Registered Nurse Resume Examples & Templates

Kellie Hanna, CPRW
By Kellie Hanna, CPRW, Career Advice Expert Last Updated: August 26, 2024
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Video: Top 4 Registered Nurse Resume Tips

Use this registered nurse resume template or explore the rest of our layouts on our resume templates page for more resume template options.

Registered nurse resume example (text version)

James Scott

San Antonio, FL 33576
555 555 555
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com

Professional Summary

Dedicated and compassionate registered nurse with 12 years of experience working with HIV/AIDS patients. Proven ability to provide direct patient care in a fast-paced environment. Calm and level-headed with the ability to handle difficult patients and high-stress situations. Use strong verbal communication skills and humor to develop strong relationships with patients and their families.

Work History

May 2012 – Current
UT Health San Antonio – San Antonio, TX
Registered Nurse

  • Center provides reliable HIV/AIDS testing and diagnosis to up to 500 patients per year
  • Offer early intervention and regular treatment to a caseload of up to 75 patients
  • Communicate, consult and collaborate with outside medical specialists to develop individualized treatment plans and coordinate care
  • Educate patients about the disease and safe sex practices
  • Administer medications, injections and IV treatments
  • Advise patients about available community resources and support groups

March 2010 – May 2012
San Antonio AIDS Foundation – San Antonio, TX
Registered Nurse

  • Provided a full range of services to a caseload of up to 50 patients
  • Coordinated HIV education programs designed to prevent the spread of HIV
  • Trained nurses to provide pre-and post-test counseling for those seeking HIV testing
  • Administered medications and treatment to patients and monitored responses while working with healthcare teams to adjust care plans

May 2008 – March 2010
Alamo Area Resource Center – San Antonio, TX
Registered Nurse

  • Care for at-risks individuals including the homeless and disable
  • Specialized in providing care for patients with life-threatening and chronic illnesses, including, but not limited to HIV/AIDS
  • Provided free HIV/AIDS testing and diagnosis to hundreds of patients each year
  • Compassionately cared for a vulnerable patient population, reducing the treatment “drop-out” rate by 25 percent

Skills

  • Preventive health
  • Patient evaluation
  • Intravenous therapy
  • Medical laboratory procedures
  • Strong clinical judgment
  • Charting and clinical documentation
  • Strong communication
  • Staff supervision

Education

University of Texas Health Science San Antonio San Antonio, TX
Bachelor of Science Nursing

Minor in Health Administration

Important resume sections

  1. Contact details 

    Add your contact information to the top of your resume so hiring managers can contact you. As our sample medical equipment technician resume shows, your contact information must include your full name, city, state and ZIP code, phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and professional website, add them last.

  2. Professional summary

    Just like the sample registered nurse resume on this page, your professional summary should highlight your top skills and work experiences in one to three sentences. A professional summary is a short introduction that works as an “elevator pitch” where you present yourself to the hiring manager and encourage them to continue reading your resume. 

    The objective for a registered nurse resume summary is to succinctly detail your key medical skills, such as placing an IV and applying sterile dressings, while also highlighting skills that lend to good bedside manner, such as empathy and patience.  

  3. Skills

    An excellent registered nurse resume will feature a blend of technical skills, hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills for a registered nurse resume are job-related abilities learned through training or at work, such as giving injections, obtaining vital measurements or changing wound dressings.  

    In contrast, soft skills are characteristics or personality traits that speak more about how you approach your responsibilities and patient care. For instance, you might consider noting your exceptional interpersonal communication, active listening and stress management skills on your resume. 

    We recommend scanning registered nurse job descriptions for resume skill ideas to get inspired. The job description is the best place to find relevant skills that the employer wants to see on your resume. 

  4. Work history

    The best registered nurse resume work history sections focus on key professional  accomplishments in addition to daily tasks and responsibilities. Keep this section relevant to the job you’re applying for and only include up to 10 years of work experience. 

    If you’re just starting your career as a registered nurse, use a functional format for your resume and focus on your skills. Emphasize your patient-focused approach and relay specific details about what you’ve learned while working with patients thus far.  

    For more guidance on detailing your professional experience, read up on how to write work experience on a resume for tips from career experts.

  5. Education

    Registered nurses must have a bachelor’s degree, an associate degree in nursing, or a diploma from an approved nursing program. Some earn a master’s or doctorate to advance their nursing careers. 

    Additionally, all registered nurses must have a state-issued license to practice. You must graduate from an accredited nursing program and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Be sure to list your credentials in your resume for a registered nurse using bullet points.

    Read our guide, “How to List a Degree on Your Resume” for tips on adding your degree to your resume.

     

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Best practices

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

Interview tips

  1. Research the organization.

    A few days before your interview, do your due diligence and check the organization’s website. Read through their mission statement and vision and learn more about their culture. What do they stand for? How happy are their current employees? Can you see yourself working for them? 

    Websites like Google Reviews and Glassdoor are also excellent sources of information.

  2. Practice your answers.

    It’s impossible to know what the interviewer will ask you, but as a registered nurse, you might have an idea of what they’ll be interested in learning more about you. Put together a list of questions you think they might ask and practice your answers with someone you trust or in front of a mirror. Some questions to practice include:

    • “Tell me more about yourself.”
    • “What was the toughest challenge you’ve ever faced?”
    • “What are the most important rewards you expect to gain from your career?”
  3. Go prepared with questions to ask.

    Turn your interview into a conversation by asking the hiring manager questions about the organization, culture and expectations. There’s a high chance that they’ll open the floor for you at the end of the interview, so write a list of questions to ask, such as:

    • What medical record systems will I use on the job?
    • What does a typical day look like for someone in this role?
    • Are there on-call requirements for this role?
    • How do you define success in this role?
    • What challenges do your nurses currently face that you want solved?
  4. Create a document with your professional references.

    Gone are the days of writing “References available upon request” on your registered nurse resume. Instead, create a separate document with your top professional references and save it as a PDF. The hiring manager will ask for your list of references further down in the hiring process.

    Pro tip: Make sure your list of references has a similar design as your resume template for a registered nurse.

    If you’re unsure where to start, read our How to List References on a Resume article.

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