To write an engaging new grad nursing resume, you must highlight your medical knowledge and ability to deliver compassionate care under stressful conditions. If you’re just starting your career, creating a resume that shows you have what it takes to succeed in nursing can be challenging. This guide provides tips for writing a nursing entry-level resume, examples of each section, and links to other resources to help your job search.
“As a new nursing graduate, your clinical experience, compassion, and adaptability matter most. Use your resume to show you’re ready to step into a fast-paced care setting with professionalism and purpose.”
— Carolyn Kleiman, Resume and Career Advisor
Most Popular New Grad Nursing Resumes
Recent Nursing Graduate Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights basic tasks and clinical exposure while balancing administrative and patient care experience. It’s well-structured for a new grad.
Key Tips
Including support roles like receptionist experience shows transferable skills. Learn how to format these roles and what to put on a resume.
Entry-level RN Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume prioritizes key skills and education before detailing work experience, which is effective for new graduates.
Key Tips
If your hands-on nursing experience is limited, highlight research and academic contributions. See more examples in resume summary examples.
Hospital RN Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes relevant clinical experience and patient-centered care. It blends CNA experience with RN responsibilities, showing professional growth.
Key Tips
Organizing your work in reverse chronological order highlights career progression. For formatting advice, see best resume formats.
Nurse Practitioner Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume uses patient volume and satisfaction metrics to demonstrate impact. It shows balance between pediatric care and family practice.
Key Tips
Quantifying outcomes strengthens your resume. Learn how to make a resume.
Nurse Assistant Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume combines clinical detail with measurable outcomes, such as patient satisfaction ratings. It also includes relevant certifications and progression toward LPN.
Key Tips
Always list certifications clearly and with dates. Learn more about how to list certifications on a resume.
Licensed Vocational Nurse Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume provides concrete details such as the number of residents and satisfaction ratings, strengthening credibility.
Key Tips
Use numbers when possible to show the scope of work. Learn how in resume outline examples.
Nursing Student Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates how students can highlight clinical rotations and volunteer work to show readiness for entry-level roles.
Key Tips
If you’re still in school, include your expected graduation date. Learn more about how to put an expected graduation date on a resume.
Certified Nursing Assistant Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume blends technical skills with soft skills like patient empathy and training experience.
Key Tips
Always include your CNA license and state registration. Find more advice at resume skills.
Intensive Care Unit Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume clearly demonstrates critical care readiness, highlighting both technical and interpersonal skills.
Key Tips
If you’re targeting ICU roles, emphasize specialized patient monitoring. For formatting guidance, see best fonts for a resume.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume shows specialized neonatal experience with technical care and family support, a key balance for NICU nurses.
Key Tips
For specialty roles, mention unique protocols or equipment experience. Learn more at resume summary examples.
Critical Care Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes readiness for critical care by naming technical skills like ventilator and medication management.
Key Tips
Use specialty certifications or advanced skills to set your resume apart. Learn how in how to list certifications on resume.
Med-Surg Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates broad patient care skills relevant to med-surg nursing and shows clear clinical progression.
Key Tips
Med-surg nurses handle varied cases, so highlight versatility. Read more at resume skills.
Professional Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume balances technical skills with patient-centered communication, showing a well-rounded professional nurse.
Key Tips
Professional nurses should emphasize both patient advocacy and collaboration. Learn more at soft skills for a resume.
Nursing Experience Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume shows adaptability by including experience in multiple care settings and highlighting leadership shifts.
Key Tips
If your hands-on nursing experience is limited, highlight research and academic contributions. See more examples in resume summary examples.
Graduate Nurse Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights recent clinical rotation exposure while reinforcing transferable CNA experience. It’s ideal for new graduates.
Key Tips
For graduate nurses, rotations count as valuable experience — list them clearly. See resume objective examples.
Emergency Room Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes rapid decision-making and adaptability, critical qualities in ER nursing.
Key Tips
For ER roles, highlight triage and crisis-management skills. See customer service skills resume for tips on demonstrating communication in stressful settings.
Pediatric Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume balances technical pediatric skills with empathy and family education, essential in pediatric nursing.
Key Tips
For pediatric roles, highlight both clinical and family-centered care. Learn how to showcase this at soft skills for a resume.
Oncology Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume showcases specialized oncology knowledge and highlights compassionate care — critical in cancer treatment settings.
Key Tips
Specific terminology (e.g., chemotherapy) benefits specialized fields like oncology. Learn more at resume language skills.
Psychiatric Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights psychiatric nursing skills and direct patient engagement. It balances clinical duties with emotional support experience.
Key Tips
Mental health roles value therapeutic communication — make sure to list it. See resume summary examples for ways to capture this up front.
Rehabilitation Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights both patient-centered care and teamwork, key qualities in rehabilitation nursing.
Key Tips
Always mention collaboration with therapy teams in rehab roles. Learn more at resume interests section.
Cardiac Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights technical skills like EKG monitoring alongside patient education, a strong balance in cardiac care.
Key Tips
If you’ve worked with specialized equipment, mention it clearly. Learn more about technical skills for a resume.
Surgical Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume clearly emphasizes surgical skills and demonstrates progression from assistant to RN.
Key Tips
For surgical resumes, highlight sterile technique and intraoperative teamwork. See resume objective examples for ways to capture this upfront.
Home Health Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights independence, flexibility, and strong patient education skills, essential for home health nurses.
Key Tips
Showcase autonomy and decision-making when describing home health work. Learn more at how to email a resume.
School Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes pediatric and educational skills, which are crucial in a school setting.
Key Tips
For school nursing, highlight both direct care and educational outreach. Learn more at resume interests section.
Float Pool Nursing Resume
Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights flexibility and adaptability, crucial traits for float pool nurses.
Key Tips
Stress versatility by listing varied units you’ve supported. Read more at how far back a resume should go.
Our templates are crafted by professional resume writers to make creating your resume quick, easy, and effective.
- Professional resume template downloads
- Customized cover letter generation
- AI resume writing support
- Career-building resources and advice
New Grad Nursing Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
How To Write a New Grad Nursing Resume
1. Write a compelling profile summarizing your qualifications
The profile section of a resume summarizes your skills and experience, but if you just graduated, some creativity may be required. Include any medical experience you have, such as working as a nursing assistant or aid in a nursing home, and mention any specialties you enjoyed or excelled at in nursing school. If you plan on entering a certain area, such as the emergency room (ER) or pediatrics, this is also an excellent place to put this.
Professional Profile - Example #1
A registered nurse (RN) with five years of experience improving patient outcomes and elevating health care standards. A proven track record of coordinating with multidisciplinary teams to enhance patient-focused care delivery.
Professional Profile - Example #2
A recent nursing graduate with entry-level work experience specializing in Electronic Health Records (EHR), patient relations, post-anesthesia care, and process improvement. Adept at collaborating with physicians and nursing teams to deliver high-quality patient care.
2. Add an accomplishment-driven professional experience section
Start the professional experience section with your most relevant positions or the most recent, depending on your work history. If you still need to hold a nursing job, focus on the experience you garnered during your nursing externship. Emphasize important trends within the medical industry, such as patient-centered care, diversity and inclusion, and patient advocacy. Even without years of experience, you can still craft a results-driven resume that highlights the unique aspects of who you are as a health care professional.
Professional Experience - Example #1
Nurse
North Carolina State Hospital, Raleigh, NC | August 2019 – present
- Conduct patient assessments, collect medical history for EHR, and perform a variety of medical testing, including X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and blood testing
- Interface effectively with diverse patient populations and develop treatment plans in alignment with emotional, spiritual, and physical needs
- Provide education to patients on symptoms, diagnosis, and long-term outlook and communicate instructions for future care
Professional Experience - Example #2
Hospital Orderly
Regional Hospital, Chapel Hill, NC | January 2019 – present
- Prepare equipment for medical procedures, including IVs and physical exams, as directed by care teams
- Assist with physical exams, including moving patients when necessary
- Keep rooms neat and clean by replacing linens, sterilizing surfaces, wiping down diagnostic machines, and cleaning floors
- Transfer patients to X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other testing locations as directed by care teams
3. Include relevant education and certifications
Completing nursing school is an accomplishment to highlight on your resume. Make sure to list your degree and any licenses or certifications you hold. If you have a license or National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, include that in this section. Suppose you’re a new graduate with no practical work experience. In that case, it’s a good idea to include some of the topics you covered in your clinicals to show the reviewer you have hands-on nursing experience, even if it wasn’t a paid position.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] – [Graduation Month and Year]
Example
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC – May 2019
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- Advanced HIV/AIDS Certified Registered Nurse, 2020
4. List relevant key skills and proficiencies
Nursing is a hands-on profession, and the hiring manager will look for applicants with specific capabilities. While some of this may be covered in your work history, it’s a good idea to include a key skills list so the reviewer can quickly see if you’re a match for the position. This should be a mix of technical nursing skills, such as inserting IVs and calculating medication dosages. Also, highlight interpersonal skills, such as de-escalating conflicts and educating patients.
Here are some of the most common skills listed for entry-level nursing positions:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Activities of daily living (ADLS) | Acute care |
| Case management | Clinical operations |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) | EHR |
| HIPAA | Infectious disease protocols |
| IV therapy | Medication administration |
| Oncology | Patient advocacy |
| Patient education | Patient management |
| Patient centered-care | Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) |
| Telemetry | Treatment planning |
| Vital sign monitoring | Wound care |
5. Highlight your clinical experience
For newly graduated nurses, there are often more similarities than differences from one resume to the next. All nursing students, for example, are expected to rotate through different areas of medicine and shadow professionals in numerous clinical settings.
However, clinical experience outside nursing school can help any resume stand out. Candidates who previously served in a health care field, like working with emergency medical services (EMS) or as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), should highlight this experience to the most significant level possible. The ability to manage patients and provide care outside of an academic setting can indicate success in a nursing role.
How To Pick the Best New Grad Nursing Resume Template
You don’t have to create your resume from scratch. Using a nursing entry-level resume template means all you have to do is plug in your information, tailor it to the job description, and hit the submit button. When selecting your template, prioritize structure, organization, and readability over visual appeal. Hiring managers want to see you have the qualifications to succeed in the role, and it’s best not to distract them with flashy colors and graphics.
Frequently Asked Questions: New Grad Nursing Resume Examples and Advice
How can I customize my New Grad Nursing CV for a specific job role?-
Customizing your New Grad Nursing CV involves closely analyzing the job description and ensuring that you include the relevant skills and accomplishments that align with the employer’s needs. Use specific keywords from the job posting, and focus on tailoring your profile summary and professional experience sections to match the responsibilities of the position you're applying for.
What are common action verbs for new grad nursing resumes?-
An action verb should start with each bullet in your work history, and each one should be powerful and show what you did in your position and the impact you had. Coming up with the right words can be challenging, especially if you don’t have much experience yet.
You can find some options in the job description, but we’ve also provided a list of common action verbs for nursing entry-level resumes below to help give you some ideas.
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Administered | Analyzed |
| Collaborated | Communicated |
| Conducted | Coordinated |
| Delivered | Diagnosed |
| Enhanced | Identified |
| Implemented | Improved |
| Interfaced | Led |
| Managed | Performed |
| Provided | Resolved |
| Supported | Treated |
How do you align your resume with a nursing job description?-
Hiring managers often have to deal with hundreds of applications for one position, even in industries expecting only average growth, and many are turning to applicant tracking systems to make this process easier.
You’ll need to tailor your resume to the job description to increase the chances of getting it in front of a human reviewer. Include any relevant skills, qualifications, and other keywords, such as EHR software or pediatric nursing, from the job posting in your resume.
What is the best new grad nursing resume format?-
The best format for an entry-level nursing resume is often a combination style. This ensures ample focus on your skills and education while providing space to list any relevant work experience.
A reverse chronological resume can still work if you’ve held other medical positions, such as an orderly, or have an extensive work history. Avoid using a functional resume that only lists skills, as a people-oriented job outside of the healthcare field presents an opportunity for you to highlight transferable skill sets.
How many pages should my new grad nursing resume be?-
Generally, a new grad nursing resume should be one page for candidates with fewer than 10 years of experience. A two-page resume is acceptable if you’re a seasoned professional with extensive accomplishments—but only if it provides meaningful details that strengthen your application. Tailor your content to the job, focusing on your most relevant qualifications.
Work history should typically cover the last 10 to 15 years. Older positions can be excluded or briefly summarized unless they’re highly relevant. A concise, focused resume demonstrates your ability to prioritize and communicate effectively.
Craft your perfect resume in minutes
Get 2x more interviews with Resume Builder. Access Pro Plan features for a limited time!
If you want to stand out from other applicants and increase your chances of being called for an interview, include a cover letter with your resume. Your cover letter can provide more background on why you chose to pursue nursing and how this position fits into your career plans. A cover letter can help you connect more with the hiring manager, but remember the main focus is on how you can help the organization.
