Nurse resume examples from 2026

How To Write A Nurse Resume

Resume writing can be daunting to even the most experienced professionals, and nurses are no exception.

We’ve learned that it can be helpful to see what you should be putting in a resume, so we put together this article explaining what you should include on your resume as a nurse and tips on how to make it shine. We’ve also included examples of nurses’ resumes you can use as a reference.

Key Takeaways:

• Your nurse resume should include your contact information, summary statement, certifications and licenses, work history, skills, and educational background.

• Put your credentials after your name at the top of your resume.

• Customize your resume to every job you apply for, being sure to highlight keywords, responsibilities, and skills you see listed in the job description.

What Should Be Included in a Nurse Resume

1. Your Name and Contact Information

   It won’t do you much good to have a well-written resume if hiring managers can’t easily find whose it is. It’s generally a best practice to put your name and contact information in the most prominent place on your resume: right at the top.

   Include your nursing credentials right after your name so that hiring managers can see them right away as well. List them in this order:

   • Highest earned degree

   • Licensure

   • State designations

   • National certifications

   • Awards and honors

   • Other recognitions

   After your name and credentials, put your contact information. This should include:

   • Your phone number

   • Your email address (make sure it’s a professional-sounding personal address)

   • Your address (city and state or just state are fine)

   You can add your LinkedIn profile as well, but this isn’t very common with nurses, as you can’t usually demonstrate much of your work on LinkedIn. However, if you have information that you’d like recruiters to see on your LinkedIn profile, feel free to include it.

   Here’s an example of how this will look when it’s all said and done:

   LILY BARREIRO
   BSN, RN, TNCC, CCRN
   lilybarreiro@email.com | Dallas, TX | 444-555-8888
   

2. Your Summary Statement

   Put a one- to two-sentence summary statement at the top of your resume to give hiring managers a picture of who you are, what motivates you, and what you’d add to their organization.

   Here’s an example summary statement:

   “Dedicated, conscientious RN with two years of ICU experience. Excellent at building rapport and communicating with patients, doctors, and nursing staff and working as a team with colleagues.”

3. Your Licenses and Certifications

   Nursing licenses and certifications are powerful, as they quickly communicate a significant amount of information about your skills and experience. Hiring managers want to be able to quickly find these on your resume, so create a separate section for them.

   Here are just a few examples of the many different certifications and licenses you should include on your resume if you have them:

   • Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)

   • Medical Assistant

   • Basic Life Support (BLS)

   • Certified Nurse Technician (CNT)

   • Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP)

   • Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC)

   • Family Nurse Practitioner

   • Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)

   • Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN)

   • Acute/Critical Care Nursing (Adult, Pediatric & Neonatal) (CCRN)

   • Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP)

   • Certified Continence Care Nurse (CCCN)

   • Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN)

4. Your Work History

   This section is the meat of your resume and the place where you get to show off all of your hard work and accomplishments.

   The best way to organize this section is typically in reverse chronological order, which means putting your current or most recent position at the top. For each job, include:

   • Your job title

   • The name of the organization you worked for

   • Your start and end date (just the month and year)

   • Bullet points detailing your responsibilities and accomplishments within that position

   For every job you apply to, adjust your bullet points to reflect the individual job description. For example, if a job description mentions your ability to chart quickly and accurately, put your charting skills and experiences at the top of the list of bullet points. This will help show hiring managers that you are the perfect person for the job.

   Here’s an example work history section for a nurse’s resume:

   Neurotrauma Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse
   St. Thomas Hospital | Richmond, VA | August 2018 - Present

   • Monitored for changes in patient post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requisition consultations when complications occurred.

   • Worked closely with physicians and surgeons to implement treatment plans.

   • Assisted with intubation, EVD placement and monitoring, EGD, thoracotomy, and central line insertions.

5. Your Skills

   One of the best ways to put together this section of your resume is to write out as many of your skills as you can think of and then go back to the job description you’re applying for and see how many of them cross over. Then, pick six to 12 of your skills that best match the job description and list those on your resume.

   Here are some examples of hard or technical skills you could include:

   • Treatment plans. Physicians create treatment plans for patients, and nurses need to know how to interpret them and carry them out.

   • CPR. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving procedure that nurses need to know how to perform during an emergency.

   • Infection control. Nurses need to have infection control skills to help hospitals reduce pathogens, in turn reducing the risk of infection in patients.

   Here are some additional examples of hard skills you could list on your resume:

   • Patient care

   • Acute care

   • BLS

   • ACIS

   • Vital signs

   • Triage

   • Medical records

   Nurses need soft skills as well, and here are some examples of these skills that you can list on your resume:

   • Teamwork. Nurses don’t work in a vacuum, and they need to be able to support and work in tandem with physicians, surgeons, and other nurses on a daily basis.

   • Communication. Nurses need to be able to communicate effectively with their patients, their patient's families, and other medical professionals, as they are often the go-between for these groups.

   • Problem-solving. Nurses run into a significant number of unexpected challenges and circumstances every day, and they need to be able to solve these problems effectively, calmly, and quickly.

   Here are some additional examples of soft skills for nurses:

   • Compassion

   • Professionalism

   • Accountability

   • Adaptability

   • Organization

   • Time management

   • Critical thinking

   • Empathy

   • Listening

6. Your Relevant Education

   Depending on how long you’ve been in the workforce, you may want to put this section at the top of your resume. This is typically recommended for new graduates who don’t have as much work experience, but after you have a few years under your belt, you can bump this section down to the bottom of your resume.

   When you’re writing this section, include all of your applicable degrees. List them from most recent/advanced to least recent/advanced, and include the following information:

   • The degree name

   • The month and year or year you graduated (if you haven’t graduated yet, put “Expected Graduation Date” before the month and year you plan to graduate)

   • The school you graduated from

   You can also include any of this information that is pertinent to you:

   • Unrelated majors

   • Minors and concentrations

   • Academic awards or honors (Cum Laude, Dean’s List, etc.)

   • GPA (only if you’re a recent graduate and earned a 3.5 or above)

   • Academic projects (senior project, thesis, dissertation)

Five Key Resume Tips for Writing a Nurse Resume

1. Customize your resume for every job you apply for. This may be a pain, but it’s important. Show hiring managers you’re the perfect person for the job by adjusting the order and wording of your work experience bullet points, rearranging your skills lists, and tweaking your vocabulary to fit the job you’re applying for.

2. Pay attention to keywords. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is prevalently used to sort through applicants’ resumes before a hiring manager ever sees them. Give yours a better chance of being put in a favorable position by incorporating keywords listed in the job description into your resume.

3. Relate your experience to the job description. Even if your experiences aren’t a perfect match for a job you’re applying for, that’s okay. You just have to be intentional about showing hiring managers how your past experiences and skills will carry over into this new role.

4. Quantity whenever you can. Attach numbers to your experiences and skills to give hiring managers a better picture of just how good of a nurse you are. Chances are most nurses applying for the job are going to say they’ve administered IVs, but not all of them will be able to say they successfully placed over 500 IVs in three months.

5. Proofread. Nurses have to be attentive to the smallest details, so you must use your resume as an opportunity to demonstrate your skills in this area. Go over it with a fine-tooth comb, use computer grammar checkers, and have a friend read it over to make sure you haven’t missed anything before you submit it.