5 Nursing CV Examples | How to Write a Nursing CV, Top Nursing CV Skills, And Much More

If you want to apply for a position in the nursing sector, one of the first things you have to do is write a nursing CV. Nurses are always in demand, so with the right nursing CV you’ll have your next nursing job in no time.

To learn how to write a nursing CV, you’ll have to figure out what CV template to use, what CV sections to include, and how to format them.

This article will discuss:

• How to write a CV for nurse practitioner jobs and other nursing roles
• How to format a nursing CV
• What sections to include on a nursing CV
• Nursing CV templates
• Nursing CV examples

Nurse CV example

Nursing CV Example

Registered Nurse CV Example

Staff Nurse CV Example

Modern Nurse CV Example

What sections should I include in my Nursing CV?

The key to an organized and readable CV is structure. Dedicated sections with clear headings make it easy for hiring managers to quickly scan your CV for the education, skills, and work experience they are looking for.

A nursing CV should include the following sections:

• Contact information
• Professional summary
• Work experience
• Education
• Skills

You will likely be able to fit all of your most relevant and impressive credentials within thgese sections. If needed, you can also add other sections, such as:

• Awards and certifications
• Volunteer experience
• Interests

If you prefer, you can try to fit your less important credentials, like awards or volunteering experience, into other sections, such as Work Experience. To really highlight these items, however, giving them their own sections can help.

How to write a nursing CV: A step-by-step guide

With this step-by-step guide to writing a nursing CV, you'll score your next interview in no time.

1. Choose the most suitable CV format

The three main CV formats to are:

• Reverse-chronological
• Functional
• Combination

Let's explore each of these formats and weigh up their pros and cons.

Reverse-chronological

The reverse-chronological format is the most common CV format. It emphasizes your work experience and lists your past jobs in order, beginning with the most recent and working backwards. The reverse-chronological CV is what most job-seekers write, and what most employers expect.

This format is the best option if you have a few years of work experience. For example, if you are writing a Nurse practitioner CV and have held a few positions in the nursing industry, this format will work well for you.

Functional

A functional CV emphasizes skills over work experience, and groups past jobs by subject instead of listing them in order.

This format is best when you want employers to see your skills or education first instead of your work history. This may be because you are changing careers, you just graduated, or you just don’t have any experience.

Functional CVs are rare, and most employers aren’t expecting them. If you want to emphasize skills or education instead of work history, we recommend using a Combination CV.

Combination

The Combination CV format emphasizes skills like a Functional CV, but still has a reverse-chronological Work Experience section like a Reverse-Chronological CV.

This way, you can highlight the skills you want employers to see first, without sacrificing the timeline of your previous jobs. Your Work Experience section can be shorter and less detailed, but it will still be presented in reverse-chronological order. This makes it easy for employers to read and ensures that your skills are given the most attention.

This format is suitable if you:

• Have gaps in your work history
• Have changed jobs several times
• Are changing careers
• Have a lot of skills to highlight

2. Choose a great nursing CV template

One of the most crucial parts of writing a great Nursing CV is finding the right template. The right CV template will ensure that you make a great first impression.

Nurses, just like other caregivers, provide an essential service. You are expected to be professional and display sound judgement. Your Nursing CV should communicate these characteristics, as well as other traits, such as:

• Attention to detail
• Presentation
• Organization
• Professionalism

Look for a template with a simple design, clear fonts and headings, and a readable structure.

For example, VisualCV’s Monte template is ideal for a nursing CV. With VisualCV, you can have a hiring manager-approved CV template in moments.

3. Include your contact information

You must include your contact information in your CV if you want potential employers to contact you.

At the top of your CV, it’s important to include your:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• City of residence

Your name should be written right at the top of your CV in a large, clear font.

Your email address should be professional, ideally using only your name. For example, firstname.lastname@email.com is a common format.

You may also want to link to your social media profiles in your contact information section, like your LinkedIn or Twitter accounts. If you do this, make sure that your online conduct is professional and you only post about work-appropriate topics.

You can also include your job title beneath your name. This will make it clear what position you are qualified for.

Nursing CV contact information example

4. Write a brief summary

A Summary section contains a concise statement that summarizes your nursing skills and experience. It should appear just below your contact information and provide hiring managers with a quick elevator pitch for your application.

Your summary should contain only a handful of sentences or bullet points. Each sentence should highlight a key skills or qualification to help you stand out from the crowd. These may be details from your work history, skills, or education.

It was once common to use an Objective Statement instead of a Summary section, but this is an outdated practice. A summary is a much better way to sell yourself and highlight a few of your most important nursing achievements or credentials.

Nursing summary section example

5. Showcase your work experience

For most job-seekers, the Work Experience section is the centrepiece of the CV. This is where you list past positions and highlight achievements in each role.

Each position in your Work Experience section should include:

• Job title
• Company name
• Dates of employment
• Achievements and responsibilities in the role

Your Work Experience section is your best opportunity to show that you have the right experience and accomplishments to succeed at your next job. Make sure to identify the most relevant and impressive achievements in each role, and showcase your areas of expertise.

When describing past jobs, use action words and energetic language as much as possible. Quantify your achievements with numbers when you can, and provide examples of areas where you have succeeded.

Nurse CV Work Experience Example

How to write a Nursing CV Work Experience section when you don’t have experience

Writing a Nursing CV Work Experience section when you don’t have a nursing background is a challenge. However, this is a common problem for people breaking into the field.

There are a few ways you can approach this problem.

Firstly, you can draw on any relevant work experience in different areas. For example, if the nursing position you are applying for involves a lot of administration, you could highlight past experience with data entry or other clerical duties.

Secondly, you can use any volunteer work you have done in care work or adjacent sectors.

Finally, you can emphasize your education, relevant classes, and the appropriate skills you have learned.

Remember, all nurses started out with limited experience. No one has experience until they do!

6. List your education

To become a registered nurse, you will likely have either an associate's degree or a BSc in Nursing. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also need a licence or national certification.

If you have many years of experience, you only need to list the name, date, and institution of each academic credential. If you are a more recent graduate without much work experience, you may want to include more detail, like research projects or specialty areas.

If you have a lot of different licenses or certifications, you may want to include them in a separate section.

Nurse CV Education section example

7. List your skills

The Skills section of a nursing CV is crucial. It’s your opportunity to highlight your core skills and competencies.

If you have a lot of experience, you will have picked up a variety hard and soft skills on your journey. However, not all of them will be relevant to the position you are seeking. It’s important to focus on the most relevant and impressive skills when crafting a CV. Read the description of the job you are applying to thoroughly, and identify the areas where your skill set and the job requirements overlap. These are the best skills to include in your nursing CV.

If you don’t have any nursing experience, you may need to focus on soft skills. Of course, anything you’ve picked up from volunteering or transferable skills from past jobs can work too.

Top Nursing CV Skills in 2023

1. Patient assessment
2. Medication administration
3. Wound care
4. IV therapy
5. Catheterization
6. Phlebotomy
7. Intramuscular injections
8. Intravenous injections
9. Ostomy care
10. Patient education
11. Electronic health records (EHR)
12. Care planning
13. Surgical assistance
14. Emergency response
15. CPR
16. Triage
17. Pain management
18. Respiratory therapy
19. Cardiac monitoring
20. Diabetes management
21. Geriatric care
22. Pediatric care
23. Obstetric care
24. Post-operative care
25. Palliative care
26. Mental health assessment
27. Rehabilitation therapy
28. Infection control
29. EKG interpretation
30. Patient advocacy
31. Fall prevention
32. Discharge planning
33. Team collaboration
34. Laboratory specimen collection
35. Telemetry monitoring
36. Medication reconciliation
37. NG tube insertion
38. Oxygen therapy
39. Injections administration (subcutaneous)
40. Nasotracheal suctioning
41. Chest tube management
42. Blood transfusion management
43. Epidural administration
44. Dialysis management
45. Continuous feeding tube care
46. Intra-aortic balloon pump management
47. Ventilator management
48. Central line care
49. Arterial line monitoring
50. Intraoperative monitoring

8. Include other sections as needed

There are several optional extra sections you can include on your Nursing CV. For example, you may want include a dedicated section for licenses and certifications. Additionally, you can include things like:

• Interests and Hobbies
• Awards
• Publications
• Languages

The key here is to only include sections that will help your application. For example, only list hobbies if your interests show that you could make a great nurse.

Tips for writing a great Nursing CV

Here are a few extra pointers that you can use for creating a Nursing CV that makes an impact.

Do your research

It’s important to research each nursing position you apply for. You will have better luck writing your nursing CV when you know exactly what employers are looking for.

Fortunately, the internet has made it simple to find a lot of information about a potential employer. Some of the key questions can ask are:

• What is the organization?
• What is their mission statement or company culture?
• What qualities do they want in an employee?
• Do they have social media? If so, what type of content do they tweet about?
• What specific qualifications are required by the job posting?

Getting a bit of background on any organization will help you write your Nursing CV. When you understand how they talk about their work, you can use this to influence the tone and text of your CV.

Customize your CV

It’s important to customize your CV for every application. Every job has unique requirements, and using the same generic CV for each application will isn’t likely to land you an interview.

To do this, study the job posting closely. Identify the key skills and experience that the company is looking for, and see where your own experience matches. These are the key words and phrases you should include in your CV.

Emphasizing the exact skills required by the job posting is key to a successful application.

Beat the Applicant Tracking System

Many organizations use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to sort through CVs. An ATS is an automated tool that searches CVs for the keywords and phrases the company is looking for. These might include skills, education, certifications, and job titles. It will then pass the best-matching CVs on to the hiring managers.

While you won’t know for sure what the ATS is looking for, the job description should provide you with enough clues to customize your CV with the right keywords. You should also make sure to use a simple CV template without too many tables or images so the ATS can easily parse it.