No matter how experienced you are, or how impressive your background may be, landing your next job could depend on the quality of your resume. To help you pass that critical test, here's everything you need to know about how to create a nursing résumé, including a template of essentials to include.
- Looking for a new career opportunity? Browse hundreds of open nursing jobs
How to Create a Nursing Résumé & Why It Matters
It may be exaggerated, but the old saying that recruiters spend less than 10 seconds looking at a resume is probably true. And that phrase dates before AI, which now screens most resumes before a human recruiter even sees them.
On top of that, most of the best nursing jobs are very competitive, with many highly qualified applicants vying to land the same position — and that’s true in spite of the shortage of nurses in many parts of the country.
The bottom line? You only have one chance to make the best impression, and not much time to do it. And while there’s no magic formula to get it exactly right, you can improve your chances in a big way by following this nursing resume template.
Nursing Resume Template: 6 Essential Components
If you're used to listing your objectives and references on your resume, it's time to rethink your process. When it comes down to it, there are only 6 elements that recruiters look for, and it's important to get them right. Let's dive in.
#1: Your name, title, and contact info
At the very top of your nursing resume should be your name, title, and most important contact information. List your most important credentials after your name, in this order: highest degree earned, license, state designation, and national certification. You can also add awards and other recognitions you have.
Next, include your phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile. Your address isn’t necessary, but you may want to include your city and state, especially if the job is seeking local applicants only.
- Sample template: Sidney Smith, BSN, RN, CNS, FNP-BC, FAAN
555-666-7777, ssmith@gmail.com, linked.com/ssmith
#2: Nursing professional summary
Next comes your professional summary. Basically, this is your elevator pitch, a way to grab attention while highlighting your top skills and qualifications, plus anything that sets you apart — for instance, if you're bilingual, have filled in as supervisor, served on committees, or won any impressive awards.
This should be short and sweet — no more than a few sentences at most. And remember, the person reading your resume may not know anything about the actual job, so use basic language. And don’t go into too much detail on work experience or certification — you’ll have time for that in the sections that follow.
- Sample template: Registered Nurse with 8+ years of direct experience in critical care (CCU) and progressive care (PCU) settings. Skilled in patient assessment and care plan management, with demonstrated success in improving patient care metrics for a 12-bed intensive and intermediate care ward. Recognized for exceptional teamwork and patient/family rapport. Bilingual in English and Spanish.
#3: Key skills and competencies
Next, list four to six of your most important qualifications. These should also align with keywords from the actual job description — for instance, if they’re seeking a certain certification that you have, list it here, rather than making them scroll down to a further section.
- Sample template: Key Skills: Clinical operations (Fluent), Surgical care (Fluent), Trauma care (competent), Case management (competent), Certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
#4: Nursing work experience
Next, list your work experience. Include your title at the job, the facility’s name, location, and the dates you worked there. Then, include a short list of your specific duties or accomplishments. There are a few options for the sequence:
- Chronological order, listing jobs from newest to oldest
- Functional order, listing jobs in order of how relevant they are to the position
- Combination, where jobs are listed in order, but only the most important ones are included
Functional histories may be better for travel nurses with a variety of different experience, or if you have some gaps in your employment history. Chronological is best if you don’t have more than a few jobs to list.
- Sample template: Registered Nurse, St. Anne's Hospital, Des Moines IA, April 2015 - June 2019. Worked primarily in telemetry unit. Led a team of 15 LPNs. Coordinated with physicians and care team to increase the number of patients seen and discharged in less than 30 minutes from 66% to 75%.
#5: Education and credentials
Next, list the degrees you’ve earned, plus all your current licenses and certifications. If you have more than a few of each, then only list those most relevant to the job.
For degrees, list the institution and date earned. For licenses, include the state, license number, and expiration date — employers will want to know if it’s still valid or not. For certifications, including the date you received each one, the accrediting body, and expiration date.
- Sample template: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, 5/2018. Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), American Heart Association, expires 12/1/2021.
#6: Awards, honors and memberships
Finally, if you have any awards or other honors, list them at the end of your resume. You can also list memberships you have in professional associations or affiliations relevant to nursing or healthcare. And if you have relevant volunteer or committee work, include that, too!
- Sample template: Recipient of DAISY Award, 8/2023. Active member, Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). Volunteer, Glendale Community Free Clinic, CA, 5/2022–Present.
Find Your Next Nursing Career with HealthTrust
Creating a nursing resume is just the beginning! Put it to the test with a great new career opportunity. We’ve got openings across the country, including hundreds of per diem, travel, and local contract opportunities in some of the nation’s best facilities. See what’s available by searching open nursing jobs now.
