Which nursing student skills for resume writing are most important? You’ll need to list a mix of hard and soft skills. Hard skills for a nursing student resume include patient assessments, medication management, and IV placement, while soft skills include communication, problem-solving, and compassion.
Arguably, the most exciting part of nursing school is nearing graduation and compiling your first student nurse resume. At last, you can put what you’ve been taught into practice as a licensed registered nurse.
Making a good first impression is vital, but what’s the best way to do that with your nursing resume? The key is highlighting the skills employers seek in their new nurses. Here, we’ll look at the top nursing student skills for resume writing and some important resume do’s and don’ts.
At Northeastern University, we are committed to supporting our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) students so they can excel in their nursing careers. After earning your BSN, you’ll have the core knowledge and skills to make an outstanding first impression when you head into the workforce after graduation.
Why Boston? Check out the top advantages of choosing an accelerated nursing program near Boston.
What’s the Difference Between a Nursing Resume and a CV?
When scanning job ads for nurses, you may notice some recruiters request resumes while others ask for CVs (curriculum vitae). Nurses should have both documents on hand. What’s the difference?
A resume is a shorter document that provides an overview of your academic credentials, work experience, and licensure and certification information. Typically, a nursing resume won’t be longer than two pages.
In contrast, a CV offers far more details and can be much longer, with no limit on length. In addition to explaining your education, work experience and licensure/certifications, a CV may include information on awards and grants, publications, conference presentations, technology skills, extracurriculars, community service, etc.
If a job ad doesn’t specify whether the recruiter wants a resume or a CV, you’ll generally submit a resume for an entry-level position and a CV for higher-level positions, including nurse educator positions. Since you are a nursing student or a recent grad, we’ll focus on entry-level nursing resume tips rather than CV writing.
Why You Should List Hard and Soft Skills for a Nursing Student Resume
Hard skills are the discrete, measurable skills you possess, such as the ability to ride a bike or read. With nursing, hard skills come into play for much of your nursing school education. You have learned all about patient care skills, like assessing patients, giving medications, treating injuries, and more. Including your hard skills shows employers that you have mastered your core nursing skills, which makes you a more competitive candidate.
On the other hand, soft skills represent your internal, immeasurable, qualitative skills. These include your patient demeanor, communication skills, ability to be calm under pressure, and compassion. Soft skills are equally important for being a well-rounded nurse. You should highlight your best soft skills on your nursing resume so healthcare employers can see how you’d make a patient-centered, caring nurse.
6 Hard Nursing Student Skills for a Resume
When applying for a nursing job, what types of hard nursing student skills for resume writing matter? Your prospective employer wants to know you have gleaned all the necessary patient care skills taught in online coursework, simulation labs and clinical rotations during nursing school. They want to know they can trust you to care for patients independently.
In the skills section of your resume or within the descriptions of your experiences, address these key skills you have learned in accelerated nursing school at Northeastern. Six top hard skills a nurse should have include:
Curious about becoming a nurse at Northeastern? Learn how our ABSN program develops skills for nurses.
1. Patient Assessment
Prospective employers want to know whether you’ve mastered evaluating and assessing a patient’s condition and symptoms. Can you accurately take a history, check vitals, assess the severity of a patient’s illness and prioritize the most imminent concerns?
2. CPR and BLS Skills
Nurses are often the first person in the room if a patient codes or has a dangerous heart rhythm. Healthcare organizations want to know that you can maintain a level head, alert the response team, check pulse and breathing, and begin CPR appropriately.
3. Medication Management
Medications are one of the key responsibilities of nurses, so you should note your experience with administering and charting medications. Let prospective employers know you have mastered this important skill.
4. IV Line Placement and Infusions
IVs are another one of the bread-and-butter skills of qualified nurses, so reassure employers that you are comfortable placing IV catheters and starting and managing infusions.
5. Patient Safety and Infection Control
Patient safety is a big deal. Hospitals do not want patients breaking an arm or exposed to a biohazard during a hospital stay. Make note on your resume that you understand fall risk protocols and proper safety measures. Similarly, infection control measures are key for keeping patients and healthcare workers safe, so write down your comfort with the various infection prevention and control measures.
6. Charting on the Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
As a nurse, you must document all the care you provide your patients. You must also use the EMR to reference patient information and care plans. In accelerated nursing school at Northeastern, you will learn to use various EMR systems, so note on your resume your experience level with EMRs and which EMRs you have used.
6 Soft Skills for a Nursing Student Resume
It may seem like hard skills are the most important for keeping your patients safe, but possessing soft skills is also vital for comforting and caring for them. Furthermore, these soft skills ensure you work well within a hospital team. As such, it’s important to include soft skills for a nursing student resume. This will help give healthcare employers an idea of what kind of nurse you are, how you treat your patients and coworkers and which values guide your actions.
1. Communication
As a nurse, you must communicate all day, every day. Effective communication is key, whether with patients, families, doctors, nurses, nursing aides or managers. On your resume, mention your verbal communication skills, and especially note your patient interaction skills.
2. Teamwork
You will continually work in teams to accomplish patient goals in the healthcare environment. Hospitals don’t want nurses who have a hero mindset. Instead, they seek those who understand each team member’s role, for together, the team will improve patient outcomes. Healthcare employers want to know you are a contributing team member who fulfills your nursing role while also collaborating with those around you.
Nurses need a special blend of technical and soft skills. Explore these top 10 nursing characteristics & skills.
3. Compassion
Nursing is the epitome of a compassionate career. Because nurses spend the most time with their patients, healthcare employers want to make sure they hire nurses who care, listen and empathize with patients. On your nursing resume, tell employers that you have a heart for patients. Show that you connect with them and care for them like you would a close friend.
4. Problem-Solving Skills
Nurses deal with challenging situations regularly, and it is beneficial if they can think on their feet and think through problems rationally and effectively. In nursing school, did some of your clinical rotations help you refine these skills? When you apply for nursing jobs, comment on your ability to think laterally and work through problems and challenging scenarios successfully.
5. Integrity
Nurses have patients’ lives in their hands, so healthcare organizations need to know they can trust you to be honest. Integrity means documenting accurately in the EMR, addressing mistakes right away and using hospital resources appropriately. In your resume, let employers know about your integrity and trustworthiness.
6. Pursuit of Learning
Healthcare is always changing and developing as research and new information emerge. You are a new nurse jumping into a new career, and it is vital you continue to be a sponge. Employers want to know you will take the advice of veteran nurses and ask questions when you have any doubts about what to do. Make sure you mention your commitment to learning and becoming the best nurse you can possibly be.
Tips for Writing Your Student Nurse Resume
When you start writing your student nurse resume, there are some common resume do’s and don’ts to implement for the best results. The small details matter, and once you create a polished resume, the process is much easier for any future skills, certifications and experience that you’ll add later.
In your resume, put your best foot forward and show your prospective employer how your nursing student skills and preparation set you up to excel as a professional nurse. Here are some key nursing resume do’s and don’ts to follow:
Do:
- Break your resume into sections: Summary, Education, Skills, Experiences, Volunteer Work and Certifications/Awards.
- Include your contact information at the top.
- Write a summary paragraph of your interests and what you’re looking for in a job.
- Add both your first bachelor’s degree and your BSN degree.
- Add the units/facilities where you completed your clinical rotations.
- Talk about patient care experience (i.e., CNA, LPN, surgery tech).
- Show your leadership roles.
- Include community involvement and volunteer experiences.
- Use a resume template or generator, so it has a professional aesthetic.
- Include a cover letter when applying for jobs.
- Choose engaging verbs: managed, initiated, launched, led, promoted, handled, etc.
- Use bulleted lists instead of paragraphs.
Don’t:
- Make your resume longer than one to two 8.5x11 pages.
- Minimize your experiences.
- Include any experiences before college.
- Have an unformatted resume.
- Write in long-form paragraphs.
- Give too much information about each experience. Keep each one pertinent and brief.
- Say “I.” Resumes are written in a modified third person and avoid pronouns if possible.
- Yes: Started and managed IVs independently
- No: I started and managed IVs independently
- Choose stale verbs: did, was, had, went, assisted, etc.
- Forget to edit for spelling and grammar.
What to Know About Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)
Although it’s important to include these top nursing student skills for resume writing, finding your first nursing job may also benefit from knowledge of ATS. Applicant Tracking Software refers to computer programs that many employers — not just healthcare employers — use to sort through significant volumes of resumes.
Employers may get hundreds — or even more — applications for one job, and it can be challenging for human resources professionals to sort through all of them. As a result, they rely on ATS to screen resumes.
When a resume is screened through ATS, the program is configured to pick up on certain keywords the position demands, such as a specific skill or certain certification. One pitfall of ATS is that some of these programs cannot tell the difference between acronyms and their proper titles spelled out.
To ensure your nursing resume will pass the automated screening, it’s essential to:
- Proofread carefully to avoid spelling errors that may confuse the program.
- Spell out all words, followed by the acronym or abbreviation.
For example, instead of simply adding “BLS” to your resume, add “Basic Life Support (BLS).” This way, regardless of whether the program is looking for the full term or the acronym, it will register that you have that skill on your resume.
Putting It All Together
All this information may seem overwhelming, but taking the time now to create a professional resume will facilitate a successful job hunt. Just remember to highlight your strengths and your top nursing student skills for resume success. When prospective employers see you are a well-rounded, educated, compassionate and level-headed nurse, they will jump at the chance to hire you.
Reach Out to Learn How to Earn Your BSN
Not quite ready to follow these nursing resume tips yet? If you are interested in starting your nursing career, an accelerated nursing program is a great way to begin. Students who have a prior non-nursing bachelor’s degree or transfer college credits can enroll in the Northeastern ABSN program in Burlington or Charlotte and earn their BSN in as few as 16 months.
At Northeastern University, our rigorous accelerated BSN program will prepare you to step into your first professional nursing job with confidence. Contact an admissions counselor to learn more.
