Nursing is credential-first. Your license, specialties, and clinical settings matter more than prose. Here is how to structure a nursing resume and the keywords that get you past the filters.
Put your credential and license status right under your contact details: RN, LPN/LVN, NP, plus your state license and compact status if you have it. For internationally-educated nurses, state your NCLEX status and visa screen. This is the first thing a nurse recruiter looks for; do not bury it on page two.
Be specific about where you worked: ICU, ER, med-surg, telemetry, oncology, pediatrics, L&D, OR, long-term care, home health. A hospital hiring for a critical-care role filters on these exact terms. "General floor" is worth less than "24-bed cardiac ICU, level 1 trauma".
Numbers separate strong nursing resumes from generic ones: patient ratios (e.g. 1:4), unit size, charge experience, EHR systems (Epic, Cerner), and outcomes you contributed to (reduced falls, improved HCAHPS, lowered CLABSI rates).
BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, CCRN, wound care, charge nurse training. These justify a higher band and should be visible, not footnoted. List the certifying body and keep them current.
Work the relevant terms into your bullets. ATS and recruiters search for exactly these:
Recommended template: Traditional or Modern. PickedCV’s clean, ATS-friendly templates put your license, specialties, and certifications into the structure hiring managers expect — clear and scannable, never watermarked.
Experienced nurses can use two pages; new grads should aim for one. Clarity beats length.
A short professional summary is more useful than an objective: two or three lines on your specialty, years, and what you bring.
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