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Surgical nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical surgical nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for surgical nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 31.3% of surgical nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a surgical nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 surgical nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how surgical nurses use patients:

Cultivated non-judgmental listening skills in order to provide unbiased care and counseling to patients facing life-changing diagnoses and prognoses.
Initial assessments done based on patients chief complaint and documented accurately using, HMS computer applications efficiently.

2. BLS

Here's how surgical nurses use bls:

Assisted Education Department in developing BLS program schedule and training for employee certification.
Certified medical staff in BLS as per AHA guidelines.

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 surgical nurses use acute care:

Provided comprehensive history and physical exams to furnish appropriate assessment and plan in inpatient acute care settings.
Provide skilled acute care nursing utilizing nursing process for an adult medical/surgical population with primary orthopedic problems.

4. Acls

Here's how surgical nurses use acls:

Supervised Nursing students of Community College Nursing program and obtained ACLS certification
Float to Crisis unit (Psychiatric) and respond to Code Red emergencies related to ACLS training.

5. Rehabilitation

Here's how surgical nurses use rehabilitation:

Demonstrated quality patient-focused care, utilizing an interdisciplinary team approach, in the setting of rehabilitation care.
Provided generalized nursing care in a resource intensive, inpatient rehabilitation hospital environment.

6. Quality Care

Here's how surgical nurses use quality care:

Provided comprehensive high-quality care to a diverse patient population including: orthopedic, urology, and general surgery.
Provided direct quality care including daily monitoring, recording and evaluating medical condition.

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7. Patient Outcomes

Here's how surgical nurses use patient outcomes:

Documented patients plan of care modifying as necessary according to evaluation of nursing interventions and changes in expected patient outcomes.
Improved positive patient outcomes by observing patients in PACU, appreciating troubling symptoms and reporting to physician for immediate interventions

8. Oncology

Oncology is defined as the facet of medicine that deals with cancer. Oncology also deals with the prevention and diagnosis of these diseases. A medical professional who has studied the discipline of oncology is referred to as an â€˜oncologist'. An oncologist can further specialize in their discipline and become a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, or radiation oncologist.

Here's how surgical nurses use oncology:

Provided patient and staff education regarding oncology care and promoted interdisciplinary care plans for the oncology patient.
Monitored patient's weekly labs especially those receiving chemo-radiation and head and neck oncology patients.

9. 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 surgical nurses use telemetry:

Supervised 30 bed Medical and telemetry unit provided patient care including patient admission assessment, monitoring and discharge.
Performed assessments, documented notes in patient record and monitored patients closely through use of telemetry and observation.

10. Patient Safety

Here's how surgical nurses use patient safety:

Promoted patient safety and education based on diagnosis and age-related issues.
Provided patient safety and confidentiality.

11. Orthopedics

Orthopedics refers to the medical branch that specializes in the musculoskeletal system.

Here's how surgical nurses use orthopedics:

Have specialized in adult and pediatric Plastic surgery, neurosurgery and Pediatric orthopedics.
Specialized in orthopedics and neurology.

12. 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 surgical nurses use cpr:

Assisted with end of life care and performed CPR where necessary.
Assist with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

13. Surgical Procedures

Surgical procedures include the list of tasks that are done while doing surgery. Usually, a surgical procedure involves an incision with instruments, performed to repair damage or heal the disease in a living body. Surgical procedures are performed by trained individuals such as surgeons, doctors, and nurses.

Here's how surgical nurses use surgical procedures:

Complete postoperative follow-up of patients/families via telephone to identify possible occurrences associated with surgical procedures performed at the hospital.
Provide nursing care for patients in the immediate post operative/anesthesia period individual to surgical procedure and anesthesia administered.

14. Compassion

Here's how surgical nurses use compassion:

Leveraged compassion in facilitating pain management and completing prescribed treatments including dosage changes, blood glucose checks, and ambulation.
Dedicated and patient-focused RN with experience performing admissions, assessment, treatment and education for multicultural patients with compassion and empathy.

15. Direct Patient Care

Here's how surgical nurses use direct patient care:

Assessed the adult population, provide direct patient care and document interventions on computerized patient information system.
Provided direct patient care of medical surgical patients experiencing surgery throughout the surgical and post surgical process.

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What skills help Surgical 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 surgical 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 surgical 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 surgical 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 surgical 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 surgical 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 surgical nurse skills to add to your resume

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

Patients
BLS
Acute Care
Acls
Rehabilitation
Quality Care
Patient Outcomes
Oncology
Telemetry
Patient Safety
Orthopedics
CPR
Surgical Procedures
Compassion
Direct Patient Care
GI
IV

Vital Signs
ICU
Hospital Policies
Physician Orders
General Surgery
Urology
Home Health
Discharge Planning
Infection Control
EKG
Team Work
Blood Pressure
Memorial Hospital
Patient Education
Family Education
PACU
Pain Management

Primary Care
Chemotherapy
Patient Assessment
Administer Medications
Post-Operative Care
Arrhythmia
Appendicitis
Medical-Surgical Nursing
Catheter
Blood Products
Advanced Life Support
COPD
Patient Care
Pre-op
Nursing Diagnosis
GYN

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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Surgical Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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