4 answers
Zae'onna
Student
3
Questions
Asked
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If I'm interested in being a travel nurse or even in the nursing field in general, what types of jobs, experiences or skills are employers looking for on a resume?
What are some thing I need to know when writing a resume for a career?
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4 answers
Molly R.
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
13
Answers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Updated
Molly’s Answer
Specifically for travel nursing ( once you become an RN ), companies prefer at least 6months of experience prior to traveling so that you have the basic skill sets. As a former traveling nurse, I was expected to jump right in with little orientation. I lived coast to coast and had a wonderful experience.
Akhilesh Unde
14
Answers
Updated
Akhilesh’s Answer
When preparing a resume for a career as a travel nurse or in the general nursing field, focus on showcasing experiences, skills, and qualifications that highlight your adaptability, clinical expertise, and ability to thrive in various healthcare environments.
Key Components to Highlight in a Nursing Resume
1. Licensing and Certifications
Clearly state your nursing license (e.g., RN, LPN) and the states where you’re licensed, especially if you’re considering travel nursing. Include your license numbers and the status (active or pending).
Certifications like BLS, ACLS, PALS, and TNCC are often required or preferred, depending on the type of nursing role. For travel nursing, multiple certifications can make you more appealing for varied assignments.
2. Clinical Experience
Detail specific clinical experience, particularly in areas that are in high demand (e.g., ICU, ER, Med-Surg). Mention the types of patients and conditions you've handled, your typical caseload, and any specific procedures you're skilled in.
Include quantitative achievements (e.g., “Managed care for up to 20 patients per shift” or “Assisted in reducing patient readmission rates by 15%”).
3. Adaptability and Flexibility
Employers in travel nursing are looking for candidates who can adapt quickly to new settings. Showcase any experiences where you transitioned between departments, worked in diverse healthcare settings, or filled temporary roles.
If you have experience traveling for work or adapting to new environments quickly, mention this in your resume.
4. Patient Care Skills
Highlight patient care skills and experiences, as this is a cornerstone of nursing. Describe your ability to connect with patients, provide compassionate care, and address concerns effectively.
If you have specialized skills like patient education, wound care, or IV insertion, make sure to include them.
5. Technical Proficiency
Familiarize yourself with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems (e.g., Epic, Cerner, Meditech) and mention any experience you have using them. Employers often value this as it shortens the learning curve for new hires.
If you have experience with specific medical equipment relevant to your field, mention it. For travel nursing, the ability to quickly learn and adapt to different systems and equipment is valuable.
6. Professional Development
Continuing education is critical in nursing. List any recent courses, workshops, or special training related to patient care, technology, or healthcare regulations.
Employers like to see commitment to staying up-to-date, as it suggests you’re dedicated to providing the best patient care.
Writing Your Nursing Resume
1. Use Clear and Specific Job Titles
Use standard job titles like "Registered Nurse – ICU" or "Travel Nurse – Med-Surg" to ensure ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) can match your resume with relevant job listings.
2. Emphasize Action-Oriented Language
Begin bullet points with strong action verbs (e.g., "administered," "monitored," "assessed") to demonstrate your role in patient care and responsibilities.
Avoid general or vague descriptions. Focus on specific actions, achievements, and results.
3. Highlight Relevant Skills and Competencies
Create a “Core Competencies” or “Skills” section with relevant hard and soft skills like "Patient Assessment," "Critical Thinking," and "Compassionate Care." For travel nursing, skills like adaptability, communication, and teamwork are also key.
4. Tailor to the Position
Read job descriptions closely, and tailor your resume to match the skills and experiences requested. Emphasize keywords and qualifications mentioned in the job post.
5. Quantify Achievements
Include measurable achievements, such as improved patient outcomes, high patient satisfaction scores, or specific contributions to a healthcare team. Numbers make your accomplishments concrete and help you stand out.
6. Consider Including a Summary or Objective
A short summary or objective at the top of your resume can highlight your goals, experience level, and key skills. For example, "Compassionate Registered Nurse with 5 years of ICU experience seeking dynamic travel nursing roles to leverage my critical care skills across diverse healthcare settings."
Additional Tips
Highlight Any Travel Nursing Experience: If you have prior travel nursing experience, it shows you’re already familiar with the demands of the role. Mention any short-term contracts, your ability to transition between healthcare facilities, and adaptability to different team cultures.
Stay Concise but Detailed: Nursing resumes should be detailed but concise. Aim for 1-2 pages, focusing on the most relevant experiences.
Proofread Carefully: Attention to detail is essential in nursing, and errors in a resume can signal a lack of precision. Double-check spelling, grammar, and formatting.
By tailoring your resume to showcase clinical expertise, adaptability, and patient-centered skills, you’ll make a strong impression on hiring managers in both traditional and travel nursing roles.
Key Components to Highlight in a Nursing Resume
1. Licensing and Certifications
Clearly state your nursing license (e.g., RN, LPN) and the states where you’re licensed, especially if you’re considering travel nursing. Include your license numbers and the status (active or pending).
Certifications like BLS, ACLS, PALS, and TNCC are often required or preferred, depending on the type of nursing role. For travel nursing, multiple certifications can make you more appealing for varied assignments.
2. Clinical Experience
Detail specific clinical experience, particularly in areas that are in high demand (e.g., ICU, ER, Med-Surg). Mention the types of patients and conditions you've handled, your typical caseload, and any specific procedures you're skilled in.
Include quantitative achievements (e.g., “Managed care for up to 20 patients per shift” or “Assisted in reducing patient readmission rates by 15%”).
3. Adaptability and Flexibility
Employers in travel nursing are looking for candidates who can adapt quickly to new settings. Showcase any experiences where you transitioned between departments, worked in diverse healthcare settings, or filled temporary roles.
If you have experience traveling for work or adapting to new environments quickly, mention this in your resume.
4. Patient Care Skills
Highlight patient care skills and experiences, as this is a cornerstone of nursing. Describe your ability to connect with patients, provide compassionate care, and address concerns effectively.
If you have specialized skills like patient education, wound care, or IV insertion, make sure to include them.
5. Technical Proficiency
Familiarize yourself with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems (e.g., Epic, Cerner, Meditech) and mention any experience you have using them. Employers often value this as it shortens the learning curve for new hires.
If you have experience with specific medical equipment relevant to your field, mention it. For travel nursing, the ability to quickly learn and adapt to different systems and equipment is valuable.
6. Professional Development
Continuing education is critical in nursing. List any recent courses, workshops, or special training related to patient care, technology, or healthcare regulations.
Employers like to see commitment to staying up-to-date, as it suggests you’re dedicated to providing the best patient care.
Writing Your Nursing Resume
1. Use Clear and Specific Job Titles
Use standard job titles like "Registered Nurse – ICU" or "Travel Nurse – Med-Surg" to ensure ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) can match your resume with relevant job listings.
2. Emphasize Action-Oriented Language
Begin bullet points with strong action verbs (e.g., "administered," "monitored," "assessed") to demonstrate your role in patient care and responsibilities.
Avoid general or vague descriptions. Focus on specific actions, achievements, and results.
3. Highlight Relevant Skills and Competencies
Create a “Core Competencies” or “Skills” section with relevant hard and soft skills like "Patient Assessment," "Critical Thinking," and "Compassionate Care." For travel nursing, skills like adaptability, communication, and teamwork are also key.
4. Tailor to the Position
Read job descriptions closely, and tailor your resume to match the skills and experiences requested. Emphasize keywords and qualifications mentioned in the job post.
5. Quantify Achievements
Include measurable achievements, such as improved patient outcomes, high patient satisfaction scores, or specific contributions to a healthcare team. Numbers make your accomplishments concrete and help you stand out.
6. Consider Including a Summary or Objective
A short summary or objective at the top of your resume can highlight your goals, experience level, and key skills. For example, "Compassionate Registered Nurse with 5 years of ICU experience seeking dynamic travel nursing roles to leverage my critical care skills across diverse healthcare settings."
Additional Tips
Highlight Any Travel Nursing Experience: If you have prior travel nursing experience, it shows you’re already familiar with the demands of the role. Mention any short-term contracts, your ability to transition between healthcare facilities, and adaptability to different team cultures.
Stay Concise but Detailed: Nursing resumes should be detailed but concise. Aim for 1-2 pages, focusing on the most relevant experiences.
Proofread Carefully: Attention to detail is essential in nursing, and errors in a resume can signal a lack of precision. Double-check spelling, grammar, and formatting.
By tailoring your resume to showcase clinical expertise, adaptability, and patient-centered skills, you’ll make a strong impression on hiring managers in both traditional and travel nursing roles.
Dilawar Hussain
Veterinarian
22
Answers
Tando Jam, Sindh
Updated
Dilawar’s Answer
Hello Zae'onna,
As a nurse, you possess a wealth of skills and practical experience that are incredibly valuable. All these abilities you've honed over time should definitely be showcased on your resume. For instance, your patient care skills, proficiency in reading prescriptions, assisting doctors, administering IV/IM injections, and fluid therapy are all crucial aspects of your role.
Your adeptness in tasks like inserting a cannula, maintaining patient records, and your ability to operate and monitor all kinds of hospital equipment such as CBC machines and X-ray devices, are also significant.
Remember, any skill where you excel, be it a specific procedure or a general nursing talent, should be thoroughly detailed in your CV. This will give potential employers a clear picture of your capabilities. So, go ahead and let your resume reflect your expertise and dedication in the nursing field.
As a nurse, you possess a wealth of skills and practical experience that are incredibly valuable. All these abilities you've honed over time should definitely be showcased on your resume. For instance, your patient care skills, proficiency in reading prescriptions, assisting doctors, administering IV/IM injections, and fluid therapy are all crucial aspects of your role.
Your adeptness in tasks like inserting a cannula, maintaining patient records, and your ability to operate and monitor all kinds of hospital equipment such as CBC machines and X-ray devices, are also significant.
Remember, any skill where you excel, be it a specific procedure or a general nursing talent, should be thoroughly detailed in your CV. This will give potential employers a clear picture of your capabilities. So, go ahead and let your resume reflect your expertise and dedication in the nursing field.
Maureen Komperda
Nurse Practitioner
37
Answers
Elmhurst, Illinois
Updated
Maureen’s Answer
Zae'onna
Hey! You don't say if your a nursing/college student, high school student, middle school student. Identifying who you are is important to help you. Try to describe yourself in more detail as I can better answer your question. Here in the USA we have vast amounts of resources, equipment, access to nursing and medical literature and many staff who you can collaborate with.
Traveling nurses, for the most part, have less access to all of the above. You have to be able to be creative in many aspects of travel nursing. You need to learn how to prioritize your patients, who needs your attention first. You need to understand, "What's the worst thing that can happen to each patient during my shift?" , and be ready for that & have a Plan B for all patients. You need to be great at CPR both Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Lift Support. You need to be well versed in Emergency Room/Department nursing as well as ICU nursing as well as outpatient/clinic nursing. I would recommend you take a job as an inpatient nurse to get these skills down; a medical surgical unit would serve this goal. It teaches you prioritization and more. These patients are sick with many diagnoses.
Since I don't know your age or student area it's difficult to be more specific. Good Luck, Maureen
Hey! You don't say if your a nursing/college student, high school student, middle school student. Identifying who you are is important to help you. Try to describe yourself in more detail as I can better answer your question. Here in the USA we have vast amounts of resources, equipment, access to nursing and medical literature and many staff who you can collaborate with.
Traveling nurses, for the most part, have less access to all of the above. You have to be able to be creative in many aspects of travel nursing. You need to learn how to prioritize your patients, who needs your attention first. You need to understand, "What's the worst thing that can happen to each patient during my shift?" , and be ready for that & have a Plan B for all patients. You need to be great at CPR both Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Lift Support. You need to be well versed in Emergency Room/Department nursing as well as ICU nursing as well as outpatient/clinic nursing. I would recommend you take a job as an inpatient nurse to get these skills down; a medical surgical unit would serve this goal. It teaches you prioritization and more. These patients are sick with many diagnoses.
Since I don't know your age or student area it's difficult to be more specific. Good Luck, Maureen