Registered nurses are in more demand than ever. According to the World Health Organization, there are around 29 million nurses throughout the world, and there is an estimated shortage of 4.5 million nurses. This global nursing shortage is expected to increase to 4.5 million nurses by 2030.
In the United States, the Health Resources and Services Administration issued a 2022 National Sample Survey revealing that America has an estimated 4.3 million actively licensed registered nurses, 3.5 million of whom are gainfully employed full-time. Unfortunately, there are only an average of 9 nurses for every 1,000 people in the United States. That is not enough to cover the nursing demands in the healthcare industry.
The good news is that registered nurses will have no trouble finding openings for RN job positions in hospitals, urgent care facilities, private care practices, travel nursing care, home healthcare, and all clinical settings. The bad news is that there is growing competition for nursing positions because medical facilities are outsourcing to other countries to find qualified registered nurses to fill their vacation positions.
If you want to beat out the competition and land your dream job as a registered nurse, you need to write a powerful registered nurse resume that will stand out the most to your potential employers. The skills for registered nurse resume writing include communication, critical thinking, and writing in a clear, concise, and descriptive manner.
The Top 8 Steps to Writing an Effective Registered Nurse Resume
Recruiters and hiring managers receive hundreds of resumes each day from licensed registered nurses seeking active part-time and full-time employment. When they see your resume for the first time, it should give them a positive first impression of your skills, experience, education, and abilities as a qualified registered nurse.
Below are eight critical steps to help you begin writing your registered nurse resume.
1) Gather all Your Nursing Documentation and Information
Before you even begin writing your resume, you need to gather all relevant documentation and information related to your nursing background. Having this information in front of you will ensure you don’t leave out any vital information as you write your resume.
Here are some examples of the documents you should gather:
- RN License showing the license number
- College or university diplomas for nursing
- College or university transcripts
- Specialization certificates or certifications in the nursing field
- Reference letters
These documents can help you retrieve important details about your professional or educational background that you can include in your resume.
2) Add Contact Information
Now, you can begin writing your registered nurse resume. The first section at the very top of the resume should include your name and contact information, such as the following:
John Doe, RN
1234 Oak Drive
Miami, Florida 32111
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: john@doe.com
Don’t forget to include “RN” or “Registered Nurse” somewhere after or around your name to display your professional designation as a registered nurse.
3) Write Your Mission Statement or Career Objective
The next section of your resume is the mission statement or objective. Your registered nurse resume objective should highlight your personal values and goals regarding your ambition to work in the nursing field.
The stated objective doesn’t need to be more than one or two sentences long, but it should summarize your professional background and what you can contribute to the job if you get hired.
Try to include the following in one or two sentences:
- Skills
- Experience
- Career goals
- The value you can give to your employer
Please don’t overlook writing your registered nurse resume objective. Some employers won’t even bother reading the other details of your resume if there is not a quality-written objective at the top.
4) Highlight Your Educational Background
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing is the minimum educational requirement for most registered nursing positions, especially those in the United States. There are four-year degree equivalents in other countries that you need to earn if you plan to work outside of the United States.
Your four-year nursing degree must come from an accredited university or college. If you have a registered nursing license, then chances are that your state or local government has already verified the accreditation and legitimacy of your nursing degree.
Your registered nurse resume must show all relevant details related to your accredited four-year nursing degree. Here is an example of what you could list in the educational background section of your resume:
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Central Florida, Daytona Beach, FL
- Graduated Magna Cum Laude – August 2018
- GPA 4.0
You don’t necessarily need to include any lesser educational achievements, such as your high-school diploma or associate’s degree, because the four-year degree is all that matters. Employers will already assume you earned a high school diploma and a two-year degree if you have a four-year degree.
5) List Your Active Licenses and Certifications
Licenses and certifications are different from your educational background because, unlike your college degree, your licenses and certifications can expire. That is why your registered nurse resume should only list your “active” nursing licenses and any specializations or certifications associated with the profession.
Here are some examples of registered nursing licenses and certifications:
- RN – Registered Nurse in the State of Wisconsin (License #12345)
- ACRN – HIV/AIDS Certified Registered Nurse
- CARN – Certified Addictions Registered Nurse
- CBRN – Certified Burn Registered Nurse
- CFRN – Certified Flight Registered Nurse
- CGRN – Certified Gastroenterology Registered Nurse
- CURN – Certified Urologic Registered Nurse
- SCRN – Stroke Certified Registered Nurse
- TCRN – Trauma Certified Registered Nurse
Your RN license information should be at the top of the list. Any additional certifications that you have can open up more job opportunities for you in the nursing field if you prefer to nurse in a particular area of healthcare.
6) Briefly Describe Your Previous Work Experience
The work experience section is usually the biggest section of a registered nurse resume unless you are new to the profession. Even then, list any previous internships or healthcare-related jobs you might have done in the past, such as being a home healthcare aide or certified nursing assistant. Every little bit of experience helps.
Many people use bullet point lists to highlight the responsibilities and requirements of each job that they worked in the past. Hiring managers don’t have time to read through lengthy paragraphs describing your work history. They would much rather scan through the bullet point lists to quickly understand the work responsibilities that you had previously.
Here is what that might look like:
RN in Emergency Trauma Unit – Rosemary Hospital, Detroit, Michigan
(November 2015 – December 2021)
- Supervise nurses to ensure they are delivering the best patient care possible in a fast-paced environment
- Operating medical diagnostic equipment to quickly diagnose patients suffering severe injuries
- Deliver oral and IV medications and monitor patient responses
- Coordinate evaluations and treatments with other doctors and nurses
- Treat up to 25 patients per day
Of course, the details of your work history may look vastly different than this. But the list is just meant to be an example of how you list specific information about your previous job responsibilities and requirements in a given workday.
7) List Your Key Skills
Many people forget to include a list of their key skills for registered nurse resumes. It is important to include a list of your skills because hiring managers want to know what skills you can bring to the job. Your skills are not always clear when they read through your educational background and work experience because so many other applicants have similar education and work experience.
Here is an example of a basic key skills section on a registered nurse resume:
Key Skills
- Trauma and wound care
- Medication administration (IV, Oral)
- Diagnosing and assessing patients
- Managing nursing teams
- Educating patients
- Researching electronic medical records
- Time management in fast-paced care environments
- Strong communication and leadership
You don’t have to write a long list of skills because it would end up flowing off your resume page. It is best to highlight your most essential skills that can help you perform well at the job you are applying for.
8) Other Sections You May Want to Include
If you were only to list the sections mentioned above on your resume, then it would be effective enough to get called in for an interview. However, if you have any additional information you would like to share about yourself, you can create smaller optional sections to highlight that information briefly.
Here are what some of those optional sections might be:
- Awards & Honors
- Foreign Language (e.g., Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French)
- Peace Corps / Volunteer Work
Not all hiring managers will care about these things, but some of them might. It never hurts to try if you have these achievements in your background.
Final Tips
The rule of thumb is to keep your registered nurse resume on one page only. Remember that hiring managers don’t have the time to read through multiple pages of a resume because they are considering several different potential job candidates. So, the clearer and more concise you can make your resume, the better chance you will have of getting a callback from the hiring manager.
You might not currently possess the skills for registered nurse resume writing, but you will develop those skills as you continuously practice writing your resume. Just use the registered nurse resume examples below as a guide to writing your resume.
Read More :- Skills For Nurse Resume
Registered Nurse Resume Examples
Do you want to look at some registered nurse resume examples to get some additional perspective on what a high-quality resume looks like? Below are two examples that showcase the most important elements that should be included in a registered nurse resume:
Resume Example #1
Registered Nurse Resume Text Example 1 :-
Jim Garfield
Registered Nurse, BSN
Contact:
3333 Beechwood Drive
Danbury, Connecticut, 06810, United States
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: jim@aol.com
Mission Statement:
Experienced and professional healthcare leader with over 5 years of experience working as a registered nurse in a fast-paced clinical setting. A strong background in making difficult life-saving decisions using evidence-based care techniques in both primary care and intensive care units.
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) – San Francisco State University
Spring 2013 – Summer 2018, San Francisco, California
Licenses and Certifications:
- Registered Nurse – Connecticut (License #12345)
- CPR Certification
- Basic Life Support Certification
Work Experience:
Danbury Hospital – Danbury, CT
(September 2019 to Present)
- Administered IV, oral, and intramuscular medications to patients
- Provided life-saving care and interventions to patients in emergencies
- Collaborated with doctors and clinical staff to create a comprehensive treatment and recovery plan for patients
- Communicated with patient families about the health status of their loved ones
- Monitored patient condition after surgery and medication
Key Skills:
- Trauma care
- Educating patients and families
- Administer medication
- Teamwork
- Retrieve electronic medical records
- Time management
- Strong communication
Resume Example #2 –
Registered Nurse Resume Text Example 2:-
Shelly Kline
Registered Certified Medical Surgical Nurse
Contact:
2343 Sunny Drive
Daytona Beach, Florida 33322
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: shelly@kline.com
Mission Statement:
A certified medical surgical nurse with over 10 years of experience in surgical care and patient education. A robust background in managing multiple healthcare teams to deliver evidence-based treatment care to patients in high-volume, fast-paced environments.
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) – The University of Central Boston
Fall 2008– Summer 2013, Boston, Massachusetts
Licenses and Certifications:
- Registered Nurse – Florida (License #12345)
- Holistic Nursing Certification
- CPR Certification
Work Experience:
Advent Health Hospital – Daytona Beach, Florida
(October 2013 to Present)
- Cared for over 30 patients in an acute care unit of a fast-paced clinical setting
- Collaborating with several interdisciplinary teams to improve patient care and clinical operations, allowing patients to leave earlier than usual
- Mentored and trained over 30 registered nurses and nursing assistants on clinical protocols and operations
- Assisted surgeons and physicians in preparing patients for surgery, checking vital signs, and administering oral and IV medications
Key Skills:
- Time management
- Strong communication
- Clinical operations
- Oncology
- Patient-centered care
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the growing demand for registered nurses, both globally and in the United States, offers significant job opportunities in various healthcare settings. However, the competition for these roles is intensifying, making it essential for aspiring nurses to create standout resumes. By following the steps outlined in this guide—gathering your nursing documentation, crafting a clear objective, showcasing your education, certifications, and experience, and highlighting your skills—you can build a strong resume that captures the attention of potential employers and increases your chances of landing your dream job.