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Free Downloadable Nursing Resume Templates and Expert Writing Tips
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There is no imaginable circumstance in which a hospital can run without the help of nurses. They’re also a necessary addition to schools, nursing homes and orphanages. With the different jobs out there to choose from, we pulled together these expertly written nursing resume examples, free resume templates and job-specific writing guides to help you find your next job.
Best Free Downloadable Resume Templates for Nursing Jobs
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Ivy League
This descriptive resume format is free to download and compatible with the word processor of your choice. Just swap out the filler text, change the style to suit you, and rearrange the resume format. -
Keep Simple
The vibrant blue lines clearly distinguish every section of this resume. Download this format and customize it to any color that suits you. For example, pediatric nurses may use playful color schemes, while ER or oncology nurses may want to opt for sleek color combinations. -
Offset
This creatively designed template is an attention grabber and will surely stand out among the rest of the resumes. The prewritten content can also help you fill out your resume through our tips on what to include and how to phrase your content. -
Plain Divider
This elegantly designed resume and the provided sleek font make for a highly professional resume. Add more sections to this downloadable template using your preferred word processor. Easily change the chronological format to a functional or a combination one by swapping the order of the different sections. -
Skills Highlight
This template creatively highlights your skills without words, making it an interesting read for the recruiters. Download the template and stylize it using your preferred content editing software. -
Solid Segments
This resume gives a chronological resume format a unique twist by sectioning the page's content into two halves, with work history taking up an entire half and the rest of the information in the second half. This appealing choice makes everything accessible at a glance.
9 Nursing Resume Examples
Resumes follow specific formats according to the candidate’s capabilities. All the different resume designs and styles usually come under these three categories: chronological, functional and combination.
We explain these three formats below using a few practical examples to help you build your nursing resume.
Chronological Resume
We recommend a chronological resume if you have over 10 years of professional experience. This format dedicates most of your document to highlighting your detailed nursing experience and is an excellent choice if you want to focus on your former career growth and promotions.
Below are some examples of nursing resumes using a chronological approach to format their content:
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1. Cardiac nurse: Knowing the inner workings of the human body, especially the heart, warrants a lot of experience. With detailed bullet points under each previous job entry, cardiac nurses can make their professional work experience stand out.
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2. Critical care nurse: This profession requires nurses to stay on their feet, ready to be called to rooms where critically wounded patients need their help. The role requires a professional resume showing the capability of handling a life-or-death situation. A chronological resume, detailing their skills and experience, is the most suited approach for this job profile.
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3. ER nurse: An ER nurse has to handle everything from assisting the doctors in surgery to comforting patients by checking on them physically and mentally. It can be challenging to explain the depth of the actual work without going into detail, making a chronological resume the best approach to handle this task.
Combination Resume
A combination resume is for individuals with limited work experience who cannot rely on a lengthy list of previous jobs to validate their experience. Candidates with three to four years of experience go for this format, as it gives an equal amount of attention to their skills and abilities.
Medical assistants and pediatric nurses would benefit from this format as these roles usually require a nominal amount of experience and an accomplished skill set.
Some examples of a combination resume for nursing job profiles are:
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1. Medical assistant: A vital role in a hospital, a medical assistant works on multiple things from getting records to knowing a patient's history, assisting hospital rounds or checking on all patients. Juniper Ordonez uses the combination format effectively to describe her work experience and essential skills that make her the perfect fit for the role.
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2. Nurse practitioner: This profession needs the individual to be well-versed in medical terms and hospital codes for emergencies and mishaps. This combination nursing resume sample features two skill sections dedicated to soft and technical skills to help offset Aria Crown’s short work history.
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3. Pediatric nurse: A nurse in the pediatric section has to deal with children's illnesses. Having an equal list of relevant skills described in detail, along with your work history, works out well for candidates like Noan Medeiros who have a balanced career profile.
Functional Resume
A functional resume is an entry-level-friendly format, applicable for recent graduates or individuals experienced in other fields of study looking to change their careers. This addition of skills make up for your lack of professional experience.
While making your skills list, make sure to avoid words an applicant tracking system (ATS) may flag negatively such as “teamwork” or “hardworking” as much as possible. These automated systems often pick out these repetitive terms, and they automatically flag your resume.
Below are a few examples of how a functional resume is formatted:
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1. Caregiver: A caregiver is an excellent position for individuals interested in gaining experience in nursing as it requires an abundance of patience and care to compassionately deal with patients. An expanded skills list detailing the top three specific skills needed for the job profile is a great way to enhance your functional resume.
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2. Certified nursing assistant: This profession is a starting point for many nurses. It follows the same duties of a nurse in a hospital, like tending to patients and other health care needs, but under the supervision of a registered nurse. Conan Ferrel's skills list takes up a considerable portion of the resume, making the need for an expanded work history section obsolete.
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3. Travel registered nurse: A travel nurse works at multiple health care facilities to help with the shortage of registered nurses. Having a standard combination resume design but swapping out the work history section with an expanded skills section makes up for the lack of professional experience.
What Can You Earn as a Nursing Professional?
The wages of each role vary depending on experience level, educational credentials and the location of the health care center. For instance, an experienced registered nurse working in a well-established hospital is bound to earn more than a caregiver in a nursing home.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wages nationwide for a registered nurse in industries with high employment rates are as follows:
Top Nursing Skills for Your Resume
Your skills section is a great way to highlight your top skills, but solely having a dedicated section can be limiting as it only allows for six to eight skills and doesn’t contain your experience applying the skills.
Mention all your skills throughout the following sections:
- Opening Statement: An opening statement needs to have a minimum of one or two skills relevant to the role in nursing you are applying for. For example, using sentences like “detail-oriented practitioner” or “excellent at customer service and verbal communication” gives the reader an idea of your capabilities.
- Work History: A work history section often contains general and vague descriptions. You can improve your nursing resume with a solid list of technical and hard skills, backed with evidence of your proficiency. For example, "Performed disability assessments for veterans using FIM and ADAT” to indicate your technical knowledge.
The following are a list of soft, hard and technical skills that you can apply in your nursing resume:
Soft skills
Soft skills are the most crucial aspect of being a nurse. These skills entail dealing with patients compassionately and reporting to doctors and other nurses, being able to work long hours and communicating medical requirements. Some of the essential skills to have are:
- 1. Communication
- 2. Empathy
- 3. Critical thinking
- 4. Conflict resolution
- 5. Strong work ethic
- 6. Adaptability
- 7. Creativity
- 8. Open-mindedness
- 9. Stamina
- 10. Organization
Hard skills
Hard skills relate to the job-specific knowledge and proficiency required to perform the duties of the role. For example, a nursing position may require knowledge of drug administration or bedside assistance in surgery. The top hard skills required from a nurse are:
- 1. Recording vital signs
- 2. Performing CPR
- 3. Medication scheduling
- 4. Disease assessment
- 5. Measuring bodily fluids
- 6. Physical examination
- 7. Diagnostic testing
- 8. End of life care
- 9. Alternative solution knowledge
- 10. Meal planning and preparation
Technical skills
Technical skills require a nurse to know how various machines in a hospital operate, as well as how patient records are modified on a computer. These may include:
- 1. Telemetry devices
- 2. Respiratory devices
- 3. X-ray machine
- 4. Microsoft Office 365
- 5. Gmail
- 6. Hospital management system software
- 7. Knowledge of machines specific to the role
Best 5 Certifications for Your Nursing Resume
Nursing skills are learned only through practical experience. Being able to coordinate with the various patients and doctors in a hospital scenario is something no course can teach. But having the medical expertise to land the job is a requirement. Here are five certifications that can help you with that:
- Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C)
- Adult-gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (A-GNP)
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP-BC)
- Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP-BC)
- Genetics Nursing Advanced (AGN-BC)
FAQ
What are the top three skills of a nursing assistant?
Different nursing roles demand expertise in various skills, but the top three skills that every individual in the nursing sector should have are:
- Communication
- Empathy
- Recording vital signs
What do nursing assistants mention under a summary statement?
A nursing assistant's summary statement should showcase two to three soft skills with examples, the number of years of experience and at least one career achievement to validate their experience. A few other points to remember while writing an opening statement are:
- Cater to the role and mention job-specific abilities and tasks.
- Keep it concise and informative — three to four sentences should suffice.
- Mention examples from practical experiences, ensuring to include at least one quantifiable metric.
What are examples of nursing duties?
A nurse’s duties depend on their role. For example, a caretaker in a nursing home will have different tasks than a registered nurse in a hospital. However, some general tasks all nurses would undertake are as follows:
- Recording vital signs
- Performing CPR
- Medication scheduling
- Physical examination
- Diagnostic testing
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