New Grad Nursing Resume Examples and Templates
Nursing Student Resume Examples and Templates for 2024
Last Updated:
July 26, 2024
Entry level
Midlevel
Senior level
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Nursing Student Resume Examples and Templates (Downloadable)
- How To Write a Nursing Student Resume Example
- How To Pick the Best Nursing Student Resume Template
- Nursing Student Text-Only Resume Examples and Templates
- Frequently Asked Questions: Nursing Student Resume Examples and Advice
- Check Out Related Examples
Nursing Student Resume Examples and Templates (Downloadable)
- Entry level
- Midlevel
- Senior level
Whether you’re an experienced nurse pursuing a master’s degree or a career changer entering the field, your resume is crucial to a successful nursing career. It should demonstrate your practical skills, clinical experiences, and passion for quality care. The expert tips and examples below will help you create a resume that emphasizes your academic success and nursing potential.
Key takeaways:
- Highlight medical work: Hands-on experience is invaluable as a nursing student. If you’ve had jobs or volunteered in a health care setting, mention it. Be specific with the patient populations you’ve cared for and the skills you gained.
- Quantify academic achievements: Your educational efforts should be emphasized, especially for students without any medical experience. High GPAs (over 3.5), relevant coursework, and honors or awards help show your dedication and knowledge.
- Include nursing keywords: Naturally work keywords from the job descriptions into your resume to optimize it for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). This gets your resume through these rigorous filters and onto the desk of the hiring manager.
How To Write a Nursing Student Resume Example
Your nursing student resume should provide a complete picture of your relevant training, education, and experience. Ensure the resume template you choose includes the following sections:
- Contact information
- Profile
- Key skills
- Professional experience
- Education and certifications
1. Share your contact information
All your best contact information should be listed at the top of your resume. Display your full name, phone number, email address, and location. If you’d like to include a link to your LinkedIn profile, you can do that here as well. Ensure you use or create a professional email address that isn’t too casual or outdated. A combination of your first and last name is ideal.
Example
Your Name
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation Zip Code
LinkedIn
2. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your qualifications
In about two to three sentences, make a strong, eye-catching introduction. Emphasize your unique strengths and integrate keywords from the job description to show you’re a good match for the position. Regardless of the role you’re applying for, present your unique value proposition and what you can bring to potential employers.
If you have experience in a specific nursing specialty or area of interest, mention that here, and don’t be afraid to discuss your passion for nursing. Hiring managers want to see you genuinely care about working with patients. Use strong, confident language to help convey your readiness to contribute to any health care team.
Senior-Level Profile Example
Pediatric nurse practitioner resident with nearly a decade of experience as a registered nurse (RN). Passionate about patient and family advocacy. Natural leader who thrives in high-pressure situations and complex cases. Known for providing quality, evidenced-based care with integrity.
Entry-Level Profile Example
Aspiring health care professional with a strong foundation in customer-facing roles and volunteer work. Known for building strong rapport with individuals and delivering personalized, quality service. Proficiency in English and Spanish drives effective communication across cultures.
3. Add a results-driven professional experiences section
As a nursing student, you may or may not have any relevant medical experience. However, if you’ve started your program, it’s likely you’ve already begun the hands-on portion of your studies. List any clinical rotations, externships, or residencies you’ve completed. If you currently work as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), list that too.
Each position should be broken out into bullet points describing your accomplishments and time developing practical skills. For students without any medical experience, list your non-medical jobs here, also — transferable skills are still valuable. If you’ve had relevant volunteer experience in places like nursing homes or hospitals, create an additional “Volunteer Experience” section.
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Resident, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA
August 2024 – present
- Encountered over 1,500 patients across pediatric subspecialties during the first six months of residency
- Performed approximately 30 well-child visits per week, including assessments, immunizations, and guidance to patients and their guardians
- Completed a four-week rotation in pediatric palliative care
- Presented two complex case studies at the hospital’s monthly grand rounds
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
Volunteer, Creekside Senior Living, Cambridge, MA
April 2023 – present
- Provide companionship and emotional support to 15 residents on a weekly basis
- Collaborate with five other volunteers to create a comfortable and nurturing environment, tidying common areas and assisting in the dining room
- Lead monthly recreational activities to improve guest engagement and promote social interaction
- Increased resident turnout by 40% after organizing a regular visit from the local elementary school’s kindergarten class
Resume writer’s tip: Quantify your experience
Hiring managers love to see results, and one way you can display yours is by quantifying your experience. Use numbers to show the extent of your achievements in the workplace or during clinicals. Describe how many patients you interacted with each day or highlight any patient satisfaction scores you received.
Check out this example:
Do
- “Provide daily care for an average of 12 to 15 residents per shift, including assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, and toileting”
Don’t
- “Helped residents with activities of daily living”
Resume writer’s tip: Tailor your resume for each application
To create an attention-grabbing resume, adjust your content in terms of which experiences and skills you choose to highlight. Hiring managers are looking for nursing students with specific qualifications, and you can increase your chances of landing an interview by making an effort to show how you meet the job requirements.
Study the job description and identify the key qualifications you match up with. Each job will have its own unique requirements. For example, a pediatric nursing position has different demands than a spot in a busy emergency room. With each job you apply for, modify your profile, experience, and skills sections to best match the needs of the employer.
What if you don’t have experience?
Unless you’ve had a job in health care, you probably don’t have much, if any, hands-on experience. Fortunately, because of the nature of nursing, your program will have hands-on opportunities within the first year. Your education and training will be your biggest asset as a student. Aside from your clinical rotations, focus on the following as you write your nursing student resume:
- Academic awards
- Certifications
- Education
- Skills
- Volunteer experience
4. Include education and certifications relevant to nursing
There are a few ways you can become an RN, and all paths involve a degree program. Even if you haven’t graduated yet, list your nursing degree in your education section. You can provide the expected graduation date so hiring managers know when you’ll be finished with school and licensed to practice.
If you’ve earned any nursing-related certifications, include those as well. Anything to help set you apart from other candidates is great. Credentials such as Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and wound care certifications show your readiness and commitment to the field.
Education
Template:
[Degree Name]
[School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA | Expected: June 2026
Certifications
Template:
[Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example:
Certified Nursing Assistant, California Department of Public Health, 2022
5. List nursing-related skills and proficiencies
As a soon-to-be graduate, you likely have many practical skills acquired in your time at school, and potentially in previous medical positions. Instead of listing them all, study the job description and learn which key skills hiring managers are looking for. The lists below will give you a good idea of what you might include on your nursing student resume.
| Hard Skills | |
|---|---|
| Intravenous (IV) therapy and venipuncture | Medication administration |
| Mobility assistance | Neonatal monitoring |
| Patient assessment and monitoring | Phlebotomy and specimen collection |
| Proficiency in electronic health record (EHR) systems (Epic, Cerner, Meditech) | Wound care and dressing |
| Soft Skills | |
|---|---|
| Accurate documentation | Bilingual (English, Spanish) |
| Compassionate senior care | Conflict de-escalation |
| Multidisciplinary team collaboration | Patient education and advocacy |
| Task management under pressure | Team training and mentorship |
Resume writer’s tip: Use strong action verbs
When describing your professional, academic, and volunteer experience, use action verbs to help frame responsibilities and duties as achievements. These powerful words clearly communicate what you accomplished during your clinicals and other previous positions. Review our list of action verbs below for some ideas as you write your nursing student resume:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Administered | Advocated |
| Assessed | Collaborated |
| Contributed | Documented |
| Educated | Implemented |
| Monitored | Prioritized |
How To Pick the Best Nursing Student Resume Template
Similar to the way your first impression at the bedside can shape and affect a patient’s experience, your resume template can impact how potential employers perceive you. It should present your unique strengths, experiences, and passion for nursing clearly and concisely. While visual appeal is important, your content should be the main focus. A clean and professional template works best with classic fonts, adequate white space, and minimal graphics.
Nursing Student Text-Only Resume Examples and Templates
Meera Patel
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Boston, MA 12345
LinkedIn | Portfolio
Profile
Aspiring health care professional with a strong foundation in customer-facing roles and volunteer work. Known for building strong rapport with individuals and delivering personalized, quality service. Proficiency in English and Spanish drives effective communication across cultures.
Volunteer Experience
Volunteer, Creekside Senior Living, Cambridge, MA
April 2023 – present
- Provide companionship and emotional support to 15 residents on a weekly basis
- Collaborate with five other volunteers to create a comfortable and nurturing environment, tidying common areas and assisting in the dining room
- Lead monthly recreational activities to improve guest engagement and promote social interaction
- Increased resident turnout by 40% after organizing a regular visit from the local elementary school’s kindergarten class
Professional Experience
Barista, Sundry Cafe, Boston, MA
January 2021 – present
- Deliver prompt and friendly service to over 100 customers each day, processing an average of $1,500 in transactions
- Maintain a consistent 98% satisfaction score on customer surveys
- Memorize orders for at least 25 regular customers to deliver personalized service and create a welcoming environment
Key Skills
- Accurate documentation
- Bilingual (English, Spanish)
- Guest transfer and mobility
- Medical terminology
- Team training and mentorship
Education
Associate of Science (A.S.) in Nursing, Expected: June 2026
MassBay Community College, Wellesley, MA
Certifications
- Basic Life Support, American Heart Association, 2024
Frequently Asked Questions: Nursing Student Resume Examples and Advice
How do you align your resume with a nursing student job description?
As the demand for health care services continues to grow, nursing jobs are expected to increase by 6% over the next decade. That’s great news for nursing students looking for work, but you’ll still need a well-written resume that aligns with the job description. To stand out from other aspiring nurses, include keywords throughout your resume in a natural way and speak to the employer’s needs.
For example, suppose you’re applying for a CNA job while you complete your degree, and the job ad mentions “experience with patient transfers and mobility assistance.” Knowing this, you would include examples of times you helped patients navigate facilities, use the toilet, change positions, and transfer from bed to wheelchair.
What is the best nursing student resume format?
Even if you haven’t held any jobs within the medical field yet, a chronological format is still the best choice because it presents the most important information first — your hands-on expertise. Starting with your most recent experience, this resume style focuses on your accomplishments in relevant positions and clinical rotations. However, it still includes a small sampling of your skills along with a section for your education and training.
Expert advice:
Include a cover letter with your resume
To increase your chances of landing an interview, write a cover letter to accompany your nursing student resume. This strategic addition to your application is a chance to describe your passion for nursing and provide context that can’t be conveyed through a resume alone. Hiring managers will get a better sense of who you are and your potential as a future nurse.
Check Out Related Examples
Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach
Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.
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