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Nurse practitioner skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Kathleen Sellers Ph.D.,
Amy Grugan Ph.D.
Nurse practitioner example skills

One of the most important hard skills a nurse practitioner can possess is extensive experience in healthcare and patient care, in both schooling and professional settings. It's also important for nurse practitioners to be well-trained in performing diagnostic tests and making diagnoses.


When it comes to soft skills, nurse practitioners should have strong empathy above all else, and a willingness to advocate for the patients in their care. Nurse practitioners often need to work long, demanding shifts, so strong endurance skills are also crucial.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical nurse practitioner skills. We ranked the top skills for nurse practitioners based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 28.7% of nurse practitioner resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a nurse practitioner needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 nurse practitioner skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how nurse practitioners use patients:
  • Performed and interpreted diagnostics tests, reviewed status of recommended preventative screenings, referred patients out for additional treatment when necessary.
  • Conducted extensive history and physical examination, carry out treatment plan, and provided detailed education to patients and family.

2. Diagnosis

Here's how nurse practitioners use diagnosis:
  • Provided comprehensive primary care to adult male population at Belmont County Correctional Facility including chronic and acute disease diagnosis and management.
  • Position required assessment, diagnosis, work-up and interpretation of diagnostics, in addition to effectively communicating with all physicians.

3. Home Health

Here's how nurse practitioners use home health:
  • Performed in-home health risk assessments for Medicare Advantage patients
  • Nurse Practitioner home healthy assessments/preventive care

4. Diagnostic Tests

Here's how nurse practitioners use diagnostic tests:
  • Formulated treatment plans based on diagnostic tests and provided recommendations about diabetes and lipid management to both patients and the endocrinologist.
  • Treat physical, gynecological and mental conditions through comprehensive history taking, physical exams, and ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests.

5. Acute Care

The branch of secondary healthcare which is responsible for giving short-term care to patients recovering from severe injuries or urgent medical problems is known as acute care. Acute care comprises multiple domains like; emergency care, urgent care, short-term stabilization, pre-hospital care, critical care, and trauma care.

Here's how nurse practitioners use acute care:
  • Formulated and implemented appropriate treatment plans in collaboration with attending and consulting physicians for hospitalized patients in various acute care settings.
  • Assess urology patients in the acute care setting, completing consultations of new admissions and daily examinations of existing hospitalized patients.

6. EMR

Here's how nurse practitioners use emr:
  • Assumed lead responsibilities for EMR adoption and Medical Home designation endeavors.
  • Experience with EMR Join Commission representative for Minute clinics re-accreditation.

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7. Medical Care

Here's how nurse practitioners use medical care:
  • Provided primary medical care to children and adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric care and performed admission history and physicals for hospital admissions.
  • Demonstrated competence and independence in providing inpatient and outpatient medical care in a large internal medicine practice in rural Michigan.

8. Urgent Care

Urgent care provides assistance to patients on an immediate basis. Although the problems requiring this swift attention are not life threatening, if not seen to it immediately, they may become a bigger problem. Therefore, time plays a crucial role in such situations.

Here's how nurse practitioners use urgent care:
  • Provided coverage for physicians in a large Internal Medicine practice in various settings including urgent care clinic and Pulmonary/sleep disorders clinic.
  • Collaborate with urgent care physicians and other members of the interdisciplinary team along with referring patients for specialty consultation.

9. Patient Education

Here's how nurse practitioners use patient education:
  • Monitored arterial access sites, removed sheaths, managed medications, individualized patient education and participated and ran codes if necessary.
  • Assist two physicians in a hematology/oncology practice by examining patients, providing patient education, administering chemotherapy and supervising clinical staff.

10. Compassion

Here's how nurse practitioners use compassion:
  • Show compassion when dealing with family members, keeping families informed of patient status.
  • Establish realistic, measurable goals while providing compassion and the highest quality care.

11. Medical History

Here's how nurse practitioners use medical history:
  • Obtained medical history, performed physical exams, ordered and interpreted laboratory tests, and prescribed bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.
  • Performed patient examinations with in-depth medical history review, primarily focusing on chronic health issues and pain management.

12. Health Promotion

Health promotion refers to programs aimed at engaging and empowering individuals to select healthy behaviors.

Here's how nurse practitioners use health promotion:
  • Provide well-child care including immunizations, anticipatory guidance, and health promotion education to the pediatric population and their families.
  • Develop strategies to deliver health promotion programs to youth including presentation of relevant harm reduction strategies to vulnerable youth population.

13. Rehabilitation

Here's how nurse practitioners use rehabilitation:
  • Prescribed age-specific physical therapy and rehabilitation.
  • Manage appropriate changes to individualized care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.

14. Direct Patient Care

Here's how nurse practitioners use direct patient care:
  • Functioned collaboratively with physicians to provide direct patient care in the ambulatory health setting, managing acute and chronic conditions.
  • Provided direct and indirect patient care services under written and approved standardized procedures;

15. FNP

Here's how nurse practitioners use fnp:
  • Total hours over 650 FNP I - FNP IV Clinical FNP rotations in primary care, pediatric and family practice clinics.
  • Average 20-25 patients a day; oversaw a clinic staff of 4; precept 1 FNP student a day.
top-skills

What skills help Nurse Practitioners find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on nurse practitioner resumes?

Kathleen Sellers Ph.D.Kathleen Sellers Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Nursing, SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Skill sets that are particularly needed include systems thinking, finance proficiency, informatics, change management experience with the goal of enhanced clinical quality, and exquisite communication skills.

What nurse practitioner skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Amy Grugan Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Assistant Director of Nursing, Bradley University

Presently, there is a nursing shortage, so finding employment as a nurse may not be an issue. While nursing graduates might not get hired into their "ideal" job, they should consider taking employment in an area that may not be of their first interest in order to gain experience. In turn, they will gain a greater appreciation for a new role.

What type of skills will young nurse practitioners need?

Pam FiferPam Fifer LinkedIn profile

College of Nursing, George Fox University

New graduates need to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient. Health care is constantly changing with new technologies, evidence, and innovations always on the horizon. Graduates also need strong clinical judgment and communication skills.

What technical skills for a nurse practitioner stand out to employers?

Ivy Razmus Ph.D.Ivy Razmus Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, University of Detroit Mercy Aquinas

I think informatics and data management are essential in today's health care market. Administration of vaccines, documentation of interventions, and accurate medication administration. In some states, they don't have enough Registered Nurses so they are using LPNs to perform many duties such as medication administration, overseeing the care of direct caregivers. During this pandemic, we are using medically trained national guard members to administer the vaccines. They are often using paramedics and emergency medical technicians in the emergency departments.

What soft skills should all nurse practitioners possess?

Regina Cardaci Ph.D.Regina Cardaci Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

Critical thinking and creative problem solving
-Patience
-Empathy
-Communication
-Resilience.
-Attitude and confidence
-Teamwork
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about nurse practitioner

List of nurse practitioner skills to add to your resume

Nurse practitioner skills

The most important skills for a nurse practitioner resume and required skills for a nurse practitioner to have include:

  • Patients
  • Diagnosis
  • Home Health
  • Diagnostic Tests
  • Acute Care
  • EMR
  • Medical Care
  • Urgent Care
  • Patient Education
  • Compassion
  • Medical History
  • Health Promotion
  • Rehabilitation
  • Direct Patient Care
  • FNP
  • Nursing Home
  • Physical Exams
  • PCP
  • Internal Medicine
  • Palliative Care
  • Family Practice
  • Laboratory Tests
  • Disease Prevention
  • Prescribe Medications
  • Suturing
  • Chronic Disease Management
  • Diagnostic Studies
  • Health Maintenance
  • ICU
  • Excellent Interpersonal
  • Medical Management
  • Health Education
  • Primary Care
  • Physical Assessments
  • Physical Therapy
  • Drug Enforcement Administration
  • Diabetes
  • Registered Nursing
  • Resuscitation
  • Discharge Planning
  • Chronic Illnesses
  • Social Work
  • Disease Process
  • GYN
  • Pain Management
  • Physical Findings
  • Electrocardiogram
  • Working Independently
  • OB

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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