How Can I Write a Winning Nursing Resume?

Understanding the Basics of a Nursing Resume

When crafting a nursing resume, several key components should be included to best display your contact information, education, licenses, certifications, and professional experience.

Contact Information

First, ensure you include your full legal name, phone number, and professional email address prominently at the top of your resume. This is how potential employers will contact you, so updated contact information is essential. In addition, it may be beneficial to include your nursing license number, as employers will inevitably need this information.

Licenses and Certifications

Detail all nursing licenses and certifications you have acquired, with the most recent ones listed first. Include the full title of the license or certification, the date you received it, and the issuing organization. If a license or certification is region-specific (e.g., state or country), make sure to mention the jurisdiction.

• License Example: Registered Nurse, New York State Board of Nursing, License #123456, obtained October 2020.
• Certification Example: Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, obtained July 2019.

Professional Experience

This section should be the focus of your nursing resume. Include all of your formal nursing roles, internships, and relevant healthcare experience. For each position, supply the title, organization, location, and dates of employment. Following this, utilize bullet points to depict major responsibilities and achievements. Rather than just describing your duties, articulate them in a way that shows your accomplishments during that period.

For example, instead of stating, “Provided patient care,” you could write, “Implemented patient-focused care for up to 12 patients per shift leading to a 33% increase in patient satisfaction scores.”

This technique of results-oriented language showcases your success in a quantifiable way, making your skills and accomplishments more concrete.

Education

The education segment should list your degrees in reverse chronological order. Include the degree name, school name, graduation year, and any relevant minors or specializations.

• Example: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), State University, May 2021, with a specialization in pediatric care.

Tailoring Your Nursing Resume to Job Descriptions

When you are looking through job descriptions, the first step is paying close attention to specific keywords and phrases. These usually reflect the qualities, experiences, skills, and qualifications that a potential employer is looking for in an applicant.

Identify Keywords in the Job Description

Most job descriptions have a section for required skills or qualifications. Look for specific nursing skills such as “patient assessment”, “wound care”, or “infection control”, along with other transferable ones like “teamwork”, “communication skills”, or “time management”.

Also, keep an eye out for any particular software or equipment the job may require you to be proficient in. For example, “experience in electronic medical records (EMR) systems” may be mentioned. These are all keywords that you’ll want to include in your nursing resume if you possess these abilities.

Highlight Relevant Work Experience

Consider your past experiences, whether they are from previous nursing roles, other healthcare positions, or even from other industries. Try to include experiences and accomplishments that demonstrate the skills and competencies the employer is seeking. If the job description mentions a strong emphasis on patient satisfaction, for example, you could mention a time when you received positive feedback or an award for patient care.

Match Your Education and Certifications

Ensure your education and certifications match the requirements. If the job description highlights specific qualifications or nursing specialties, your resume should include them as well. For example, if the job requires a “BSN”, “ACLS certification”, or “pediatric nursing experience”, be sure to include these in your education or certification section.

As you tailor your nursing resume, remember to remain truthful about your skills and experiences. Misrepresenting or lying on your resume can lead to consequences, including the loss of a job offer or termination.

Highlighting Key Skills and Competencies

To effectively showcase your nursing-specific skills and competencies on your resume, your first step is to categorize them. Divide your skills into technical skills specific to nursing, interpersonal skills, and other transferable skills that are not necessarily exclusive to nursing but are advantageous in the job.

Add Nursing-Specific Technical Skills

Technical skills are abilities and knowledge needed to perform specific tasks related to nursing. Hospital administrations often look for these skills in a nurse’s resume. Make sure to detail your:

• Clinical skills as they relate to patient assessment, wound care, administration of medication, and patient hygiene.
• Operational skills such as charting, medical coding, and healthcare information systems.
• Any specialized skills, such as administering anesthesia, conducting physical examinations, or performing CPR.

Highlight Interpersonal Skills

Nursing is not just about the technical side. Interpersonal skills are as important, if not more, as your proficiency in performing tasks. Emphasize your:

• Communication skills, especially regarding patient and family education and accurate reporting of patient status and changes.
• Empathy and care for patients in various challenging health situations.
• Collaboration ability working with a team of nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals.

Show Transferable Skills

Flaunt your transferable skills from your previous degree or work experience. Whether it’s organizational skills, leadership, time management, or problem-solving, these skills can help differentiate you from other candidates.

Always remember to provide examples or situations where you demonstrated these skills. It will show potential employers that you not only have these skills but also know how to practically apply them.

Use Keywords From the Job Description

This method ensures your resume is more likely to be picked up during an automated initial review. Moreover, it shows your potential employer that you have carefully studied the job description and assessed how you can fulfill their needs.

Finally, ask someone with nursing experience to review your resume. They might spot an important skill you’ve left out or suggest ways to phrase your experiences more effectively.