RN Resume Writing Tips and Example

The need for nurses is not going away anytime soon, which means there are plenty of jobs out there for you. But don’t be mistaken: You still have to submit an outstanding RN resume if you want to be considered for the best positions.

A good nursing resume shows that you’re fit for the job and that you are competent, safe, and up to date on best practices. In addition to your RN cover letter, your resume should also show that you’re caring, motivated, and professional.

When writing your registered nurse resume, be sure to include these components:

• Resume summary
• Education
• Professional experience
• Skills
• RN certifications

Check out our expert tips for writing an RN resume that gets noticed. Then view our RN resume template for more inspiration.

RN Resume Example

MARY SMITH

Richmond, Virginia  firstlast@email.com  +1 (555) 555 – 5555

Registered nurse with 10 years of acute care experience devoted to providing competent, safe nursing care to pediatric patients. Commended for using evidence-based practices and cross-cultural communication to develop over 200 pediatric patient care plans. Received the Daisy Award in 201x, 202x, and 202x for empathetic, compassionate, competent bedside care. 

Education

1234 School of Nursing, Richmond, Virginia 20xx
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Professional Experience

ABCD Children’s Hospital, Registered Nurse, 20xx – present

• Collaborates with multidisciplinary healthcare team of nine professionals to treat and manage complex pediatric diagnoses.
• Provides comprehensive hands-on care for five patients, performing detailed assessments, creating individual daily care plans, and implementing complex treatments.
• Serves as a charge nurse in an 30-bed unit, creating nurse assignments, facilitating effective communication amongst the healthcare team, and assisting nurses in safe, quality care.
• Administers medications and implements a variety of nursing interventions, including inserting IVs, monitoring vital signs, tube feedings, and providing wound care.

ABC Pediatric Primary Care, Registered Nurse, 20xx – 20xx

• Collaborated with physician and three other nurses in creating a safe, relaxing environment for parents and their children.
• Administered ASQ’s, obtained patient measurements, and provided high-quality patient and parent education.
• Organized lactation support groups for mothers in the community, leading and facilitating groups of eight mothers at a time.

Skills

Organized; Attentive to detail; Flexible; Empathetic; Time management; Communication; Critical thinking

Licenses and Certifications

• BLS
• PALS
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Certified pediatric nurse (CPN)

5 Tips for Writing Great RN Resumes

Customize Your Registered Nurse Resume to the Job

Don’t be tempted to use a generic RN resume template for every single application. Carefully read the job posting and take notice of the summary and responsibilities featured. The traits and duties mentioned toward the top are usually the most important to the employer. How does your experience fulfill these requirements? Use your resume for RN work to highlight the value you’d bring to the job.

For example, if an employer is looking for an RN who “displays empathy during all stages of preventive care,” use that phrase in your resume. By aligning your skills with the employer’s needs, you demonstrate why you’d be a great fit for the role. While it takes extra time to make sure your resume for RN positions mirrors each individual job posting, it’s can be well worth the effort by helping you make it past any applicant tracking software.

Quantify When You Can

When you are describing your amazing skills and achievements, make sure that you are including numbers to quantify it. Don’t just state you are experienced — prove it. Did you work in the intensive care unit for seven years? Say that. Be precise. Were you the charge nurse of a unit? For how many beds and how many nurses? Be specific. Employers will get a much better sense of what you can accomplish when they see these kinds of numbers on your resume for registered nurse positions.

Highlight RN Resume Skills

Not sure how to feature RN skills? For resume success, keep this in mind: Nursing is both an art and a science. Employers want to know that you can insert that IV and listen with empathy. Basically, they want to know that you can provide safe patient care and keep your patients happy. Provide evidence of your hard and soft skills.

Examples of Hard Skills for RN Resumes

• Medication administration
• Wound care
• Taking vital signs
• Titrating medication drips
• Providing patient care

Examples of Soft Skills for RN Resumes

• Compassion
• Conflict resolution
• Emotional intelligence
• Empathy
• Professionalism

Use Action Verbs

When describing your responsibilities of previous jobs on your registered nurse resume, make your bulleted lists start with action verbs. Great examples include:

• Administered
• Cared
• Created
• Demonstrated
• Developed
• Educated
• Performed
• Provided
• Screened
• Taught

Make Your RN Nurse Resume Skimmable

The reality is that a hiring manager will probably not have the time to read every single line of your resume for RN jobs upon first glance. Make it easier for them by leaving plenty of white space. In terms of resume length, keep it as long as necessary and as short as possible. Generally, a one- or two-page resume for registered nurse positions will suffice.

How to Use AI to Write an RN Resume

You might be wondering about the usefulness of using AI to write your RN resume. While AI can certainly manage writing portions of RN resumes, don’t rely on it to be as scrupulous as a human (i.e., you) would be. Consider using AI for the following resume elements.

Formatting: AI is good for neatening up your margins and creating clean bulleted lists of information on your resume. However: Make sure the bullet points contain information that’s actually relevant to that particular section of the resume (for instance, the Work History section as opposed to the Education section) as well as to the job you’re pursuing.

Keywording: AI can help determine which RN resume keywords might help you make it past the ATS and into a human’s hands. However: Be wary of keyword stuffing. Too many keywords can sound, well, robotic.

Grammar: Need help double-checking your spelling, punctuation, or subject-verb agreement? AI can look for those types of inconsistencies and errors. However: Don’t rely on AI to understand common nursing jargon. For example, AI is likely to correct “giving report to the oncoming nurse” to “giving a report to the oncoming nurse.”

Customization: You’re better off tailoring your resume to each job to which you plan on applying. Different employers have different needs. AI can help you tailor your resume to different jobs. However: Accuracy is not AI’s strong suit, and it might create copy that doesn’t at all reflect your background and training.

RN Job Outlook and Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be about 194,500 RN job openings for nurses each year for the next decade. That’s a growth of 6%, which is faster than the average for all other occupations. Not too shabby. The top five states with the highest percentage of employed RNs are:

1. California
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Pennsylvania

The average salary for a RN is $98,430 per year. As you may guess, job type and location accounts for some of this variation. Here are top-paying states for RNs:

1. California
2. Hawaii
3. Oregon
4. Washington
5. Massachusetts

Put Your RN Resume to Work

You now have all the tools you need to create your best RN resume and secure that ideal role. Ready to get started? Check out all the great RN jobs available on IntelyCare right now.