How to Write a Nurse Résumé
Nursing résumés are unusual: credentials come first, and hospital ATS systems screen hard for specific licences and certifications. A great nurse résumé makes your licensure, specialties and patient-care impact impossible to miss. Here's how to structure it.
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Résumé builder, a live resume.md link, and ATS-friendly PDF & .docx export.
Lead with licences and certifications
Put a Licenses & Certifications section near the top: RN/LPN licence with state and number status, plus BLS, ACLS, PALS, specialty certs (e.g. CCRN, TNCC) and expiry-relevant items. Recruiters and ATS filters look for these first — burying them costs you interviews.
Highlight clinical skills and settings
- Specialties/units: ICU, ED, Med-Surg, L&D, Oncology.
- Clinical skills: medication administration, wound care, ventilator management, EHR (name it — Epic, Cerner).
- Patient load & acuity: quantify ("managed 5–6 high-acuity patients per shift").
Specificity here signals real experience and matches how hospital systems search.
Quantify patient-care impact
Nursing impact can be measured: "Reduced unit fall rate 20% by championing a hourly-rounding protocol." "Precepted 8 new-grad nurses." "Maintained 98% medication-administration accuracy." Use verbs like administered, assessed, coordinated, precepted, improved, advocated.
Make it ATS-ready and easy to share
Create your free person.bio account, import your résumé once, and get an always-current resume.md link plus one-click ATS-friendly PDF and .docx exports. A clean, single-column export ensures hospital ATS systems read your licences and specialties correctly the first time.
Frequently asked questions
What goes at the top of a nurse résumé?
Your licences and certifications. Hospital ATS systems and recruiters screen for RN/LPN licensure and certs like BLS/ACLS first, so make them prominent.
Should I include patient load and acuity?
Yes. Quantifying patient load, acuity and setting (e.g. ICU vs. Med-Surg) gives recruiters a concrete sense of your experience level.
How do I make a nurse résumé ATS-friendly?
Use a single-column, text-based layout with standard headings and no tables or images, then export as a clean PDF or .docx — which person.bio does in one click.
Ready to build it?
Create your free person.bio account, import your résumé once, and get an always-current resume.md link plus one-click ATS-friendly PDF and .docx exports — ready to connect to ChatGPT and Claude.
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