desired role,” Jenkins says. “Note any continuing education or recent volunteer work to demonstrate your commitment to maintaining your skills. Finally, tailor your resume to showcase transferable skills and experiences that are applicable to the new specialty.”
Resume writing doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but you can still put together a standout nursing resume by using this guide. Good luck out there!
Once you get that interview, read this: 16 Nursing Interview Questions You Might Get Asked (and How to Answer Them)