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Step-down nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical step-down nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for step-down nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 29.8% of step-down nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a step-down nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 step-down nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how step-down nurses use patients:

Maintained responsibility for clinical activities of all nurses caring for patients assigned, prepared annual evaluations on all nurses assigned.
Interpreted laboratory results and cardiac tests, and proactively educated patients in health promotion and disease prevention.

2. BLS

Here's how step-down nurses use bls:

Obtained BLS and ACLS certifications among others such as telemetry certification and gained experience with multiple computer documenting/charting systems.
Registered Nurse on Medical-Surgical/Telemetry unity Skills: ACLS, BLS Certified 12 Lead EKG Interpretation Geriatrics-focused medical training

3. 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 step-down nurses use acute care:

Attended numerous conferences and professional meetings, collaborated with multidisciplinary personnel, and read literature on latest developments in acute care.
Received many compliments from hospital nursing managers on ability to adapt almost immediately to any acute care unit that was scheduled.

4. Life Support

Life support is a machine or equipment often used by the hospital for patients with severe conditions, such as those in the Intensive Care Unit or ICU. It is developed to provide short-term support to help patients have enough time to treat or recover from a severe health concern. It is typically a mechanical ventilation tool for patients who has difficulty in breathing. The life support can last for about a month or so, but if the patient is unconscious, it might be lower.

Here's how step-down nurses use life support:

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certified (ACLS)
Treated wounds and provided advanced life support.

5. Acls

Here's how step-down nurses use acls:

experience with telemetry and cardiac meds/was acls certified x8yrs
Evaluate patients' vital signs and laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs including initiation and implementation of ACLS code situations.

6. Telemetry

A telemetry is a process of automatically monitoring and recording vital conditions like the blood pressure, heart rhythm, and oxygen saturation of a patient, particularly those in the Intensive Care Unit or ICU critical condition. It is where the information gathered to report as a basis for a doctor's findings.

Here's how step-down nurses use telemetry:

Served as a regular charge nurse, preceptor, and mentor to peers on a 28 bed telemetry unit.
Served on float team for both campuses, mainly in ICU and Telemetry units.

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7. Quality Care

Here's how step-down nurses use quality care:

Monitor programs Performance Improvement plans to ensure adequate quality care for the Veterans.
Provide direct quality care to adult and pediatric patients including daily monitoring, recording and evaluating psychiatric medical conditions of patients.

8. Restraints

Here's how step-down nurses use restraints:

Head of Policy and restraints committee.

9. Critical Care

Here's how step-down nurses use critical care:

Collaborated with fellow members of the critical care team.
Provide one on one critical care nursing for adult/geriatric patients requiring complex assessment, high intensity therapies and life sustaining interventions

10. GI

The gastrointestinal tract is the stretch from the mouth to the anus which includes all the organs of the digestive system. Food ingested in through the mouth is processed to absorb energy, extract nutrients, and expel waste. The human GI is made up of the oesophagus, stomach, and intestines which are further divided into the lower and upper gastrointestinal tracts.

Here's how step-down nurses use gi:

stress tests, MRI, CT, GI tests).
Managed surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.

11. COPD

Here's how step-down nurses use copd:

Assumed and provided complete care to patients suffering from CAD, COPD and other cardiac and pulmonary disorders and diseases.
Monitored and cared for patients with but not limited to COPD, CHF, Cardiac Issues on a Telemetry Unit.

12. Med/Surg

Here's how step-down nurses use med/surg:

Provide clinical care within a Psychiatric/Correctional facility with assigned areas in Med/Surg Ward and Psychiatric ward.
Developed and implemented med/surg training program for improved performance with patient care.

13. Heart Failure

Here's how step-down nurses use heart failure:

Cared for patients with cardiac events, specializing in care of patients with Heart Failure and Post Implantable Devices.
Staff nurse, charge nurse, mentor, and preceptor on a 35 bed Congestive Heart failure/Telemetry unit.

14. 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 step-down nurses use vital signs:

Observed and recorded patient vital signs.
Care involved airway maintenance, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, and communicating effectively with physicians and other team members.

15. Direct Patient Care

Here's how step-down nurses use direct patient care:

Supported the efforts of the nursing staff by providing direct patient care when needed.
Provide direct patient care on a busy, adult 32-bed surgical/step-down unit.

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What skills help Step-Down 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 step-down 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 step-down 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 step-down 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 step-down 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 step-down 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 step-down nurse skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a step-down nurse resume and required skills for a step-down nurse to have include:

Patients
BLS
Acute Care
Life Support
Acls
Telemetry
Quality Care
Restraints
Critical Care
GI
COPD
Med/Surg
Heart Failure
Vital Signs

Direct Patient Care
Physician Orders
ICU
CHF
EKG
IV
Pain Management
Medical Care
Discharge Planning
Ablation
Blood Pressure
NG
Patient Care
Patient Education

Surgical Procedures
Catheter
General Surgery
PACU
CCU
Advanced Life Support
Patient Assessment
Administer Medications
Blood Products
Chest Tubes
Open Heart Surgery
PCA

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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Step-Down Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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