Nursing Student Resume

Great nurses are always in high demand, but never more so than now. Between the impact of COVID-19 and the average age of the population rising, there are more jobs for nurses than there are people to fill them.

But in the high-stakes world of healthcare, that still doesn’t mean getting a position is easy. Hospitals and clinics only want nurses who can demonstrate their skill handling patients and have a strong educational background.

If you want to stand out from other nursing students when applying for internships, you need a great resume that highlights your dedication and skills.

To help you do just that, here are three tips for writing a strong nursing student resume:

Highlight your nursing resume skills

If you’re like most nursing students, then you don’t have much work experience yet. To impress employers, you need a strong resume skills section that highlights the expertise you’ve picked up in school.

Show employers you have the knowledge needed to be a successful intern at any hospital by showcasing some of these top nursing skills on your resume:

• General nursing skills
• Medical software (Epic Systems, MEDITECH software)
• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace)
• Technical skills
• Time management skills
• Organizational skills
• People skills
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Communication skills

Also be sure to highlight any certifications you might have, like first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic life support (BLS), or advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS).

Additionally, don’t forget to include a mix of hard and soft skills on your resume. Medical knowledge is important, but so is the way you handle patients, and employers want to know that you can do both.

Write a strong nursing education section

While hospitals don’t expect students to have an extensive professional history, they do want to know that you’re making the most of your education. That’s why writing a detailed resume education section is essential for nursing students.

Details you can add to your education section include your GPA (if it’s above 3.5), honors or awards, when you plan to graduate, relevant coursework, or even extracurriculars.

Here’s an example of a strong nursing student resume education section:

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, Arlington, TX
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Expected 2022 (3.7 GPA)

Serving as a current president of the student nursing association

This example works because after reading it an employer knows roughly how far along the candidate is in their education, that they’re an excellent student, and that they have leadership skills from leading the student nursing association.

Open with a strong nursing resume summary

One of the simplest ways to make your resume stand out from the hundreds of other nursing students out there is by starting it with a convincing resume summary.

Think of a resume summary as the highlight reel of your resume. It condenses your most impressive accomplishments, skills, and experience into 2-3 sentences at the top of your resume and explains why you’re the best candidate for the position.

Hiring managers only spend a few seconds on each application. If you can show off your qualifications without making the employer hunt through your resume, it’ll immediately help you stand out.

For reference, here’s an example of a great nursing student resume summary:

Upcoming nursing graduate with excellent educational credentials and hands-on patient care experience. Possesses fundamental knowledge of medical terminology, healthcare policies, and patient care values. Aspiring to combine ongoing nursing education and experience to secure a nursing internship in dynamic healthcare settings.

Notice that this summary concisely makes the candidate’s level of experience clear, shows off what they know, and highlights their “hands-on” experience along with their education. After reading this, any employer knows exactly who they are, and what they can do for their hospital or clinic.