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Practical nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical practical nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for practical nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 27.3% of practical nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a practical nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 practical nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how practical nurses use patients:

Partnered in managing patients requiring mechanical ventilation, extended IV antibiotic administration, cardiac drips, and other critical care treatments.
Prescribed/dispensed and administered medications as needed for individual patients according to their diagnosis Documented visits using EMR, maintained HIPPA compliance.

2. APN

Here's how practical nurses use apn:

Worked on multiple committees including Product Value Analysis, Infection Control, Perinatal/Pediatric Steering Committee, and the APN Task Force.
Contracted assignment through Next Medical Staffing for Russell Medical to cover 5 shifts as an APN in a family medical clinic.

3. Home Health

Here's how practical nurses use home health:

Performed face to face encounters prior to certifying a patient s eligibility for the home health benefit.
Experience in home health, dialysis, geriatrics, med-surgical, pediatrics, clinics, medical physician office

4. 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 practical nurses use acute care:

Solo practice provider in family practice managed and acute care
Registered Nurse providing exceptional patient care while assessing patient's current mental and physical needs in an acute care setting.

5. Physical Examinations

Here's how practical nurses use physical examinations:

Performed Health Maintenance Examinations including: medical histories, physical examinations, assess and determine differential diagnoses.
Evaluate results and order appropriate medications and treatments based on results of diagnostic studies and physical examination.

6. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how practical nurses use vital signs:

Monitor vital signs, performed tube feeding/irrigation/wound care/trachea/vent/GT/Immunization/Immuno-Therapy.
Provided post-surgical care to patients: routine vital signs, administration of medications, and education regarding expected post-surgical course.

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7. Patient Education

Here's how practical nurses use patient education:

Performed nursing assessments, administered medications, provided patient education on various gastrointestinal health topics, procedures and aftercare for procedures.
Designed, coordinated and instructed multiple patient education programs within the Health Promotion department.

8. Diagnostic Tests

Here's how practical nurses use diagnostic tests:

Performed services including history and physical exams, interpret electronic fetal monitoring, order and interpret laboratory and diagnostic test.
Obtained histories; performed physical exams; ordered diagnostic tests; Interpreted laboratory values and adjusted medications accordingly.

9. NP

A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a nurse who provides a multitude of health services. He or she is certified for ordering laboratory tests and performing medical exams. An NP is also responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases while they also provide education to patients on how to prevent diseases and remain healthy. An NP is also called ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner) and an APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse).

Here's how practical nurses use np:

Function in the NP role.
Diagnose, prescribe, and evaluate patients with urologic problems within NP scope of practice.

10. Primary Care

Here's how practical nurses use primary care:

Assess primary care/chronic conditions/diagnosis/prescribe medications.
Work in collaboration with a Primary care Medical Physician in an independent location without constant vigilance of a physician.

11. Nursing Home

Here's how practical nurses use nursing home:

Provided patient care in Medical/Surgical Hospital Unit, Nursing Homes, and House Calls -Supervisor of all clinicians in practice
Charge nurse rotating on different units including a lock-down unit in a nursing home setting.

12. Rehabilitation

Here's how practical nurses use rehabilitation:

Utilized practical nursing skills in sub acute rehabilitation unit- Facilitated teamwork with other staff in geriatric unit consisting of 26 beds
Followed rehabilitation and treatment plans to help accelerate patient recovery, minimize pain, discomfort, infections and complications.

13. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how practical nurses use cpr:

Planned and implemented the aide and mandatory in-services to meet Medicare guidelines and monthly CPR offerings.
Maintain CPR, NRP, ACLS, Basic and Intermediate Fetal Monitoring

14. Direct Patient Care

Here's how practical nurses use direct patient care:

Provide direct patient care by helping residents carry out activities of daily living in a safe therapeutic environment.
Worked in diverse medical environments to provide safe, efficient, and reliable direct patient care.

15. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how practical nurses use mental health:

Provided mental health services to incarcerated individuals within the Delaware Department of Corrections.
Assist credentialed providers in identifying mental health diagnosis

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What skills help Practical Nurses find jobs?

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

What type of skills will young practical nurses need?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To meet the needs of our current volatile and complex healthcare landscape, all healthcare providers will need to understand the business of healthcare, in addition to providing expert patient care. Starting in 2025, all graduates from nurse anesthesia programs will be awarded a doctoral degree, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), or a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP). These degree programs include additional anesthesia experience as well as an understanding of effective leadership, healthcare economics and reimbursement, the use of big data for improving patient outcomes, and evidence-based practice.

What skills stand out on practical nurse resumes?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To become a CRNA, the applicant must first be a registered nurse and graduate of a baccalaureate nursing program. A minimum of one year of clinical experience in an intensive care unit (ICU) is required. The application process is rigorous, and many nurse anesthesia programs are seeing higher than typical applicant numbers, perhaps due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ICU nurse workforce.

The most competitive applicants will have an overall GPA >3.5. Basic science courses are heavily weighted with respect to both course grade and type of course. A competitive resumé should include evidence of clinical expertise, leadership, volunteerism, and scholarly work. In addition, all registered nurse applicants should have shadowed a CRNA to learn about the profession prior to application. The interview process may include assessments of critical thinking, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.

What soft skills should all practical nurses possess?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

The most important skill for new nursing graduates is critical thinking. You will be put into varying roles and assume different responsibilities. You must critically think and evaluate situations you find yourself in and make wise nursing decisions. Another important skill that we emphasize in education is communication - this is key to safe, quality care.

What hard/technical skills are most important for practical nurses?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

New nurses should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency in basic nursing care and procedures. It is important to realize that each hospital has its own policy and procedure to follow, so taking advantage of your nurse preceptor and orientation program will ensure you are familiar with these basic procedures.

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

Michelle Hampton Ph.D.

Associate Professor, San Jose State University

I think there are always opportunities to work and gain experience once the nurse is licensed. They might need to be creative, flexible, and work where there's a need. That might be a specialty area they hadn't considered or a geographic area that requires some travel. I don't think a gap year is inevitable for all new graduates and there might be opportunities for them to find work, and they can always continue the learning process after you're employed, even if it's not your dream job. The more significant obstacle seems to be for students who are currently still in nursing programs.

Clinical sites weren't accepting students for several months, and now that they are again, they have significantly limited the number of students allowed at one time and the number of hours they can train. When a staff member or patient tests positive, students are pulled from the site for some time, and students are struggling to get the minimum number of hours required to continue progressing in the nursing program. Some schools have even suspended admission for new groups of students instead choosing to focus on getting the current students through the program.

Do you want to know more?

List of practical nurse skills to add to your resume

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

Patients
APN
Home Health
Acute Care
Physical Examinations
Vital Signs
Patient Education
Diagnostic Tests
NP
Primary Care
Nursing Home
Rehabilitation
CPR
Direct Patient Care
Mental Health
IV
Catheter

Medical Care
Midwifery
Excellent Interpersonal
Infection Control
Compassion
Disease Prevention
Medical History
Medication Administration
Immunization
Test Results
Family Practice
Advanced Life Support
Patient Assessment
Resuscitation
EMR
Blood Pressure
Data Collection

EKG
Pathogens
Team Work
Medication Management
Physician Orders
Chronic Illnesses
Chemotherapy
Internal Medicine
Lab Results
Symptom Management
Suturing
Diabetes
Patient Teaching
Oral Medications
ICU

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

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Practical Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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