35 Nursing Resume Examples That Worked in 2026

How to Write a Nursing Resume

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

Explore our resume templates and use our resume checker to optimize your document before you apply.

What we’ll cover in this section:

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

What is a nursing resume?

It’s one of your most important documents when applying for a nursing position. It showcases your clinical skills and nursing work experience with quantified results, projects, internships, clinical rotations, education, certifications, and a professional summary that tells recruiters why you qualify.

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

It make sound like an impossible task, but before your 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 resume?

A strong nursing resume should include:

• Concise summary
• Licensure and certifications
• Clinical experience
• Hard and soft skills
• Education credentials
• Specialties such as ICU, pediatrics, or ER
• ATS-compliant formatting with clear headers for work history, skills, and certifications

What’s the right nursing resume format?

Use a reverse-chronological format if you have solid work history; however, if you’re switching careers or have gaps, a functional or hybrid resume prioritizes skills and education over experience. Go with the one-column design that offers room for clear headers and uses standard fonts like Arial or Calibri for readability and ATS compatibility.

A well-structured resume is essential for your job search. Even if your resume has perfect content, if your resume 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 resume formatting is a salient feature you don’t want to get wrong.

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

In conclusion, the best bet for a nursing resume would be the reverse-chronological format. This helps the recruiter see your upward career progression. If you started as an intern in a given health organization, and then moved up the career ladder to become a full-fledged nurse, your potential employer will be able to track your progression and assess your qualifications faster.

Add Contact header

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

The contact header should be, you guessed it, 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 color, remain conservative with black and white. Some resume templates can format your resume to strikingly display your contact information, just like this header:

Will your nursing resume beat the ATS?

Optimizing your resume for the Application Tracking System (ATS) increases your chances of being called for an interview. The ATS is a tool that many companies use to quickly scan resumes and weed out applicants without relying on someone to read through them first.

Most resumes aren’t designed to beat ATS, and end up being filtered out before they ever reach the recruiter. However, if you know how to properly format your resume, 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 resumes are concerned:

How to create a stunning resume for a nursing career

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

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

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

An objective captures your career intent, while a summary highlights proven value from years of experience.

Example comparison table:

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

When to include a career objective in your resume

• You can use an objective when changing or modifying your career.
• For instance, if you plan to change from a surgical assistant registered nurse to an emergency room 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 looking for an entry-level job and lack experience. 

When a summary is right for your resume

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

How to quantify and qualify your nursing work experience

Don’t forget to indicate relevant experience in your resume. While we wouldn’t recommend including every job you’ve had since you were 16, you can get away with adding work experience from different fields if you’re an entry-level candidate.

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

Conversely, 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 volunteer work that is relevant to the nursing job description.

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

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 generic statements of experience.
• I joined the hospital in May
  • This bullet includes “I” and lacks job specifics and quantifiable metrics.
• I have provided compassionate care for all of my patients.
  • Although it may sound nice on the surface, it doesn’t answer exactly what the patient did and the results of their work.

Three examples of good job experience bullet points for nurses:

• Provided a wide range of services to a caseload of 50+ patients
  • This uses an action verb combined with quantifiable metrics.
• Spearheaded 4 new primary care training initiatives to over 60+ nurse recruits
  • Again, this uses an action verb but furthermore, it describes exactly what the candidate provided (primary care training). 
• Oversaw the safety of patients in the healthcare facility by formulating risk mitigation measures in the unit
  • Specific, pertinent job duties show employers your skills and can also help you pass the ATS; two thumbs up for this one!

How to quantify your impact as a nurse

When preparing your resume, 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 instance, if you say you “served many patients daily,” a potential employer might wonder about the exact number because ‘many’ is a relative term.

Examples of how to quantify metrics:

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 hires on pre and postoperative care >20 days per month

Some of the health facilities labor under tremendous pressure. The number of patients you serve per day can help potential employers gauge whether you will cope well under pressure. So, it’s lucrative to include the number of patients you served per a specific amount of time.

• Number of patients served in a day 
• Worked in a setting with a 6:1 patient-nurse ratio, receiving 400+ visitors per day

How to highlight clinical experience effectively

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

For example:

• Delivered care to 15+ patients per shift in a 32-bed ICU using Epic EMR and advanced monitoring tools
• Assisted in 24 surgical procedures during perioperative rotation with sterile technique and electronic charting
• Cut patient discharge time by 45 minutes through coordinated care and accurate documentation in Cerner EMR

How to write a nursing resume with no experience

If you’re a new grad, fresh from an internship, or transitioning into nursing, focus on:

• Clinical rotations
• Volunteer experience
• Internship
• Transferable skills (communication or teamwork)
• Nursing degree (include your GPA if it’s above 3.5)
• Healthcare-specific certifications
• A professional summary underscoring your value

Highlight top skills for your nursing resume

It’s helpful to understand the differences between hard and soft skills to list in your resume skills section. Keep the number of skills you list in between six and 10 to avoid overwhelming the reader.

Hard skills are those tools you use to do the job, aka technical abilities that require training. 

Examples of hard skills:

On the other hand, soft skills are abilities that are harder to quantify and are more personality-based.

Examples of soft skills:

How to include nursing education and certifications

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

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

Certifications that boost a nursing resume

Common certifications include:

• BLS (Basic Life Support)
• ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support)
• PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support)
• TNCC (Trauma Nursing Core Course)

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

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

Most of the time, you don’t need to include projects or interests/hobbies on your resume. However, you may 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 tangible experience that’s more important than undergraduate projects you’ve completed. Instead, you should highlight your key areas of experience and show your new employer how you’ll impact their business.

In the same vein, you may not need to indicate 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 match the company culture. 

To help you determine whether or not to include hobbies, visit the company’s website and read the “About Us” section to gauge whether they have a unique cultural fit. 

If you’re an entry-level candidate 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 resume.

Examples of hobbies/interests:

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

Examples of projects:

• Organized and led breast cancer awareness campaign for two consecutive semesters
• Researched mental and psychiatric issues for semester-long experiment

Tips for new grad nursing resumes

As a new graduate, start with education and clinical rotations. Grab attention from the onset with a strong objective, and proceed to emphasize nursing coursework, hands-on procedures from projects, internships, and any externships. Mention NCLEX status if applicable (e.g., “NCLEX-RN scheduled for Oct 2026”). Also, demonstrate your initiative through volunteer experience or membership in nursing associations.

How to tailor your resume for specific units

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

For:

• ICU: Emphasize critical care, ventilators, and emergency response
• Pediatrics: highlight child development knowledge, family communication, and vaccine protocols.

Should you include a cover letter?

Yes, especially in healthcare, a cover letter is an asset that gives you the room to showcase your fitness for the role and the patients you’ll be taking care of. Keep it brief, focused on why you’re a fit, and aligned with the employer’s mission. For inspiration, explore these nursing cover letter examples and start working on yours.

Common nursing resume mistakes to avoid

Avoid any of these pitfalls:

• Using generic phrases such as “hard worker” and “team player”
• Not tailoring for each job and facility you’re targeting
• Pushing licenses or certs down the order of priority
• Cluttered paragraphs that are hard to read
• Including outdated info from old, unrelated roles, inactive contact details

Confidently land your next Nursing gig

Many job seekers languish in the job market, especially considering the number of nursing graduates produced by universities each year and the fierce competition. So, you must be creative and savvy to survive the market. Happily, you’ve already taken the first steps by reading this guide, so congratulations!

We know you’ve worked hard to get this far, and we wish you all the best as you write a power-packed nursing resume and get ready for interviews in 2026!