35 Nursing CV Examples That Worked in 2026

How to Write a Nursing CV

Writing a nursing CV requires the right keywords, qualifications, and formatting elements to pass both recruiters and CV scanners. To stand out, you must tailor each section—from summary to skills to certifications—according to the job description and clinical setting.

Explore our CV templates and use our CV checker to optimise your document before you apply.

What we’ll cover in this section:

• What to include in a nursing CV (and why)
• How to craft a standout summary and work experience
• Which certifications, skills, and licences to include
• Examples of good and bad formatting
• Common mistakes nurses make on CVs (and how to avoid them)

What is a nursing CV?

It’s one of your most important documents when applying for a nursing position. It highlights your clinical skills and nursing work experience with quantified results, projects, placements, clinical rotations, education, qualifications, and a professional summary that explains to recruiters why you are suitable.

Now, let’s get into writing a CV that will land your dream nursing job.

It may sound like an impossible task, but before you get overwhelmed, start by taking it one step at a time. First, choose your formatting style: reverse-chronological, functional, or hybrid.

What should be included in a nursing CV?

A strong nursing CV should include:

• Concise summary
• Licensing and qualifications
• Clinical experience
• Hard and soft skills
• Educational qualifications
• Specialties such as ICU, paediatrics, or A&E
• ATS-compliant formatting with clear headings for work history, skills, and qualifications

What’s the right nursing CV format?

Use a reverse-chronological format if you have a solid work history; however, if you’re changing careers or have gaps, a functional or hybrid CV prioritises skills and education over experience. Opt for the one-column design that offers space for clear headings and uses standard fonts like Arial or Calibri for readability and ATS compatibility.

A well-structured CV is essential for your job search. Even if your CV has perfect content, if it isn’t easy to skim at a glance, it’s unlikely you’ll be called for an interview. Your content matters, but so does how you present that content. Therefore, proper CV formatting is a crucial feature you don’t want to get wrong.

There are three popular formatting options for designing your CV in 2026: reverse-chronological, functional, and hybrid.

In conclusion, the best option for a nursing CV would be the reverse-chronological format. This helps the recruiter see your upward career progression. If you started as a trainee in a particular health organisation, and then moved up the career ladder to become a fully qualified nurse, your potential employer will be able to track your progression and assess your qualifications more quickly.

Add Contact heading

It’s important to include the relevant contact header information in the correct order. If you’re a nurse, your contact header should include the following:

The contact header should be, as you might expect, at the top of the page. Good font choices are Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri, all at 12 point size. When it comes to colour, keep it conservative with black and white. Some CV templates can format your CV to strikingly display your contact information, just like this header:

Will your nursing CV pass the ATS?

Optimising your CV for the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) increases your chances of being called for an interview. The ATS is a tool that many companies use to quickly scan CVs and filter out applicants without relying on someone to read through them first.

Most CVs aren’t designed to get past ATS, and end up being filtered out before they ever reach the recruiter. However, if you know how to properly format your CV, you’ll pass the ATS scan and make your way to a person. Here’s what you should know about the role of fonts, font size, margins, header names, logical order, skills, and page length, as far as ATS-friendly CVs are concerned:

How to create a stunning CV for a nursing career

Creating an effective nursing CV may seem daunting and not worth your effort. However, putting in the extra effort now will pay off when you secure an interview. And remember, you’re not doing this alone. We’re committed to helping you write an amazing CV by providing advice on common frustrating decisions like this:

Do you need an objective or summary on your nursing CV?

Use a summary if you have direct nursing work experience—it highlights the value you bring. Use an objective if you are at an entry level, changing careers, or have less than two years of experience.

An objective outlines your career intentions, while a summary showcases the proven value from years of experience.

Example comparison table:

When crafting your nursing CV, you have the option to use career objectives and summaries.

When to include a career objective in your CV

• You can use an objective when changing or modifying your career path.
• For instance, if you plan to change from a surgical assistant registered nurse to an A&E registered nurse, you’d use an objective to highlight that you’re pursuing a new subfield within nursing.
• Use a career objective if you’re seeking a graduate position and lack experience.

When a summary is right for your CV

• Use a summary to highlight your most valuable experience and skills. These are ideal when you have extensive experience in nursing.
• For example, if you’ve worked in a healthcare setting for 10 or more years, you can include a summary.
• A summary is effective for linking diverse work experiences.

How to measure and describe your nursing work experience

Don’t forget to indicate relevant experience in your CV. While we wouldn’t recommend including every job you’ve had since you were 16, you can include work experience from different fields if you’re a graduate or entry-level candidate.

However, if you’re applying for a senior position, you’ll need to include at least three nursing roles on your CV, especially if you’re applying for a managerial or specialist position. For instance, a director of care management requires nine years of experience, four of which must be in a managerial capacity.

On the other hand, a registered nurse position may require one year of direct patient care. The responsibilities, in this case, are not very demanding. If you lack experience overall, you can include any academic projects and voluntary work that is relevant to the nursing job description.

How to write your job experience bullet points for your nursing CV

Three examples of poor job experience bullet points for nurses:

• I have eight years of experience in nursing
  • Generally, you should avoid using “I,” and you should include specifics, not just general statements of experience.
• I joined the hospital in May.
  • This bullet point includes “I” and lacks job details and measurable metrics.
• I have provided compassionate care for all my patients.
  • While it might sound appealing at first, it doesn’t precisely explain what the patient did or the outcomes of their work.

Three examples of good job experience bullet points for nurses:

• Provided a wide range of services to a caseload of over 50 patients
  • This uses an action verb combined with measurable metrics.
• Led four new primary care training initiatives for over 60 nurse recruits
  • This also uses an action verb, but moreover, it specifies exactly what the candidate delivered (primary care training).
• Supervised patient safety in the healthcare facility by developing risk reduction measures in the unit
  • Specific, relevant job duties demonstrate your skills to employers and can also help you get past the ATS; top marks for this one!

How to measure your impact as a nurse

When preparing your CV, remember that no employer wants to waste time reading vague statements about your performance. Instead, they want to see supporting details. So, whenever you can, you should quantify your impact and achievements.

For example, if you say you “attended to numerous patients daily,” a potential employer might question the exact number because ‘numerous’ is a relative term.

Examples of how to quantify measurements:

Suppose the nursing job description asks for a training specialist who can train other nurses. In that case, you can indicate the number of training sessions you conducted per day in your previous employment.

• Number of clinical training sessions per day
• Trained 75% of new starters on pre- and postoperative care for over 20 days per month

Some of the health facilities labour under tremendous pressure. The number of patients you attend to per day can help potential employers gauge whether you will cope well under pressure. Therefore, it’s beneficial to include the number of patients you dealt with over a specific period of time.

• Number of patients seen in a day
• Worked in an environment with a 6:1 patient-nurse ratio, receiving over 400 visitors per day

How to highlight clinical experience effectively

Generate 3-4 bullet points under each entry of your work history or clinical placements to describe specific tasks, patient volumes, and outcomes. Make the points stand out with metrics and action verbs like “coordinated,” “monitored,” or “administered.”

For instance:

• Provided care to over 15 patients per shift in a 32-bed ICU using Epic EMR and advanced monitoring tools.
• Assisted in 24 surgical procedures during perioperative placement with sterile technique and electronic record-keeping
• Reduced patient discharge time by 45 minutes through coordinated care and accurate documentation in Cerner EMR.

How to write a nursing CV with no experience

If you’re a recent graduate, fresh from a placement, or transitioning into nursing, focus on:

• Clinical placements
• Voluntary experience
• Work placement
• Transferable skills (communication or teamwork)
• Nursing degree (include your grade if it’s above a 2:1)
• Healthcare-specific qualifications
• A professional summary highlighting your value

Highlight top skills for your nursing CV

It’s helpful to understand the differences between hard and soft skills to list in your CV skills section. Keep the number of skills you list between six and ten to avoid overwhelming the reader.

Hard skills are the tools you use to perform the job, also known as technical abilities that require training.

Examples of technical skills:

Conversely, soft skills are abilities that are more difficult to measure and are more personality-based.

Examples of interpersonal skills:

How to include nursing education and qualifications

When preparing your nursing CV, include all the elements that will increase your chances of getting the job. You need to indicate the following:

On the topic of licences, you need to share your area of specialisation. Specialists include registered nurses (RNs), certified registered nurse anaesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists. Including your area(s) of expertise helps potential employers determine whether you’re the right candidate for the role.

Certifications that enhance a nursing CV

Common qualifications include:

• BLS (Basic Life Support)
• ALS (Advanced Life Support)
• PALS (Paediatric Advanced Life Support)
• TNCC (Trauma Nursing Core Course)

Include the certifying body (e.g., AHA) and expiry dates in a dedicated section near the top of your CV.

Should you add projects, interests, or hobbies to your nursing CV?

Most of the time, you don’t need to include projects or interests/hobbies on your CV. However, you might be able to add them depending on your level of experience and the type of role you’re seeking.

If you’re an experienced nurse, you’ve likely gained practical experience that’s more important than any undergraduate projects you’ve completed. Instead, you should emphasise your key areas of experience and demonstrate to your new employer how you’ll make a difference to their organisation.

Similarly, you may not need to mention your hobbies or interests unless it’s encouraged. However, you can gain an advantage over the competition if you have strong qualifications and hobbies that align with the company culture.

To help you decide whether to include hobbies, visit the company’s website and read the “About Us” section to assess whether they have a unique cultural fit.

If you’re a candidate just starting out or a recent graduate, listing hobbies and projects can help you fill space and showcase your personality. However, it’s always good to review the job description to ensure these additions are relevant. Either way, keep the project and hobbies lists short and at the bottom of your CV.

Examples of hobbies/interests:

• Volunteering for community health services
• Exercise
• Learning new languages

Examples of projects:

• Organised and led breast cancer awareness campaign for two consecutive terms
• Researched mental and psychiatric issues for term-long experiment

Tips for new graduate nursing CVs

As a recent graduate, begin with your education and clinical placements. Capture attention from the start with a strong objective, and then highlight your nursing coursework, practical procedures from projects, placements, and any externships. Mention your NMC registration status if applicable (e.g., “NMC registration scheduled for Oct 2026”). Additionally, show your initiative through volunteer experience or membership in nursing associations.

How to tailor your CV for specific departments

Review the job description to identify relevant experience and match the department’s needs. Align your summary, skills, and experience with the department’s daily tasks.

For:

• Intensive Care Unit: Emphasise critical care, ventilators, and emergency response
• Paediatrics: highlight child development knowledge, family communication, and vaccination protocols.

Should you include a covering letter?

Yes, particularly in healthcare, a cover letter is an asset that allows you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and the patients you’ll be looking after. Keep it concise, focused on why you’re a good fit, and in line with the employer’s mission. For inspiration, explore these nursing cover letter examples and start working on yours.

Common nursing CV mistakes to avoid

Avoid any of these mistakes:

• Using generic phrases such as “hard-working” and “team player”
• Not tailoring for each job and organisation you’re targeting
• Placing licences or certificates lower on the list of priorities
• Dense paragraphs that are difficult to read
• Including outdated information from previous, unrelated roles, inactive contact details

Confidently secure your next Nursing role

Many job seekers struggle in the job market, especially given the number of nursing graduates produced by universities each year and the intense competition. Therefore, you need to be creative and astute to navigate the market successfully. Fortunately, you’ve already taken the first steps by reading this guide, so well done!

We know you’ve worked hard to get this far, and we wish you all the best as you write a compelling nursing CV and prepare for interviews in 2026!