INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ICU Nurse positions are at a 9% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 3,080,100 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 276,800 to 3,356,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the ICU Nurse jobs was $75,330 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $53,410, and the highest 10% more than $116,230.
Our conclusion? The ICU Nurse job market is wide open for candidates.
Top ICU nurse sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to Write the Perfect ICU Nurse Resume Experience Section
Icu nurse experience section: checklist
- List your positions in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Go for 4-6 bullet points;
- Add only relevant work experience;
- Include information about the challenges you’ve faced, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve achieved;
- Use action verbs instead of filler words.
We’ve selected some of the top ICU Nurse resumes made using the Enhancv platform to illustrate what a great experience section looks like. Use them as inspiration when building your own resume:
- Provided basic life support and other need based patient care
- Handled and monitored life support equipment like a ventilator
- Assisted doctors-in-charge during the emergency procedures
- Working in NICU under direction of Dr. Rosen, on call for 24 hours at a time
- Help over 40 mothers with malnourished children by giving health education
- Obtain health history and current concerns, record patient vitals, and perform a brief assessment on up to 30 patients per day
- Duties and Responsibilities:
- Evaluate and monitor the patient's progress.
- Set up and monitored life support equipment and devices such as cardiac monitors, transducer, pressure lines, oxygen delivery devices, mechanical ventilators and pulse oximeter
- Identify sudden or subtle changes in a patient's medical condition.
- Deliver regular updates to doctors, patients, and their family members.
- Begin treatment and monitor doses.
- If necessary, respond to a medical emergency and alert the appropriate doctors.
- Care for patient needs throughout their recovery in the ICU unit.
- Complete all necessary paperwork before transferring a patient.
- Maintain patient records.
- Assessing the level of consciousness and determining the GCS.
- Appropriate caring through airway, ventilation, oxygenation, and intubation in emergencies.
- Planning, implementing, and evaluating the total skin care plan, especially for bedsore care.
- Performing the process of patient feeding by digestive tubes and T.P.N.
- Suctioning of airway secretions through oro-/naso-/endotracheal tube, and tracheostomy.
- Managing the shifts including four sisters from a multi disciplinary team, in the absence of the Unit Manager, reporting directly to the Nursing Manager (Matron)
- Treating an average of ten cases each day, both adult and paediatric patients, from all over Africa
- Preparing the cath lab before procedures, assisting the cardiologist with the procedure, assisting the anaesthetist when required and the care of the patient until hand over to the ward staff
- Adult cases for the critically ill would typically include angiograms, angioplasties, left and right heart studies and the insertion of internal defibrillators and pace makers. Paediatric cases would typically include determining abnormalities in new borns, the insertion of coils and stents
- Completed 6 weeks of class room and clinical stimulation training.
- Organized and prioritized care for acutely ill patients each shift.
- Provide compassionate and quality care to assigned patients on a fast-paced, inpatient 21 bed unit
- Planned ,implemented and evaluted care for patients independently on the unit.
- Led and mentored newly licensed nurses in developing and achieving professional expertise
- Delivered exceptional bedside care including assisting in insertion and discontinutation of CV vathetheters,arterial lines,epidural cathetersand endotracheal tubes
- Monitored and adjusted specialialized equipments such as Ventilator,CPAP/BiPAP,Trachestomy .
- Receiving acutelly ill patients from external and internal transport teams and giving first hand care .
- Cardiac support with basic life support care.
- Analyzed lab values and provided suggestion for to medical team
- Holistic care of dependent patients with their families using family centred care .
- Recorded all care information concisely,accurately and complety in a timely manner , in the appropriate format and on the appropriate forms .
- Provide specialized care for premature newborns in a level III environment
- Identify needs and problems of neonate through clinical observation and physical assessment
- Manage patients with cardiac monitoring, pulse oximetry, incubators, intravenous infusions through PIV/PICC/UAC/UVC lines, NG/OG tubes
- Provide physical comfort measures to infant including positioning, holding, and pain management
- Collaboration with physicians and NNP's while implementing appropriate protocols, documentation and care plans
- Led a team of 5 nurses for audit programs to ensure all staff are well-informed and to date with safety standards and in-house protocols
- Contributes to quality nursing care through excellence in customer service and performance improvement techniques
- Assesses parents and families psychosocial status and implements an appropriate plan of care
- Provides instruction to the parents of the patients on health care education and on health improvements
- Spot checks of my results by manager/preceptor returned 99% correct findings
- Worked with Multi-disciplinary team to provide Direct Patient Care to critically ill term and preterm infants
- Educate infant's families on well baby care and follow-up procedures prior to discharge
- Care for infants on multiple ventilators including; A/C vents, high frequency oscillators, jet ventilation, Inhaled Nitric Oxide, monitoring of ABGs/ CBGs and other modes of respiratory assistance
- Maintenance of patient parenteral and enteral total fluid intake, central and peripheral lines, respiratory care, NG/OG feeding, and development care
- Communication and anticipation of family needs and reactions while caring for patient to ensure optimal care and satisfaction
- Providing care and maintenance of multiple medications and fluid drips
- Implemented care for patients assigned to a dynamic 30 bed ICU unit on a 12-hour-shift
- Monitored life support equipment and swiftly responded to change - always with compassion and understanding
- DealT with emergency situations calmly and efficiently
PRO TIP
In writing your ICU Nurse resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action verbs for your ICU Nurse resume
Recommended reads:
icu nurse resume: how to write a strong skills section
The ultimate ICU nurse skills section checklist:
- Balance between all kinds of hard skills – technical, analytical, etc.
- When it comes to technical skills, match them to the job description;
- Add keywords present in the job advert to pass ATS;
- Don’t forget to list transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, work ethic, and presentation skills.
Top skills for your ICU nurse resume
Excel
Cannulation
BSL
Scout/Scrub
Word
Powerpoint
Acls
ECDL
ICIP
Communication
Compassion
Patience
Flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability
Proactive, ethical, and responsible nature
Honesty
Team-player
Strong work ethic
Time management
PRO TIP
Avoid getting sidetracked by Applicant tracking software by including a tech skills' section matching the job description and your own qualifications.
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ICU nurse resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your ICU nurse resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your ICU Nurse resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Icu nurse resume summary: things to include and things to avoid
Job-winning ICU Nurse resume summary checklist:
- Mention your total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight one or two of your top achievements;
- Avoid getting into too much detail – you’ll do that in the experience section;
- Focus on short sentences that are easy to read and add value to your application.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
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Highlighting education, courses, and certifications in your ICU nurse resume
Education section checklist:
- What? Where? What’s the result? Answer these questions when mentioning education and courses on your resume;
- Give preference to courses and degrees that are relevant to the job position;
- Be honest! Some recruiters love checking with colleges and universities to see if you’ve really been enrolled in them;
- Share more about certifications that have helped you turn into a professional, and mention the bodies that have issued them.
Top Certifications for Your ICU Nurse Resume
Maths For Nurses
Pass your drug calculations test with ease
Nursing Professionals Get Motivated! Motivation For Nurses
A Month Of Encouragement For Nurses and Those In Nursing School Taking Nursing Courses
Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course
Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!
National Council Licensure Exam for Practical Nurses SET 2
Pass the NCLEX-PN certification on the first attempt. 395 questions
Family Nurse Practitioner Exam Preparation and Study Guide
Prepare for the AANP or ANCC exam and learn how to transition into a Practicing Nurse Practitioner
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
ICU nurse resume format 101
If a couple of years ago ICU Nurse resumes could be text files with no graphic elements, today’s recruiters need a bit more to remember you.
And yet, you can still choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
But when it comes to choosing the right format for your ICU Nurse resume, there are two factors to keep in mind: your experience and whether you’re looking for an industry change.
The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. That being said, it gives recruiters exactly what they’re used to in terms of order and information. However, it’s not suitable for applicants with employment gaps or not enough experience.
We at Enhancv suggest the functional skills-based resume format for people with limited work experience who find reverse-chronological resumes irrelevant. This format showcases the applicant’s most significant accomplishments, skills, and strengths.
Don’t miss our resume format checklist:
- Go for a traditional easy-to-read resume font sized 10-12p;
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Make sure your ICU Nurse resume fits in one to two pages;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid having it edited by someone else.
Looking for more tips? Check out our job-winning guide for crafting a resume that gets you remembered!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections for your ICU nurse resume
If the position you’re applying for allows for that, you can include some non-traditional sections in your resume. This will add a bit more depth to your application and will also give the hiring manager a better idea of who you are as a person.
Some ideas include:
An ICU nurse resume recruiters would love
You’ve drafted an amazing ICU Nurse resume, but are still not sure whether it will make a strong first impression? After all, recruiters go over tens of resumes each day, right?
Right! And the recipe for getting their attention includes a dash of creativity.
What’s more, a creative resume is perfect for adding your personality to the mix. For example, you could mention your favorite books, quotes, movies, or even what your day usually looks like.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure your levels of creativity match the industry, the company, and the position. Otherwise, your resume might look silly and inapt.
What makes a great ICU nurse resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
