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. Go to Sample Templates ↓ below to see how to include them on your resume.

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

Choose a category
  • Nursing
  • Healthcare
  • Patient Safety
  • Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Hospitals
  • Acute Care
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
  •  Find out what your resume's missing
  • 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

Resume Skills: Clinical

  • Patient Assessment
  • Wound Care
  • Intravenous Therapy
  • Medication Administration
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
  • Pediatric assessment
  • Geriatric care
  • Chronic illness management
  • Acute care
  • Health promotion
  •  Match your resume to these skills

Resume Skills: Technical

Resume Skills: Professional Certifications

Resume Skills: Procedural

Resume Skills: Diagnostic

Resume Skills: Digital Proficiency

  Does your resume contain all the right skills? Paste in your resume in the AI Resume Scan ↓ section below and get an instant score.

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.

Sample Nurse Resume Examples: How To Include These Skills

Add keywords directly into your resume's work experiences, education or Skills section, like we've shown in the examples below. Use the examples below as inspiration.

Select a free resume example
Your Name
Nurse
Toronto, Canada  •  (123) 456-789  •  yourname@resumeworded.com  •  linkedin.com/in/your-profile
EXPERIENCE
Great Plains Medical Center  - San Francisco, USAAugust 2018 - Present
Registered Nurse (Nights)
Administered medication for over 60 inpatients per night shift, enhancing the pacing of the night crew and increasing overall patient satisfaction by 45%
Revolutionized patient charting by implementing Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, reducing documentation time by 35%
Boosted patient safety by delivering comprehensive patient education on post-discharge self-care, reducing hospital readmissions by 20%
Elevated understanding of nursing procedures among junior staff through nursing education seminars, enhancing team proficiency and patient care
Managed wound care for a daily average of 15 patients, successfully minimizing infection rates by 30%
Coached.com  - London, UKMay 2015 - July 2018
Staff Nurse (Medical-Surgical Unit)
Proficiently administered Acute Care necessities for over 400 patients per month, resulting in successful patient recovery
Improved medication administration accuracy by implementing standardized double-checking procedures, minimizing medication errors by 40%
Championed patient advocacy by coordinating with multidisciplinary teams, ensuring optimal patient-oriented decision making
Resume Worded  - Berlin, GermanyJanuary 2013 - April 2015
Graduate Nurse
Provided basic life support (BLS) in emergencies, supporting over 200 incidences with 98% patient survival rate
Managed IV Therapy for 10-15 patients daily, resulting in boosted patient hydration and recovery
Maintained high standard of patient safety by adhering to stringent healthcare management policies, resulting in zero medical mishaps during tenure
EDUCATION
Resume Worded University  - Berlin, GermanyAugust 2015
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Specialization in Advanced Clinical Practices
Resume Worded Academic Center  - San Jose, USADecember 2012
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Attained with Honors
Recipient of the Outstanding Nursing Student Award
SKILLS
Clinical Skills: Patient Assessment, Wound Care, Intravenous Therapy, Medication Administration, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Technical Skills: Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Microsoft Office Suite, Medical Equipment Usage
Professional Certifications: Registered Nurse (RN), Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
OTHER
Certifications: Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN) - Pediatric Nursing Certification Board
Professional Training: ACLS/CPR Instructor - American Heart Association
Volunteering: Local Children's Hospital - Provided free health checks and education on children's nutritional needs
Publications: Contributor to 'Clinical Nursing in Practice' - A peer-reviewed nursing journal
Nurse

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

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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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