Nurse resume example & writing guide
Hiring managers at hospitals and clinics scan a nurse resume for three things first: your license and certifications, your clinical specialties, and hard numbers that show patient load and outcomes.
What to include on a nurse
- Put your RN/LPN license number and state at the top, right under your name — recruiters filter by it.
- List certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS) in their own section so ATS software catches every acronym.
- Quantify your care: beds per shift, patient ratios, unit size, satisfaction scores.
- Match the specialty keywords in the job posting — ICU, med-surg, telemetry, ER — word for word.
- Keep clinical rotations on the resume only if you have under two years of experience.
Sarah Mitchell
Project Manager
Contact
Skills
Profile
Experience
Registered Nurse2022–Now
St. David's Medical Center
Staff Nurse2019–22
Austin Community Clinic
Use this template
Sample bullet points
Adapt these to your own numbers — the structure (action, scope, result) is what matters:
- Provided direct care for 6–8 med-surg patients per shift while maintaining 98% medication accuracy
- Trained and mentored 12 new graduate nurses on unit protocols and EHR charting (Epic)
- Reduced patient fall incidents by 23% by leading a hourly-rounding initiative on a 32-bed unit