Nurse

Nurse Resume Keywords and Skills (Hard Skills)

Here are the keywords and skills that appear most frequently on recent Nurse job postings. In other words, these are the most sought after skills by recruiters and hiring managers. So try to include them on your resume where possible.

Remember that every job is different. Instead of including all these keywords on your resume, identify the keywords most relevant to the job you're applying to and include those. Use the free Targeted Resume tool to help with this.

  • Nursing
  • Healthcare
  • Patient Safety
  • Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Hospitals
  • Acute Care
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
  • Patient Education
  • Inpatient Care
  • Healthcare Management
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Medication Administration
  • Medical-Surgical
  • Wound Care
  • Patient Advocacy
  • Clinical Research
  • Nursing Education
  • IV Therapy
  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
  • Medicine
  • Mental Health
  • Coaching
  • Personal Development
  • Psychiatry
  • Home Care
  • Public Health
  • Elder Care
  • Palliative Care
  • Microsoft Access
  •   Show full list

  Where on my resume do I add these buzzwords?

Add keywords directly into your resume's work experiences, education or projects. Alternatively, you can also include a Skills section where you can list your technical skills in order of your proficiency.

Only include these technical skills or keywords into your resume if you actually have experience with them.

Compare Your Resume To These Nurse Skills (ATS Scan)

Paste your resume below and our AI will identify which keywords are missing from your resume from the list above (and what you need to include). Including the right keywords will help you get past Applicant Tracking Systems (i.e. resume screeners) which may scan your resume for keywords to see if you're a match for the job.

How do I add skills to a Nurse resume?

1
Review the job posting closely.

Go through the Nurse posting you're applying to, and identify hard skills the company is looking for. For example, skills like Patient Education, Hospitals and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) are possible skills. These are skills you should try to include on your resume.

2
Add industry skills like Basic Life Support (BLS) and Acute Care.

Add other common skills from your industry - such as Nursing, Healthcare and Patient Safety - into your resume if they're relevant.

3
Add skills into your work experience.

Incorporate skills - like Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Elder Care and Mental Health - into your work experience too. This shows hiring managers that you have practical experience with these tools, techniques and skills.

4
Use the exact job title.

Try to add the exact job title, Nurse, somewhere into your resume to get past resume screeners. See the infographic for how to do this.

Word Cloud for Nurse Skills & Keywords

The following word cloud highlights the most popular keywords that appear on Nurse job descriptions. The bigger the word, the more frequently it shows up on employer's job postings. If you have experience with these keywords, include them on your resume.

Top Nurse Skills and Keywords to Include On Your Resume

Nurse Soft Skills

Here are common soft skills that appear on Nurse job postings. Unlike hard skills, which refer to tools, software or techniques, soft skills focus on character traits and interpersonal skills. Instead of listing these phrases on your resume, try to show them through your bullet points like in the examples below.

  • Laboratory Skills
  • Teamwork
  • Team Leadership

Tip: Do not list these words or phrases on your resume, and instead focus on the hard skills we described above.

Resume Skills and Keywords from Related Jobs

We also found variations and further specializations to your job title. Browse through the related job titles to find additional keywords that you can include into your resume.

Get your Resume Instantly Checked, For Free

Upload your resume and we'll spot the issues in it before an actual Nurse recruiter sees it. For free.

Nurse Resume Templates

Here are examples of proven resumes in related jobs and industries, approved by experienced hiring managers. Use them as inspiration when you're writing your own resume. You can even download and edit the resume template in Google Docs.

Resume Example
LPN Nurse (Licensed Practical Nurse)


Resume Example
LPN Nurse (Licensed Practical Nurse)


Resume Example
LVN Nurse (Licensed Vocational Nurse)


Resume Example
LVN Nurse (Licensed Vocational Nurse)


Resume Example
Professional


Resume Example
Highlights (Free)


Frequently Asked Questions

What hard skills should you include on a Nurse resume?

Some effective Nurse skills you can add to your resume include:

  • Nursing
  • Healthcare
  • Patient Safety
  • Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Hospitals
  • Acute Care
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
  • Patient Education

How do resume skills compare between an Oncology Nurse and an Intensive Care Nurse?

Popular skills we often see on resumes for Oncology Nurse positions include:

  • Oncology Nursing
  • Chemotherapy
  • Nursing
  • Oncology
  • Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Patient Safety
  • Patient Education
  • Inpatient Care

In comparison, skills we see on Intensive Care Nurse resumes include:

  • Critical Care Nursing
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Nursing Education
  • Advanced Life Support (ALS)
  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • Emergency Nursing
  • Nursing Process
  • Public Health

What are good resume skills to include for different Nurse roles and job titles?

Depending on the specific role you apply to, you may need to emphasize different skill sets. Here are a few examples:

  • Veterinary Nurse: Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Nursing, Client Education, Animal Welfare and Anesthesiology
  • Case Management Nurse: Nursing, Case Management, Patient Safety, Basic Life Support (BLS) and Hospitals
  • Surgical Nurse: Operating Room, Healthcare, Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery and General Surgery
  • Labor and Delivery Nurse: Labor and Delivery Nursing, Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Fetal Monitoring and Inpatient Care
  • Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Nurse: Cath Lab, Cardiac Catheterization Nursing, Acute Care, Cardiac Cath and Critical Care Nursing

What soft skills are common in Nurse roles?

Examples of Nurse soft skills include Leadership, Working with Adolescents, Public Speaking, Organization Skills and Laboratory Skills.

Target your Resume to a Job Description

While the keywords above are a good indication of what skills you need on your resume, you should try to find additional keywords that are specific to the job. To do this, use the free Targeted Resume tool. It analyzes the job you are applying to and finds the most important keywords you need on your resume.

It is personalized to your resume, and is the best way to ensure your resume will pass the automated resume filters.

Start targeting your resume

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