
What to Write in an Email when Sending a Resume in 2023
Learn how to email a resume the right way and start getting more job offers. See a proven resume email sample and learn how to write one yourself.
Ready to make a difference for your patients? Use our registered nurse resume guide! Our tips and examples will help you land your dream job in the fast-paced world of healthcare.
A registered nurse (RN) plays a vital role in healthcare, providing compassionate care to patients while ensuring their safety and well-being. A strong RN resume is crucial in securing a job in this competitive field, as it illustrates your skills and experience to potential employers.
This registered nurse resume will get you to the ward faster than you can perform a blood draw.
In this guide, you’ll find:
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Tim Crawford
Registered Nurse
312-009-8120
timcrawford@gmail.com
Summary
Licensed Registered Nurse with over 4 years of experience providing compassionate care to diverse patient populations in acute care and long-term care settings at General Hospital. Provided daily care in a 25-bed oncological unit, with no day missed. Commended for 100% accuracy in medical record documentation. Seeking to provide world-class care in the intensive care unit at Green Tree Hospital.
Experience
Registered Nurse
General Hospital, San Francisco
January 2018–Present
Key achievement:
Education
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Santa Clara University
September 2012–June 2016
Skills
Certifications and Licenses
Languages
A registered nurse (RN) is responsible for providing patient care, administering medications, and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Their resumes should prove strong communication, critical thinking, leadership, and adaptability skills.
The above RN resume doesn’t waste time setting out precisely what Tim will bring to the ward. Now let’s explore each step in greater detail so that you can create an RN resume as good as Tim’s or an even better one.
Every high-quality hospital is clean and sterile. And as a registered nurse, you must show that cleanliness runs through your veins.
About 203,200 openings for registered nurses are projected each year, on average, over the decade. And the percent change in employment for registered nurses is slightly higher than the national average. So there is definitely a spot ready for you! All you need to do is seize the opportunity. How?
Organizing your resume is the first step to showing you’re the perfect candidate for the RN job. With the right registered nurse resume format, your application will immediately shine.
Rules for a great registered nurse resume format:
Now that you have everything set up, put on your gloves, and let’s get writing.
How to start a resume correctly? With the most vital information!
Write a resume profile that summarizes your best achievements and put it just below your contact information. Focus on backing up your experience with numbers. There is a vast difference between having a “high temperature” and a “102.5 °F fever.” The first sentence has many interpretations. The second, only one.
Here’s how to write a resume summary that leaves no doubts:
Licensed Registered Nurse with over 4 years of experience providing compassionate care to diverse patient populations in acute care and long-term care settings at General Hospital. Provided daily care in a 25-bed oncological unit, with no day missed. Commended for 100% accuracy in medical record documentation. Seeking to provide world-class care in the intensive care unit at Green Tree Hospital.
Experienced RN—reliable, organized, with great attention to detail. Proven ability to assess and prioritize patient needs, administer medications, and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Skilled in electronic medical record documentation and maintaining patient confidentiality. Seeking to utilize my skills and experience to make a positive impact in a new healthcare setting.
It’s clear as day. The second applicant lacks quantitative data to back up their claims. It only presents they did their job. And every employer expects you to do your job. Meanwhile, the first example shows exemplary performance and addresses the company by name, showing that their resume is not a copy-pasted spam mail.
But what if you don’t have much experience as a registered nurse? If that’s the case, use a resume objective instead of a summary. Here’s how:
Enthusiastic B.S. Nursing graduate from Santa Clara University with 500+ hours of volunteering experience at the Golden Leaves Retirement community. Experienced in several part-time client-facing roles. Eager to channel interpersonal skills and nursing knowledge towards meeting the needs of Green Tree Hospital patients.
Recent graduate from Santa Clara University with excellent teamwork skills. Looking to expand my knowledge through ongoing professional development and use my strong patient care, communication, and critical thinking skills to make a positive impact on patient outcomes.
And that’s how you show and prove expertise, even at the entry level. Although you haven’t worked as an RN just yet, the 500 hours of volunteer time instantly show your drive and commitment.
Expert Hint: Leave writing the resume profile for last. This part is like a resume abstract—it’s easier to write it when you can reference the rest of your registered nurse resume.
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This part is the beating heart of your resume. Don’t fall into the trap of rattling off a list of your obvious and common responsibilities. It’s here where you have to show what you really can do and back it up with numbers.
To present your job experience on a resume the best way, follow these steps:
Take a look at the examples below:
Registered Nurse
General Hospital San Francisco
January 2018–Present
Key achievement:
RN, General Hospital
Even though these two candidates are the same, the difference is staggering. The top RN example, passes the examination with flying colors. The second candidate has only shown the duties of a registered nurse. Meaning, they probably did their job, but nothing indicates they did it well.
Expert Hint: Are you just starting out on your journey as a nurse? Check out our guide for writing a new grad nurse resume. It includes much information and valuable tips for writing an entry-level nursing resume.
Registered nurses usually take one of three education paths: a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an associate’s degree in nursing, or a diploma from an approved nursing program. Regardless of your chosen path, it’d be best to differentiate yourself from other applicants. Why? Well, no recruiter wants to look at a hundred carbon-copy resumes.
To spike the recruiters’ interest, showcase the relevant coursework on your resume or your volunteer experience during your studies. This is a surefire way to improve the education section on your resume.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Santa Clara University
September 2012–June 2016
For more information on displaying your credentials in the proper order, you can refer to this handy booklet published by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Including a list of skills on a resume allows you to highlight specific competencies that may or may not be evident from your work experience. For example, you’re an RN with solid leadership skills but haven’t had the opportunity to hold a supervisory role. You can still highlight this skill on your resume to show potential employers that you have the ability to lead and manage teams.
Here’s a list of many skills that would look good on a registered nurse resume. You can use it for reference when writing your own.
Expert Hint: A good skillset featuring both hard and soft skills is hugely beneficial. Don’t forget to add 8–10 skills if you’re aiming to create the perfect resume.
Unlike most other jobs, the certification section for a registered nurse is a must. That’s because you cannot practice this profession unless you’re licensed and certified. But that doesn’t mean it’s all you should show here.
The additional sections can help your RN resume. They demonstrate your commitment to your profession and willingness to go above and beyond in your career. You can also use the additional sections to pad your resume with more content if you feel it’s too short.
Choose from these sections when writing:
Refer to this example to see how:
Certifications and Licenses
Languages
And remember, your registered nurse license goes first!
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Here’s how to make a registered nurse resume that passes the examination:
Did you find our registered nurse resume examples helpful? And did we help you get your RN resume right? Leave all your comments and questions below. We’ll be happy to reply.
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