Top Nursing Student sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Nursing Student resume experience section
Nursing Student Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Nursing Student resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Handover - The process of carrying information on to the nurses from the next shift, verbally communicating information using ISBAR
- Progress notes - Documenting what care was given within the shift.
- Providing holistic care - Assisting the care of patients when having trouble completing tasks themselves. Eg. Feeding, showering, bed making and more
- Observations - Checking vital signs of patients, charting onto legal documentation in patient's bed side charts.
- Trained in one of the busiest acute hospitals in Ireland
- Cared for patients undergoing Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeries including extensive head and neck oncology surgeries, Urology, Breast and GI surgeries
- Experience caring for patients post plastic reconstructive surgery
- Elective Day Surgery Ward, monitoring patient post operatively and preparing for discharge
- Rotations in Neurology and Cardiology Unit and Emergency Department
- Assessed, implemented and evaluated individualized care plans
- Participating in the fellowship program as one of the eight students representing Box Hill Institute
- Rotated through colorectal/urology/gynaecology surgical ward and cardio-respiratory ward
- Working under direct supervision of registered and enrolled nurses
- Providing comprehensive health assessments, assisting patients with activities of daily living (ADL), developing appropriate nursing care plans and administering medications
- Received recognition for outstanding performance from the preceptor and staff members
- Demonstrated proficiency and passion when assisting with residents with activities of daily living (ADL) i.e. bathing, dressing/grooming, toileting, feeding
- Utilized knowledge by operating medical equipment and devices daily i.e. standing/lifting machine, glucose meter
- To work as a nursing student with a temporary contract
- To work as a caregiver who performs basic nursing skills to patients
- To act as a nurse counsellor to patients who have anxiety or worries about own illness or disease
- To act as a patient educator who is responsible to deliver medical knowledge to patients
- Acquired competencies: negative pressure wound therapy application and maintenance, administering blood transfusions, IV medication and setup, insulin therapy, application of VAC dressings, application of various surgical wound dressings and pressure ulcer dressings, and management of continuous gastric suctioning.
- Managed full patient load of four past goal date at high quality of care standards with approval from preceptor.
- Also had opportunity to informally mentor 2nd year RN students on unit.
- Extensive experience in patient and family-teaching: regarding self-administering intermittent catheters, digital stimulation/disimpaction suppositories and recognizing signs of autonomic dysreflexia.
- Independently managed full patient load of 4-5 quadriplegic and paraplegic patients of complete and incomplete spinal injury.
- Implemented care plans to assist patients and family to improve self-efficacy skills for integrating into community after injury.
- VAC dressing application and maintenance, application of various surgical wound dressings and pressure ulcer dressings.
- Administering blood transfusions, IV medication and setup, insulin therapy, and management of continuous gastric suctioning.
- Sound knowledge base in pain (PCA, epidural, CADD) and symptom management
- Managed full patient load of four past goal date at high quality of care standards with approval from preceptor.
- Also had opportunity to informally mentor 2nd year RN students on unit.
- Extensive tracheostomy suctioning and management.
- Stage 2-3 simple and complex pressure ulcer dressings, colostomy care.
- PEG tube feeding, maintenance, and medication.
- Extensive ROM practices.
- 600 clinical hours in medical-surgical, pediatrics, community health, obstetrics, psychiatric and NICU.
- Graded and evaluated qualitative and quantitative research studies and wrote summaries about the effectiveness of nursing care for various patient groups.
- Conducted a comprehensive literature review for a Senior Poster Project determining if hourly rounds increased patient satisfaction; rewarded the Biological Sciences Day award for the nursing cohort.
- Extensive experience in patient and family-teaching: regarding self-administering intermittent catheters, digital stimulation/disimpaction suppositories and recognizing signs of autonomic dysreflexia.
- Independently managed full patient load of 4-5 quadriplegic and paraplegic patients of complete and incomplete spinal injury.
- Implemented care plans to assist patients and family to improve self-efficacy skills for integrating into community after injury.
- VAC dressing application and maintenance, application of various surgical wound dressings and pressure ulcer dressings.
- Administering blood transfusions, IV medication and setup, insulin therapy, and management of continuous gastric suctioning.
- Sound knowledge base in pain (PCA, epidural, CADD) and symptom management
- Managed full patient load of four past goal date at high quality of care standards with approval from preceptor.
- Also had opportunity to informally mentor 2nd year RN students on unit.
- Extensive tracheostomy suctioning and management.
- Stage 2-3 simple and complex pressure ulcer dressings, colostomy care.
- PEG tube feeding, maintenance, and medication.
- Extensive ROM practices.
- Provided comprehensive daily physical examination and assessments for pre & post-operative patients and cardiopulmonary patients
- Performed sterile dressing changes and wound care
- Prepared patients for surgery, managed post-operative needs and prevented complications
- Telemetry and 12-lead ECG monitoring
- Designed educational pamphlets explaining pediatric health conditions to patients and families.
- Developed individualized care plans ensuring desired goals and outcomes are achieved.
- Conducted reasearch and coordinated presentations related to chosen health issues.
- Assisted physicians, physical therapists, and other nurses with medical documentation and essential patient care.
- Performed holistic care for 4 patients independently on each shift
- Administered oral, intramuscular, subcutaneous and intravenous medications
- Cared for a variety of medical surgical patients including gynaecology, general surgery, urology and colorectal patients
- Worked effectively as a member of an interdisciplinary team consisting of physicians, social workers and physiotherapist.
- Developed nursing care plans that integrates the medical plan of care and nursing diagnosis, updating care plan as needed and as patient's condition changes.
- Maintained comfort, quality of life and provided care for deteriorating and palliative patients.
- Performed admission assessments and discharge planning
- Conducted mental state examinations and mini mental state examinations
- Utilized oral medication administration knowledge to perform safe medication rounds
- Evaluated patients’ physical and mental conditions to develop holistic care plans
- Participated in the mentor-mentee program.
- Provided health screenings and influenza vaccines to homeless individuals.
- Engaged in various volunteer events.
- Built and established rapport with patients, being considerate of their diagnosis, unique care plan and presentation of symptoms
- Utilized therapeutic communication to assess patient safety and their mental status during every interaction
- Contributed to discussions regarding patient progress, care plans and barriers to discharge during IPHCT meetings
- Assessed and evaluated effectiveness of care plans and advocated on patient's behalf
- Safely and competently administered medications and ordered treatments
- Performed safe practice under changing environments and presentation of symptoms
- Assessed for complications of post-operative patients
- Performed musculoskeletal and wound assessments, interpreted findings, and reported any abnormalities to surgeon
- Practiced aseptic techniques as part of infection control
- Observed a number of operations in a sterile operating room
- Assisted patients with A.D.Ls, while encouraging participation
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Nursing Student, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action Verbs for your Nursing Student Resume
Recommended reads:
Nursing Student Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Nursing Student resume
- Cannulation
- BSL
- Scout/Scrub
- Word
- Powerpoint
- CPR/AED
- Collaboration with IPHCT
- Therapeutic Communication
- IM/Subcut injections
- Communication
- Compassion
- Patience
- Flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability
- Proactive, ethical, and responsible nature
- Honesty
- Team-player
- Strong work ethic
- Time management
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Recommended reads:
Nursing Student Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Nursing Student 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 Nursing Student 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.
Nursing Student Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Nursing Student resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary should act as an elevator speech, briefly promoting how you will benefit the employer if hired. Pitch your strengths in the summary and expand on them in your Nursing Student experience section. Give examples like how your work benefited each employer.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Nursing Student resume
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Nursing Student. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Nursing Student Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Nursing Student Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Nursing Student resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Nursing Student resume:
Nursing Student Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Nursing Student resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Nursing Student 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.
