Registered Nurse resume example
A resume for a Registered Nurse needs to show the work itself: assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Day to day that means work like this: record patients' medical information and vital signs; administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.
Also advertised as
The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
- Charge Nurse
- Emergency Department RN
- Emergency Department Registered Nurse
- Operating Room Registered Nurse
- OR RN
- Staff Nurse
- Certified Operating Room Nurse
- CNOR
- Oncology RN
- Oncology Registered Nurse
- Psychiatric RN
- Psychiatric Registered Nurse
- Relief Charge Nurse
- School Nurse
- Staff RN
- Staff Registered Nurse
- CCU Nurse
- Dialysis RN
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.
What people in this job call themselves
Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.
- Certified Operating Room Nurse (CNOR)
- Emergency Department RN (Emergency Department Registered Nurse)
- Oncology RN (Oncology Registered Nurse)
- Operating Room Registered Nurse (OR RN)
- Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse)
- Staff RN (Staff Registered Nurse)
What this work actually involves
Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.
- Record patients' medical information and vital signs.
- Administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects.
- Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.
- Monitor, record, and report symptoms or changes in patients' conditions.
- Provide health care, first aid, immunizations, or assistance in convalescence or rehabilitation in locations such as schools, hospitals, or industry.
- Consult and coordinate with healthcare team members to assess, plan, implement, or evaluate patient care plans.
- Direct or supervise less-skilled nursing or healthcare personnel or supervise a particular unit.
- Monitor all aspects of patient care, including diet and physical activity.
- Instruct individuals, families, or other groups on topics such as health education, disease prevention, or childbirth and develop health improvement programs.
- Modify patient treatment plans as indicated by patients' responses and conditions.
- Conduct specified laboratory tests.
- Observe nurses and visit patients to ensure proper nursing care.
27 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.
Example bullets for this role
Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.
- Record patients' medical information and vital signs, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Monitor, record, and report symptoms or changes in patients' conditions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Software used in this role
Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.
- Allscripts healthcare automation software
- Allscripts Sunrise
- Apache Spark
- Data entry software
- Database software
- Diagnostic and procedural coding software
- DoctorsPartner EMR
- Drug guide software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Epic Systems
- FaceTime
- FileMaker Pro
- Google Docs
43 software entries are recorded in total.
Tools and equipment
The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.
- Angiocaths
- Anti-embolism elastic stockings
- Apnea monitors
- Aqua K pads
- Arterial blood gas testing equipment
- Arterial line catheters
- Audiometers
- Autoclaves
- Automated medicine dispensing equipment
- Autotransfusion systems
- Bag-valve masks
- Balanced suspension traction equipment
Skills an ATS reads for
Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.
- patient care
- clinical documentation
- medication administration
- Epic
- triage
- care planning
- BLS
- patient assessment
What this job rates as most important
O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.
- 01Social Perceptiveness
- 02Active Listening
- 03Coordination
- 04Critical Thinking
- 05Service Orientation
- 06Speaking
- 07Judgment and Decision Making
- 08Reading Comprehension
- 09Monitoring
- 10Writing
Knowledge areas
The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- Therapy and Counseling
- Administration and Management
What qualifications people in this job have
From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
- 56%Bachelor's Degree
- 23%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
- 19%Associate's Degree
What level this role is pitched at
O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Common questions
- What does a Registered Nurse do?
- Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Day to day that includes work like record patients' medical information and vital signs and Administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects.
- What skills should a Registered Nurse put on a resume?
- O*NET rates Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and Service Orientation among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
- What software should a Registered Nurse list?
- Software recorded for this occupation includes Allscripts healthcare automation software, Allscripts Sunrise, Apache Spark, Data entry software, and Database software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
- What other job titles cover Registered Nurse work?
- O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Charge Nurse, Emergency Department RN, Emergency Department Registered Nurse, and Operating Room Registered Nurse. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
- What qualifications does a Registered Nurse need?
- In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
- Will this resume pass an ATS for a Registered Nurse role?
- No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.
Related roles
Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.
What this page cannot tell you
- No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
- This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
- Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.
If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.
Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.