Registered nurse resume template

A clear, complete nursing resume template

Healthcare facilities hire many nurses, but nurse managers read resumes quickly, between meetings. They look for precise answers: license, units, clinical skills, availability. The single-column Harvard template organizes this information in the expected order and stays fully readable by large hospitals’ applicant tracking systems.

Essential information

• Your RN license, with the state (and compact license status, if any).
• Your nursing degree: ADN or BSN, with the year and school.
• Certifications: BLS, ACLS, PALS, with dates.
• Units: emergency, surgery, med-surg, ICU, geriatrics, OR, home health.
• Specialty certifications, if any: CEN, CCRN, wound care, pain management.
• Shifts you accept: days, nights, 12-hour shifts.

Describe your duties precisely

Instead of “nursing care”, describe your work: “Assess and treat 30 to 40 patients per ED shift”, “Pre- and post-operative care for 15 patients per shift”, “Precept two nursing students each year”. The nurse manager can then gauge your usual workload and independence.

Example summaries

• Experienced: “Registered nurse for five years, in surgery and then in the emergency department. Quick and organized, looking for an acute care position.”
• New grad: “Newly licensed RN with clinical rotations in the ICU and pediatrics, looking for a first position in a hospital.”
• Moving to home health: “Med-surg nurse for eight years, looking to join a home health agency for long-term patient care.”

Clinical skills to list

List the skills that match the target unit: patient monitoring, IV insertion and management, complex wound care, pain management, medication preparation and administration, patient education, EHR documentation. A skill that’s rare on the target unit can make the difference.

Where to apply

Hospitals, private clinics, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, community health centers: each has its own expectations. Adapt your title and summary to each one. Travel nursing and healthcare staffing agencies also offer assignments, a good way to explore several units.

New grads: make the most of your clinical rotations

For a first job, your clinical rotations are your main argument. Present each one like a job, with the unit, length and care provided: “10-week ICU rotation: continuous monitoring, clinical procedures, alarm management”. Put the rotation closest to the target unit first. Add your capstone project if it relates to the role, and any extra certifications earned during school.