How to Create a Nursing Resume
Health care was the nation's largest industry in 2006 according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, and the industry continues to grow annually. In 2006, it employed about about 14 million people. Registered nurses constituted the largest occupation, holding 2.5 million jobs. The health-care industry includes other nursing jobs as well. Following these steps, you can create a resume that reflects your achievement and work experience in a positive light.
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Instructions
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Open a word processing document and begin formatting your resume. Typically, you should place your name and contact information at the top, followed by a career objective, employment history, education background, certifications and professional memberships.
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Consider your career objective carefully. Nursing positions have different educational requirements, so you could be limited to stating only positions for which you're seeking employment. However, you can also express your desire to continue advancing in nursing as your career continues; for instance, you might state that eventually, you want to work your way into health-care management.
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Write your complete nursing history if you've been working in the field. This means listing not only your employment history in that section of the resume, but also the years when you were re-certified and any additional certification tests you passed. Also list the state in which you're registered. While many certification tests are national examinations, state boards of health are responsible for licensing health care professionals.
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List courses in your educational background that will be of interest to employers seeking to hire a nurse. Don't list all of your college courses: just the advanced courses that included clinical work. This shows employers that you have hands-on experience.
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Include degrees that match your career objective. Remember the education requirements for specific positions. Registered nurses typically have four-year degrees and have passed a national licensure examination. List the date you passed if this applies to you. Nurse practitioners also must pass a national licensure examination, but they typically need a Master's degree for employment. Make sure to list all degrees with the dates when they were conferred.
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Add a list of references. Many job-seekers merely state that references are available upon request. By contrast, listing your references before they're requested shows how confident you are that your resume will attract an employer's interest.
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Check your resume for grammatical errors and accuracy. Save your word processing file to an appropriate folder on your computer. Print your resume and read it through one more time to see what it looks like on paper. Sometimes it's easier to spot errors on the printed page than on a computer monitor.
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Tips & Warnings
Be ready to interview at a moment's notice once you submit your resume. There might be an urgent need somewhere to hire a nurse immediately.
Some states require registered nurses to keep taking continuing education (CE) courses to maintain their certification.
References
Resources
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