How to Write a Professional Nursing Resume in 2026

Richard Shelton

Resume writing expert.

The job market for nurses is both promising and competitive. Whether you're a seasoned RN or a recent graduate, having a nursing resume is your ticket to standing out in a sea of qualified applicants.

Hiring managers spend an average of just 7-10 seconds reviewing each resume—so yours must convey clinical skills, certifications, and compassion efficiently and effectively.

In this detailed nursing resume example writing guide, we'll walk you through what makes a resume not just good—but great. You'll also get RN resume examples, formatting tips, and insights from real hiring practices in healthcare.

Minimal Template - Best for New Grads

Best template for new graduates and nurses with 1-3 years of experience.

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ICU specialised new grad nurse resume example.

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ER specialised new grad nurse resume example.

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New graduate nurse resume with minimal experience.

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How Does a Nursing Resume Differ from Corporate Resume?

A nurse's resume is more than just a list of past jobs, metrics, project completed. It's your personal story told through the lens of clinical expertise, reliability, and patient-centered care. Always remember, professional nursing resumes land interviews.

A Good Professional Resume Checks These Points:

Step-by-Step Nursing Resume Writing Guide

• 1. Start with a Clean Resume Header

Include your full name, license (e.g., RN, BSN, CNA), phone number, professional email, and LinkedIn profile. Make sure your email is professional—no nicknames or high school handles.

Example:

Emma Rodriguez, RN, BSN (555) 987-6543 | emma.rodriguez@nursemail.com linkedin.com/in/emmarodriguezRN

• 2. Craft a Compelling Summary for nurse resume

This 2-3 sentence section should highlight your experience level, specialties, and what makes you an asset. Think of it as your elevator pitch.

Example1: Compassionate and detail-oriented Registered Nurse with 5+ years of ICU experience in fast-paced hospital settings. Adept at managing critical care patients, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and delivering patient-focused care.

Example 2: Compassionate Registered Nurse with 5+ years of ICU experience in high-acuity hospital settings. Skilled in ventilator management, hemodynamic monitoring, and rapid clinical decision-making. Proven ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams while delivering safe, patient-centered care.

Example 3: Detail-oriented RN with extensive experience in critical care and fast-paced hospital environments. Adept at patient assessment, medication administration, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Recognized for clinical accuracy, calmness under pressure, and compassionate bedside manner.

• 3. Highlight Licensure and Certifications.
Be explicit with your credentials, especially if the job requires them. Include:
• State licenses (e.g., RN License - California, License #XXXXXXX)
• Certifications: BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, etc.
Use bullet points for readability.
• 4. Detail Your Clinical Experience
This is the heart of your resume. For each role, include:
• Job title
• Facility name and location
• Dates of employment
• 3-5 bullet points focusing on achievements and measurable outcomes
Use action verbs like managed, coordinated, implemented, facilitated. Don't just list duties—demonstrate impact.

Example: Registered Nurse - Emergency Department St. Joseph Hospital, San Diego, CA | March 2020 - Present
• Managed care for 20+ patients daily in high-volume ER
• Initiated triage protocols that reduced wait times by 18%
• Trained 5 new graduate nurses in emergency response procedures
• 5. Education Section
List degrees in reverse-chronological order: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) University of California, Los Angeles - 2018 You can include GPA if it's 3.5 or above and you're a recent graduate.
• 6. Nursing Skills for resume & Keywords Section for resume

This is especially important for ATS optimization. Use keywords from the job posting, and organize them into a clean bullet list or short columns.

Examples:
• Electronic Medical Records (Epic, Cerner)
• Medication Administration
• Patient Advocacy
• Critical Thinking
• IV Therapy
• Patient Education
• Triage & Assessments
• Optional: Add a Clinical Rotations or Projects Section
• Patient assessment & monitoring
• Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• Wound care
• Ventilator management (ICU)
• Triage & emergency response (ER)
• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Time management
• Team collaboration
• Patient advocacy
• Empathy

For new grad nurse or nursing students, a Clinical Rotations section can demonstrate experience in different care settings.

Experienced Nurse Resume

Best for showcasing a multiple years of experience and leadership.

Use this template

Mid-level Nurse Resume

Mid-level nurse resume template best for RNs, CNA, LPN and others.

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ER Nurse Resume

Clean professional template for online applications.

Use this template

Registered Nurse Resume

Clean professional template for online applications.

Use this template

Word Document Nurse Resume Template

Word doc with manual formating and keyword placement.

Download and edit manually

Common Nurse Resume Mistakes to Avoid.

• Too much detail: Resumes should be concise—1 page for new grads, 2 pages max for experienced RNs.
• Typos and grammar errors: Proofread or have someone else review.
• Using the same resume for every job: Tailor each application to the job description.
• Missing ATS keywords: Use phrasing from the job ad without keyword stuffing.
• Unprofessional formatting: Use a clean layout, no fancy fonts, emojis, or colors.
• Including Irrelevant Experiences: It is better to prioritize clinical rotations and nursing-related work to keep the recruiter's attention on your medical expertise.
• Including irrelevant skills: Listing irrelevant skills or outdated technical skills or personal hobbies wastes valuable space on a nurse resume.
• Using a Graphical Resume:Simpler and cleaner resumes are always best. While fancy designs and icons look visually appealing to humans, they often cause errors in hospital databases.
• Poor formatting that breaks ATS parsing: Using complex headers, footers, or tables can scramble your data when it is uploaded into a hospital's hiring system.

• Font: Use Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman (10-12 pt)
• Margins: Keep 0.5-1 inch
• File Type: Save as PDF unless the job description says otherwise
• Section Headings: Use bold or slightly larger font for clear sections

Writing a nursing resume from scratch can be overwhelming—especially when you're juggling shift work or applying to multiple jobs. That's where smart tools come in. If you want to create an ATS-optimized, healthcare-specific professional nursing resume in minutes, check out nurseresumebuilder.app. Our platform:

• Uses AI tailored to nursing job descriptions
• Builds customized bullet points based on your specialty
• Offers professionally designed templates for both online and offline applications

You can create and download multiple nurse resume versions with ease—no formatting headaches, no blank page anxiety.

Try it for your next job hunt and see the difference.