Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Example & Job Description

Just because so many RNs work in general medical and surgical hospitals—

Doesn’t mean that medical-surgical nursing jobs are easy to get.

Far from it:

You’re not the only one going the medical-surgical route.

You’ll need to stand out from the crowd, big time.

Do that by showing you’ve got what it takes.

And do that with a medical-surgical nurse resume that gets pulses racing.

In this guide:

• A medical surgical nurse resume sample better than the vast majority.
• How to create the perfect medical surgical nurse job descriptions for resumes.
• How to write a resume for medical surgical nurse jobs that stands out.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing a med-surg nursing job.

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Just getting started in nursing or looking for a different specialization? We’ve got just the guides for you:

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• Medical School Resume Examples for Med Students
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• College Application Resume Examples
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Medical-Surgical Resume Sample

Now here’s how to write a med-surg nursing resume that gets results:

1. Choose the Right Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Format

Picture this:

There’s a desk somewhere with printed-out resumes on it—

Ready for further triage.

But yours isn’t there.

Why?

It was haphazardly formatted, cramped, generally off-putting.

So use your resume format to make your resume a pleasure to read. Here’s how:

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Format

• Use the reverse-chronological resume format. It’s a resume style most preferred by recruiters.
• Choose a professional resume font like Arial, Calibri or Noto in 11–12 pt.
• Leave the margins of your resumeat one inch and leave lots of white space.
• How long can your resume be? One page should be enough.Go to a second page only if you have more than 20 years’ experience.
• Outline your resume like this: Header, Qualifications Summary, Work Experience, Education, and Skills. Make good use of extra sections, too.
• Use a simple resume template which is easy on the eye.

Saving your resume in PDF is great for preserving the layout and general appearance, but if the job ad specifically asks for a different format, like *.docx, then always go with that.

What's the reasoning behind this?

Well, you need to make sure you're submitting an ATS resume. This means your resume must be machine-readable by the employer's applicant tracking software. Most ATSs can read PDF files, but some can't—and that's why you may be asked to submit your resume as a Word file.

Expert Hint: Include your name and surname, telephone number, and email address in your resume header. Optionally, you can add your LinkedIn URL.

2. Start With a Winning Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Profile

Start your medical-surgical nurse resume with the right kind of resume profile.

What’s right for you?

Easy:

Got nursing experience?

Then a resume summary statement is for you. 

It should show fast how unfazed you are by hospital chaos.

Use:

1. One adjective (efficient, reliable, compassionate)
2. Job title (Medical-Surgical Nurse)
3. Years of experience (4+, 5+)
4. What you can do for your employer (provide excellent patient care)
5. Two or three of your most impressive nursing achievements (administered 200+ different medications, worked on a 20-bed ward)

These medical-surgical nurse resume examples show how:

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Summary

Hardworking medical-surgical nurse with 6+ years of experience working in busy hospital contexts. Seeking to bring compassionate approach and proven prioritization skills to bear on QualMed’s busy wards. At Saint Luke’s, reduced amount of self-administered opiates by up to 20% and shortened time-to-discharge by 3-5% without increased risk to patients.

Caring medical-surgical nurse with 6 years of experience working in hospitals. Seeking to broaden skill set on QualMed’s busy wards. At Saint Luke’s, reduced amount of self-administered opiates and shortened time-to-discharge without increased risk to patients.

Feel the difference?

The first example is concrete, dealing in facts and figures:

It’s this kind of putting numbers to your resume achievements that really makes them pop.

But what if you’re writing a resume with no experience?

There’s a profile for that:

Start with a resume objective statement and focus on achievements from non-nursing jobs, hospital internships, and especially volunteer work.

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Objective

Hardworking recent nursing graduate, seeking to bring compassionate approach and proven prioritization skills to bear on QualMed’s busy wards as a medical-surgical nurse. During studies, pursued a passion for acute-care coursework, graduated valedictorian.

Inexperienced nurse fresh out of college. Some placement work experience, looking forward to gaining more real-world, hands-on experience.

The first example is clearly the better one.

Most importantly, it’s focused on what the candidate can do for the employer, not the other way around.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed?

That’s understandable, here’s a neat trick:

Write your medical-surgical nurse resume profile last.

It’ll be much easier after you’ve done your job descriptions and skills section.

Expert Hint: To make an ATS-friendly resume, mention the name of the company you’re applying to in the resume profile.

3. Prepare the Perfect Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Job Descriptions and Skills Section

Here’s the prescription for success:

The best way to show you can do the job—

Use your resume work history section to show that you’ve already done it—

And done it well.

How to write a medical surgical nurse resume job description:

1. Take a load off for a couple of minutes and re-read the job ad.
2. Identify the med-surg nurse skills and duties in it.
3. Brainstorm times you’ve used those skills to deliver amazing patient care.
4. Write resume bullet points that describe those times, with numbers.

These medical surgical nurse resume examples show how:

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Job Description

Medical-Surgical Nurse

Saint Luke’s

2017–present

• Reduced amount of self-administered opiates by up to 20% by providing alternative pain management using Healing Touchby hospital protocol.
• Changed 2,000+ dressings, inserted 1,000+ catheters, and started 1,500+ IVs.
• Consulted with out-of-state relatives via social media, putting them at ease and supplementing patient histories 20% quicker than over the phone.
• Collaborated on discharge planning with the healthcare team, shortening time-to-discharge by 3-5% without increased risk to patients.

Medical-Surgical Nurse

Saint Luke’s

2017–present

• Provided alternative pain management using Healing Touchby hospital protocol.
• Changed dressings, inserted catheters, and started IVs.
• Consulted with out-of-state relatives via social media.
• Collaborated on discharge planning with the healthcare team.

Who would you rather have with you on the ward?

The first example puts numbers to achievements—

It helps the candidate to both stand out and impress.

Writing a resume but low on work experience?

Use the same kind of accomplishment statements to pull in relevant achievements from non-nursing jobs you’ve done.

And then:

Remember to pick the right skills for resumes.

But—

Don’t swamp your medical-surgical nurse resume with random nursing skills.

Let the job ad guide you as to what’s desirable—

And stick to skills you’ve actually demonstrated at work.

The lists below are just an example.

Skills for a Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume

Hard Skills

• Wound care
• Acute care
• IV therapy
• Basic life support
• Infection control
• Medication administration
• Post-operative care
• Pain management
• Blood collection
• MEDITECH software
• Computer skills

Soft Skills

• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Teamwork skills
• Organizational skills
• Prioritization skills
• Assessment skills
• Detail orientation
• Critical thinking skills
• Diligence
• Interpersonal skills

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4. Your Education Is Important—Treat It as Such

There’s no way into nursing that doesn’t include a formal education—

And that’s probably for the best.

Your education wasn’t easy to come by, so do it justice in your medical-surgical nurse resume.

Include:

The degree (with major), school name, and years attended.

And then:

Add bullets that point to key nursing skills.

This medical-surgical nurse resume example shows how:

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Examples—Education

BS in Nursing, Herzing University, Atlanta, GA

2011–2015

• Pursued a passion for acute care coursework.
• Graduated valedictorian.

Short on nursing experience? 

Expand your education section by including bullet points with projects, classes, and activities that demonstrate medical-surgical nursing skills.

5. Enrich Your Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume With Added Sections

The problem:

A huge proportion of qualified nurses move into meg-surg nursing.

The treatment:

Stand out from the crowd by adding extra sections to your resume.

Anything that’s relevant to the job is fair game:

• Additional Activities
• Foreign Languages
• Classes Taken
• Awards
• Hobbies and Personal Interests
• Volunteering
• Certifications
• Professional References

These two medical-surgical nurse resume examples show yes vs no:

Medical-Surgical Nurse Resume Sample—Extra Sections

Certifications

• CMSRN, 2017
• RN (licence no. 123456789)
• ACLS, TrainMedical
• BLS, American Red Cross

Professional Memberships

• Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses

Certifications

• CMSRN
• RN
• ACLS
• BLS

Hobbies

• Hiking
• Shooting (pistols, indoor)
• OCR

Yes vs no indeed.

Hobbies, activities and personal interests are fine on a resume, but they—like everything else you mention in your resume—have to be relevant to the job ad.

Almost there—

You just need a cover letter to go with your resume.

A cover letter is as much a part of the job application process as scrubs are a part of preparing for surgery. So learn how to write a cover letter for a job of your dreams.

The only excuse for not including one is having been asked not to.

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Key Points

For a medical-surgical nurse resume that gets interviews:

• Use the medical-surgical nurse resume template up above. It’s as clean and organized as a controlled substances cupboard.
• Put medical-surgical nurse achievementsin your summary, work experience, and education sections to show you can handle the workload.
• Select the right medical-surgical nurse skills. The job ad will show you in black and white what those are.
• Write a medical-surgical nurse cover letter. Use it to showcase your passion and experience.

Were some of your medical-surgical nurse resume-writing questions left unanswered? Leave us a comment down below and we’ll be sure to get back to you.

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