Without registered nurses (RNs), healthcare as we know it would cease to exist. They’re the glue that holds hospitals together, and nurses serve on the front line in the service of their patients.
Registered Nurses are more in demand now than ever, but the path to becoming a nurse is still challenging. Whether you’re working towards your BSc in Nursing or becoming an advanced nurse practitioner, hard work is required.
You shouldn’t need to be an expert at making a resume or writing a nursing student cover letter.
After analysing numerous CVs from nursing students, we’re sharing the best resume-writing practices along with eleven excellent nursing student CV samples that are succeeding in 2025.
Why this CV works
- Nurses must undertake clinical placements while at university, so you should include this relevant experience on your nursing student CV.
- If you’ve held multiple full or part-time nursing roles, you can omit your placements, but otherwise, leave them in. They’re valuable experience!
- You’ll hear many arguments for and against having a career objective, but we only recommend adding one if 1) you’re undergoing a career change or 2) you just finished nursing school, and this is your first full-time nursing job.
- If those circumstances apply, add an objective! Just remember you need to tailor it to each job you apply for. If you don’t have time to do that, then skip this part.
Why this CV works
- You likely have plenty of experience as a registered nurse (RN), but remember that you should try to keep your nurse practitioner student CV to a single page.
- If you’re deciding between one page and two, try some useful resume formatting tricks, such as reducing the font size and page margins to fit more content (while keeping an eye on overall readability). Don’t make your text too small, or it will be difficult to read.
- Choose a professional resume template where you can include certificates on your CV if you’re a licensed registered nurse (RN) and have passed the exam. Also, include the region(s) where you’re certified since, sometimes, certification doesn’t transfer.
View more nursing student practitioner resumes >
Why this CV works
- The absence of paid work experience shouldn’t create a gap in your beginner nursing student CV. Seize the opportunity to showcase skills acquired in practical classes, volunteering opportunities, and research projects.
- Concentrate on critical thinking, data collection and analysis, and other skills that enhance your competence.
Why this CV works
- Owing to your lack of real-world nursing experience, highlight your soft skills and how you have utilised them in your coursework and placements.
- Showcase your research, communication, and problem-solving skills and enhance them by adding your experience gained from placements on your nursing student clinical experience CV.
Why this CV works
- Just because your experience is limited doesn’t mean the recruiter will take it easy on you. Our friendly advice? Impress them with a tailored career objective section in your newly qualified nursing student CV to give them a glimpse of who you are.
- Ideally, your career objective should be a concise paragraph summarising your relevant experience, skills, and intentions. Take Lennox, for instance; he reveals that he brings nursing placement experience and useful interpersonal skills, all essential for securing a junior nurse position. A couple of sentences is the perfect length for this statement.
Why this CV works
- When creating a great graduate nursing student resume, the little things matter, so make sure you build your resume right by being consistent in punctuation.
- When it comes to fixing your resume, consistency is crucial. For instance, the bullet points detailing your work experience should end the same way, either with or without full stops.
- Some nursing jobs require additional qualifications (beyond an RN), but don’t assume a hiring manager knows your qualifications. Instead, add a qualifications section to prove you have an ALS, CPR, or EMT qualification.
- Do you need a nursing student cover letter? Keep reading for a cover letter template you can edit and adjust as needed!
View more graduate nursing student resumes >
Why this CV works
- Your relevant educational background and licence suggest you’re the ideal fit. However, the recruiter has probably seen another licensed vocational nursing student CV showcasing the same qualifications. So, what could be your saving grace here? Try highlighting transferable skills from past projects.
- Did you see how Isolde doesn’t hesitate to mention she designed promotional materials for a book fair while working as a library assistant? That subtly indicates her creative skills, suggesting she could be the innovative force the hiring organisation needs to bring new ideas to life. However, always prioritise a relevant work placement, then list your project entries immediately after (reverse chronological order, remember).
Why this CV works
- Now, no one’s expecting a university student to have the world’s greatest work experience. So don’t stress too much about actual jobs. As long as you can add projects that showcase your nursing abilities, you’ll be in a good position.
- Be creative with the bullet points in your pre-nursing student CV and start each one with strong action words like Monitored and Undertook to be straightforward and convey your impacts from the outset.
Why this CV works
- Still at university and looking to broaden your horizons through internships? Well done! Just ensure your nursing student intern CV includes all the skills you excel in.
- It’s fine to only have projects and no related work experience. However, if possible, try to be innovative with work experience placements. Include skills from any non-healthcare job to demonstrate your versatility in using healthcare software/devices in real-life situations as well.
Why this CV works
- If you have any experience in the healthcare space or leadership expertise outside of healthcare, include them in a hobbies and interests section on your resume (also titled “activities”).
- Voluntary experience is a good idea, especially if it relates to healthcare.
- Most people understand the importance of nursing, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to demonstrate the direct impact of your work. So how can you quantify your impact on your nursing student for their placement CV?
- If possible, include numbers. For instance, how many people did you work with? How many rotations did you complete? Did you increase efficiency or productivity by a measurable amount? There are figures there if you know where to look!
View more nursing student for externship resumes >
Why this CV works
- If you’re looking to secure your first full-time nursing position after finishing nursing school, then act the part. That means listing your title as “registered nurse,” not “nursing student.”
- This is especially true if you already have an RN qualification. If you do have this qualification, make sure to list it in a separate section, along with the year you became qualified!
- Your nursing student (no experience) resume works best if you include only a handful of relevant skills in your resume’s skills section.
- List any specialities you might have (such as paediatrics or geriatrics), plus technical skills like clinical documentation.
Related CV guides
Need Help with Your Nursing Student Covering Letter?
It’s satisfying to finish writing your CV, but don’t forget about writing a cover letter, too! We’ve got you covered (get it?) with a cover letter template you can edit in Google Docs and Word.
Why this covering letter works
- When writing your cover letter as a postgraduate nursing student, emphasise how your background will benefit the new company. For example, highlighting technical specialisation and adaptability in high-pressure work environments is excellent!
- Always link your skills to the organisation’s values by using phrases like “shape the future of healthcare” from their website’s mission statement.
- If you have outstanding experience, such as exceptional bedside manner or familiarity with a specialised area like paediatrics, highlight these.
- Always ensure you list your certifications in your graduate nursing student CV, of course—but it doesn’t hurt to mention them in your cover letter, too!
- It’s also ideal to establish how much experience you have alongside your qualifying certifications at the beginning of your cover letter.
- An additional CV tip: your CV should be concise, but your cover letter should narrate a story about your relevant background.
How to Write a Nursing Student CV
Writing a CV as a nursing student isn’t easy: you don’t have enough direct work experience. However, you can still craft a CV to get the job. How?
To write an outstanding nursing student CV, pay attention to the following:
- Use a format that is easy to scan and read
- Emphasise relevant experience
- Showcase transferable skills
- Make the most of your career objective
- Get inspiration from these expert-approved resume examples
Now let’s help you write a resume that gets your first proper nursing job.
Create a summary of your nursing student qualifications
Without direct work experience, you have more space to include a summary and discuss your potential. Use this opportunity to highlight your enthusiasm, transferable skills, and career aspirations.
Additionally, align your professional summary with the job description. For example, if the employer is seeking a patient-focused professional, you should provide examples of how you prioritised patients’ interests in previous roles as a trainee or during practical projects.
What are some examples of student nurse CV objectives?
Entry-level student nurse CV objective
Dedicated nursing student seeking an entry-level registered nurse position at Stanford Health Care. Eager to apply clinical knowledge, strong communication skills, and a patient-centred approach to provide high-quality care and support a collaborative healthcare team in delivering exceptional patient outcomes.
Nursing student intern CV objective
Nursing student with impeccable data analysis and interpersonal skills seeking to gain real-life clinical experience in a community-focused health organisation like ChristianaCare. Excellent timekeeper, team player, and critical thinker, passionate about bridging the gap in access to health services for vulnerable and marginalised populations.
Choose the right CV format
The reverse chronological format is the best choice for your nursing student CV because it lists your qualifications from the most recent, showing your career progression and a timeline of your experiences that make you the most suitable candidate for the job. Also, this layout is ATS-friendly and gives recruiters an easy time when they review your resume.
Showcase practical experience as a student nurse
It doesn’t matter that you’re just starting your career journey; you still have plenty to showcase from your experience. Internships, practical projects, coursework, volunteer work, and charity work can be listed here. All you need to do is use active verbs, demonstrate impact, and utilise relevant tools, challenges, and lessons learned.
Ensure that what you add here is relevant to the role and demonstrates your understanding and knowledge of the medical field.
Example of work experience for a nursing student applying for an RN role
Include relevant education and qualifications
You should include your nursing education, coursework, and training to enhance your chances of securing an interview.
How to add education to your nursing student CV
Bachelor of Science
Nursing
University of Delaware
2021-Present Newark, DE
Additionally, if you have any certifications, awards for exceptional work, or special licences, include them in your CV. They demonstrate your unique qualities and bring you closer to securing the job. Only include them if they’re relevant to the position you’re applying for.
Examples of certifications/licenses for a nursing student’s CV:
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Qualification
- Phlebotomy Qualification
- Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Certification
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Licence
- Medication Administration Certification
What skills should be on a nursing student CV?
Almost every employer uses applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen applications before they reach an actual hiring manager. That’s why you must include relevant keywords that describe skills and other clinical terms listed in the job description. There is a high chance that your CV won’t pass the screening stage if it lacks these crucial phrases.
Both direct and transferable skills will set you apart from the other candidates. Emphasise your competencies in nursing tools and soft skills gained during placements, practical projects, and other activities outside the traditional classroom.
Examples of skills for a nursing student’s CV
- Time Management
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Pulse oximeters
- Lexicomp
- Cerner
- SPSS
- HIPAA is specific to the United States and does not have a direct equivalent in the UK. However, the UK has its own data protection regulations, such as the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Depending on the context, you might refer to these regulations instead.
- Patient admission and discharge
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Nursing Student CV FAQs
Tailor your nursing student CV to the specific position you’re applying for. You should highlight relevant skills, include education, coursework, training, and briefly summarise your professional profile.
One page is sufficient to showcase your strengths and persuade recruiters that you’re the right candidate for the role. Don’t include everything you can think of; only include your education, experience, projects, coursework, qualifications, and contact information. Be concise and only add what enhances your credentials.
It’s a CV that includes the clinical experience that a nursing student acquired from a healthcare institution to learn practical skills from experts. Most importantly, the CV highlights clinical skills and unique qualifications that other candidates may not have.
BeamJobs has a comprehensive list of CV examples where you can find the perfect nursing student CV sample that you can use to write yours. We also help you, like many other successful job seekers, build a CV from scratch, optimise it for your dream job, and help you write a cover letter to complete your application.
