How To Write a Nursing Home Nurse Resume

As a nursing home nurse, it is important to possess a variety of qualities that will help you provide the best care for your patients — employers are looking for a candidate who is knowledgeable, compassionate, empathetic, and an effective communicator. A well-crafted resume can help you effectively show these qualities. We’ll help you figure out what to include in your resume, how to format it, and tips for writing an effective profile summary. Whether you’re seasoned or just starting out in your career, this guide will help you build a resume that showcases your skills and experience and gets you noticed by potential employers.

  • Entry-Level
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior-Level
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1. Create a profile by summarizing your nursing home nurse qualifications

Write a paragraph summary of your top qualifications at the top of your resume (just under the contact header). This paragraph should briefly describe your relevant experience. It’s also a great place to mention your communication style or other “soft skills.” Including a profile section gets the hiring manager’s attention first and foremost on your unique professional strengths.

Profile Example #1


Compassionate Registered Nurse with 5+ years of experience at a memory care center in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Continually build knowledge and understanding of each patient’s baseline status, and healthcare needs to provide optimal long-term care.

Profile Example #2


Collaborative Registered Nurse with 5+ years of experience at a rehabilitation center. Skilled communicator who builds positive relationships with diverse team members and other healthcare professionals. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.

2. Create a powerful list of your nursing home nurse experience

When describing your previous nursing jobs, focus on your achievements, such as building long-term relationships with patients and family members. Here are some tips to help you capture your accomplishments effectively:

  • Be concise: Keep your accomplishments brief and to the point. Use bullet points to make them easy to read and scan.
  • Focus on the impact: Highlight the impact you had on the organization.
  • Quantify your achievements: Use relevant numbers and statistics to quantify your achievements.
  • Tailor your accomplishments to the job: Make sure your achievements are relevant to the job you’re applying for. Focus on accomplishments that demonstrate the skills and experience required for the position.
  • Use action verbs: Utilize strong action verbs to describe your accomplishments.

Demonstrate how you added value to your previous organization and how you will for your potential employer.

Professional Experience Example #1


Registered Nurse, ZDM Skilled Nursing Facility, Miami, FL | September 2017 to Present

  • Foster and build positive long-term relationships with patients and family members
  • Monitor and provide care to patients with diagnoses including vascular dementia, alcohol-induced dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease
  • Ensure each patient’s safety and security at all times
  • Watch for sudden changes in mental status, helping detect ailments such as aspiration pneumonia, urinary tract infections, acute kidney injury (AKI), hypernatremia, and other electrolyte abnormalities
  • Balance and prioritize various daily tasks based on firm grasp of each patient assignment

Professional Experience Example #2


Registered Nurse, JCS Rehabilitation Center, Detroit, MI | September 2017 to Present

  • Monitor and provide care to patients during extended recovery from hospitalization
  • Quickly determine when patients are decompensating and may require return to acute care
  • Actively collaborate with CNAs, physical therapists, and occupational therapists
  • Balance and prioritize various daily tasks based on firm grasp of each patient assignment

3. Include nursing home nurse-related education and certifications

To become a nursing home nurse, you must first become a registered nurse (RN) by earning an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) from an accredited nursing program. You also must pass the NCLEX-RN exam for licensure.

While certifications are not usually required to work as a nursing home nurse, they can help you advance your career and demonstrate your expertise. Some of the most common certifications for nurses include the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) certification offered by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) and the Certified Gerontological Nurse (GN-BC) certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

These are just a few examples of certifications that can be useful for a nursing home nurse to have. It’s important to research the specific requirements in your area to determine which certifications would be most beneficial.

Education

Template

  • [Degree Name]
  • [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation]

Example

  • Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN)
  • Wayne County Community College, Detroit, MI

Certifications

Template

  • [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization] | [Completion Year]

Example

  • Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN), the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) | 2020

4. List key nursing home nurse skills and proficiencies

For a better nursing home nurse resume, include a “Key Skills” section. This section gives hiring managers a quick overview of the expertise and value you offer. It also helps your resume perform better in applicant tracking systems (ATS) scans. Consider including any of the terms below:

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Cross-functional collaboration Evaluation
Intravenous (IV) medication Patient and family relations
Patient care Patient health assessment
Patient monitoring Task prioritization
Team collaboration Tracheostomy care
Vital signs monitoring Wound dressing

How To Pick the Best Nursing Home Nurse Resume Template

When choosing a nursing resume template, it’s important to keep the following things in mind:

  • Clarity: Your template should be clear and concise. Avoid those that are cluttered or difficult to read.
  • Customization: Pick a template that can be easily customized to fit your needs. Look for templates that allow you to change the font, color scheme, and layout.
  • Professionalism: Select a template that looks professional and is easy to read. Don’t use those that are too flashy or difficult to navigate.

When choosing a nursing resume template, it’s important to remember the content of your resume is more important than the design. A well-written resume with relevant experience and qualifications will be more effective than a poorly written resume with an eye-catching design.

Nursing Home Nurse Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

  • Example #1
  • Example #2
  • Example #3

John Bergsen
123 W Adams Ave, Detroit, MI 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]

Profile

Collaborative Registered Nurse with 5+ years of experience at a rehabilitation center. Skilled communicator who builds positive relationships with diverse team members and other healthcare professionals. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.

Professional Experience

Registered Nurse, JCS Rehabilitation Center, Detroit, MI | September 2017 to Present

  • Monitor and provide care to patients during extended recovery from hospitalization
  • Quickly determine when patients are decompensating and may require return to acute care
  • Actively collaborate with CNAs, physical therapists, and occupational therapists
  • Balance and prioritize various daily tasks based on firm grasp of each patient assignment

Certified Nursing Assistant, MLQ Hospital, Detroit, MI | July 2015 to August 2017

  • Strong early experience in team collaboration and patient relations in an acute care setting

Education

Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN)
Wayne County Community College, Detroit, MI 

Language

  • Fluency in Spanish

Key Skills

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Patient & Family Relations
  • Patient Care & Monitoring
  • Task Prioritization
  • Wound Dressing & Evaluation

Frequently Asked Questions: Nursing Home Nurse Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for nursing home nurse resumes?-

It’s easy to get stuck when writing the Experience section of your resume. You may run out of action verbs to describe your work. We put together this list of strong resume verbs for a nursing home nurse:

Action Verbs
Alert Assess
Assist Collaborate
Coordinate De-escalate
Detect Determine
Develop Discern
Ensure Evaluate
Foster Monitor
Prioritize Provide
Redirect Relay
Support Verify
How do you align your resume with a nursing home nurse job posting?-

For each job in your Experience section, consider adding a facility description. You can place this description in brackets right next to or below the facility name. It also helps to match formatting. For instance, if you’ve italicized the facility name, do so with the description too.

Facility descriptions let you show any similarities between your past employers and the organization you’re now pursuing. Working these details into your descriptions can make your resume more inclusive and relevant to the job.

What is the best nursing home nurse resume format?-

The combination resume format is considered the best choice for nursing resumes. This format combines the best features of the chronological and functional resume formats. It lists your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job and working backward. Additionally, it highlights your most relevant skills and achievements, making it easier for recruiters to identify your qualifications quickly.

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Expert Advice
Include a cover letter with your resume

Once you’re done with your resume, finalize your application by sending your prospective employer a cover letter as well. This is a great opportunity to speak directly to the hiring manager and make a case for why you’re the best candidate for the job.

Remember, a cover should be fairly succinct. Try not to exceed more than 400 words — 250 to 300 is ideal. For more information and ideas, view our nursing cover letter examples.

Jacob Meade Headshot

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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