Nurse Practitioner Resume Guide + Tips + Example

Kellie Hanna, CPRW By Kellie Hanna, CPRW, Career Advice Expert
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You need a great resume if you want a job as a nurse practitioner, so we’re here to help you build one. Our guide to crafting an effective resume for a nurse practitioner job will help you make the most of your clinical, interpersonal and patient care skills to stand out from the competition.

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Nurse practitioner resume example (text version)

Henry Campbell

New York, NY 10026
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com

Professional Summary

Compassionate nurse practitioner with 12 years of comprehensive experience providing wellness exams and chronic disease management for a variety of populations. Skilled at analyzing patient histories and preliminary test results to build diagnosis. In-depth knowledge of AdvancedMD and PEPID software.

Work History

October 2017 – Current
North Shore University Hospital – New York, NY
Senior Nurse Practitioner

  • Provide critical care for more than 100 patients per year before and after surgical procedures, from minimally invasive surgery to heart transplantation.
  • Experience working with patients facing structural heart disease, heart valve repair and replacement, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), aortic aneurysms and dissections.
  • Collaborate with other healthcare professionals to coordinate care.
    Build relationships with patients and their families to provide support and build trust.

August 2012 – October 2017
New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital – New York, NY
Nurse Practitioner

  • Treated up to 150 patients per week.
  • Provided care for patients ages 18 months and above with traumatic injuries and life-threatening illnesses as well as medical services and care to patients with chronic and acute conditions.
  • Applied and removed casts, sutured soft tissue injuries and changed dressings.
  • Conducted screenings, diagnostic treatment and rehabilitative services.
  • Communicated with patients’ primary health care team to coordinate follow-up services.

July 2008 – August 2012
Good Samaritan Hospital – New York, NY
Registered Nurse

  • Treated up to 250 patients per week.
  • Provided medical services and care to patients with chronic and acute conditions.
  • Conducted screenings, diagnostic treatment and rehabilitative services and updated patients charts.
  • Communicated with patients’ primary health care team to coordinate follow-up services.
  • Stabilized patients, collected blood, tissue and other laboratory specimens and prepared for lab testing.

Skills

  • Primary care
  • Physical exams
  • Patient charting
  • Lab requests
  • Equipment operation
  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Creating care plans

Education

  • Columbia University in The City of New York New York, NY
    Master of Science Nursing
  • New York University New York, NY
    Bachelor of Science Nursing

Certifications

  • Nurse Practitioner (NP) certification – (Updated 2022)
  • Registered Nurse (RN) license – (Updated 2022)

5 essentials of a top nurse practitioner resume

  1. Contact details

    Add your contact information to the top of your resume; otherwise, hiring managers won’t know how to contact you for an interview. You must display your contact information like so: Your full name, then your city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. Add your LinkedIn profile and professional website (if you have them) last.

  2. Personal statement

    A personal statement is also known as a professional summary. This is where you introduce yourself and highlight your top qualifications for the job in three to five sentences. A resume for a nurse practitioner must include a professional summary with appropriate skills and one or two notable accomplishments, and it should touch on how long you’ve been in the industry. If you are just starting your career, use a nurse practitioner resume objective instead.

  3. Skills

    You’ve got to let potential employers know what skills you bring to the table. Create a separate section for your job-relevant skills and display them with bullet points to make them easy to read. Like our sample nurse practitioner resume, include hard and soft skills, from human anatomy to your innate leadership ability.

  4. Work history

    Your resume must include an employment history section, whether or not you have professional experience as a nurse practitioner. In reverse-chronological order, list current and previous employers and provide business names, locations and dates you worked for each. Include three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list. If you’re applying for your first job as a nurse practitioner, it’s acceptable to highlight any extracurricular activities, coursework, presentations, volunteer experience and community service.

  5. Education

    Hiring managers want to see your education credentials, so a resume for a nurse practitioner job must include an education section. Add all the educational institutions you’ve attended after high school and display the name of the schools and the years that you graduated in reverse-chronological order using bullet points. If you did not attend college, list your high school information and the classes you’ve taken since graduating.

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Action words for a stand-out nurse practitioner resume

Action words strengthen resumes because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did and convey confidence. Use them with numbers to make a more substantial impact. 

Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a nurse practitioner resume:

  • Evaluate
  • Assist
  • Assess
  • Collaborate
  • Motivate
  • Treat
  • Apply
  • Plan
  • Organize
  • Lead
  • Coordinate
  • Manage
  • Supervise
  • Assess
  • Provide
  • Administer

Want more inspiration? We have 400 + resume examples to help you create a stand-out nurse practitioner resume. 

Need the perfect resume for a nurse practitioner job now? Our builder has all the tools you need to craft a professional resume in minutes! You can make edits as you go, download your finished resume and save it in multiple file formats. It’s so easy! 

Top skills for a nurse practitioner resume

Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you. 

Your skills might include the following:

  • Active listening
  • Empathy
  • Motivation
  • Leadership
  • First Aid / CPR
  • Friendliness
  • Compassion
  • Patience
  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Bedside monitoring
  • Patient and family education
  • Administering medications
  • Infection control
  • Adaptability
  • Patience
  • Human Anatomy

Certifications for a nurse practitioner resume

Nurse practitioners must be certified to practice. Having at least one certification on your nurse practitioner proves you have the proper knowledge and skills to provide care to medical patients and helps limit liabilities in case of injuries or accidents. 

Certifications for nurse practitioners include the following:

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Nurse Practitioner resume FAQ

  1. 1. What does a nurse practitioner resume look like?

    A good resume for a nurse practitioner will look much like our nurse practitioner sample resume and will contain the job seeker’s contact information, skills, employment history, education and certifications, if applicable. A nurse practitioner resume might also contain sections for awards and honors if the job candidate has them to display.

  2. 2. What to put under skills on a resume for a nurse practitioner?

    A resume for a nurse practitioner should only include skills that 1. Are relevant to the job, and 2. Fit the job applicant’s true skill set. Review our example nurse practitioner resume for ideas on how to display your skills.

  3. 3. What are some tips for creating an excellent resume for a nurse practitioner job?

    Not all resumes are created equal. Here are our top tips for crafting a perfect nurse practitioner resume:

    • Review nurse practitioner resume examples for inspiration.
    • Add separate sections for extra training, certifications, licenses and awards.
    • Keep your resume short and to the point. If you have less than 10 years of experience, it should be one page long; if you have more than 10 years of experience, then it’s acceptable to have no more than two pages. 
    • Ensure your resume is formatted correctly, meaning margins should be one inch on all sides and line space should be single or 1.5 inches. 
    • Only use appropriate resume fonts, like Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica, in 11-12 points on the body and 14-16 points on headers.
    • Proofread your resume more than once before sending it to potential employers.

Do’s and don’ts for building a nurse practitioner resume

  • Use measurable achievements to describe your nurse practitioner abilities and experience.
  • Use action words to make an impact on your nurse practitioner resume.
  • Tailor your resume to your target nurse practitioner job.
  • Use keywords from the job description throughout your nurse practitioner resume.
  • Format your nurse practitioner resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
  • Lie about your nurse practitioner experience and skills.
  • Boast that you’re the “best nurse practitioner ever.”
  • Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
  • Add skills and experience that do not pertain to being a nurse practitioner.
  • Forget to proofread. A nurse practitioner resume with errors is unprofessional.

Top 4 tips for acing a nurse practitioner interview

  1. Learn about the institution.

    It’s vital to take the time to learn about the institution or company’s history, goals, values and people before the interview. Doing so conveys interest, passion and commitment — traits that can set you above the competition. Plus, having a glimpse of the company culture early on will help you know what to expect and can give you a confidence boost.

  2. Practice at home.

    Practice really does make perfect. To practice for your interview, start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as: 

    Possible behavioral questions include:

    Write down two or three possible answers as you review potential questions, then review them with a friend or a family member in a mock interview so you can get comfortable with the questions and memorize your answers.

  3. Ask questions.

    You should always have at least three questions ready to ask every job interview you encounter; those who do tend to get hired more often than those who don’t because they show motivation, keen interest and thoughtfulness. 

    Some questions you might ask for a nurse practitioner job are: 

    • What is a typical day like?
    • What are your expectations for the first 90 days?
    • What does a successful nurse practitioner look like to you?

  4. Gather references.

    You’ll need professional references quickly if the hiring manager offers you the job after the interview. Having them ready will save you stress and time, so prepare a list of two former colleagues and a former manager who are willing to speak to your abilities to perform the job of a nurse practitioner and who you know will give you a stellar review.

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Kellie Hanna, CPRW

Kellie Hanna, CPRW

Career Advice Expert

Kellie is the content strategist for My Perfect Resume. She has more than 20 years of experience in digital media and is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She has a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.

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