How To Write a Travel Nurse Resume

To write a good travel nurse resume, show you can provide quality patient care in various unfamiliar and multicultural work settings. You should also demonstrate your expertise in teamwork and emergencies. The tips below will help you capture this skill in each section of your resume so it gets you interviews for your next travel nurse position.

  • Entry-Level
  • Mid-career
  • Senior-Level
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1. Summarize your travel nurse qualifications in a dynamic profile

Since travel nurses must continually change locations and assignments, the job requires you to be versatile and adaptable. Use the resume profile to describe how you’ve gained these traits, and you’ll position yourself as a fit for the role.

For instance, maybe you recently excelled as a float pool nurse, building relationships with staff in other hospital units. Or you may have rare international experience or foreign language fluency. Also, consider describing how you’ve built your own core practice and time management system, and it lets you move quickly and effectively in many health care settings. With details like these in your profile, you can show your flexibility and make a solid first impression on hiring managers.

Profile Example


Patient-focused registered nurse with over five years of hospital experience. Skilled at balancing and prioritizing tasks in a dynamic, fast-paced health care setting. Quickly adapt to new work settings and challenges based on recent experience as a float pool nurse. Committed to continuous learning.

2. Create a powerful list of your travel nurse experience

View the Experience section as a chance to give examples of your adapting to new health care roles and assignments. When hiring managers see examples of your flexibility as a nurse professional, they can more easily envision you as a great travel nurse for their agency.

Naturally, if you’ve already worked as a travel nurse, that should be your experience section’s primary focus. But you can also show the range and relevance of your other nursing experience by giving details on any:

  • Float pool nurse roles
  • Shifts you’ve picked up at other hospital floors or units
  • Your work in an emergency department or other fast-changing environment

You can leverage your early, non-nursing experience by showing how it helped you build a general sense of service, teamwork, or adaptability. Make sure each past job you cite shows your mindset and the world-class work ethic of an effective travel nurse.

Experience Example


Emergency Department Nurse, Jackson Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD | August 2019 to September 2021

  • Assessed patients on admission to determine their physical and psychological health and gather a social history
  • Worked with teams of up to seven practitioners to generate an emergency care plan and communicate the details at handover meetings
  • Picked up shifts on other floors, including gastrointestinal, cardiac, and pulmonary

3. Include your travel nurse-related education and certifications

Use the education and certifications sections to show you have a strong knowledge base for the role of a travel nurse. If your direct nursing experience is limited, list relevant courses or topics you explored in college. Also, if you did any study abroad or exchange programs, you can cite those to show your sense of travel and adaptability further.

Below are templates and examples to help you format your education and certification details. Note that optional template areas appear in [brackets].

Education

Template

  • Degree Name — [Major], School Name, City, ST | [Year]
  • [Select Coursework] | [Study Abroad Program]

Example

  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Semester Study Abroad Program: Institute for the International Education of Students, Barcelona, Spain

Certifications

Template

  • Certification Name or Title, [Awarding Organization] | [Year]
  • [Description]

Example

  • Registered Nurse, MN Board of Nursing | [2016]

4. Make a list of your travel nurse-related skills and proficiencies

Add a key skills section to show how you can provide quality care, regardless of the facility or location. This section should cover the key treatments, medications, and patient groups you have experience with. It should also cover your broader “soft skills” like teamwork or cultural awareness. This helps show you can collaborate and adapt to the ever-changing role of a travel nurse.

Below are some common skills to consider for this section of your resume.

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Acute care Cross-discipline coordination
Electronic health records (EHR) Health care documentation
Health care team collaboration Medication administration
Multicultural awareness and sensitivity Patient and family relations
Patient advocacy and education Patient health assessment
Patient safety and security Patient-centered care
Process streamlining Task prioritization
Time management Vital signs monitoring

How To Pick the Best Travel Nurse Resume Template

As with most vocations, travel nurses should use a resume template that’s clear and straightforward. Opt for a visual design that lets the hiring manager quickly review your best career details. Select a traditional resume font, and avoid any template with a colorful or elaborate design. Also, ensure the template complies with applicant tracking systems (ATS) used by employers to screen resumes.

Travel Nurse Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

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

Joseph Corbin
Philadelphia, PA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/example

Profile

Collaborative travel nurse with strong recent nursing home experience. Build positive, productive relationships with other health care team members. Efficient and reliable, drawing on strong prioritization skills to deliver consistent care quality to residents with varying medical needs. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.

Key Skills

  • Cross-discipline coordination
  • Health care documentation
  • Health care team collaboration
  • Medication administration
  • Nursing home operations
  • Patient and family relations
  • Patient advocacy
  • Patient health assessment
  • Patient safety and security
  • Process streamlining
  • Task prioritization
  • Time management
  • Vital signs monitoring

Professional Experience

Travel Nurse, BRQ Med Services | March 2022 to Present

Current Assignment: ZDM Skilled Nursing Facility, Philadelphia, PA (December 2022 to Present)

  • Monitor and provide care to patients with diagnoses including vascular dementia, alcohol-induced dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease
  • 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
  • Praised for quickly learning procedures and collaborating with other nurses and health care providers
  • Help ensure patients’ safety and security

Previous assignments:

  • OTO Nursing Home, Sioux Falls, SD (July 2022 to December 2022)
  • FPV Skilled Nursing, Columbus, OH (March 2022 to July 2022)

Education

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Semester Study Abroad Program: Institute for the International Education of Students, Barcelona, Spain

  • Learned and adapted to a different city, culture, language, and currency

Languages

Fluency in Spanish | Proficiency in Italian

Frequently Asked Questions: Travel Nurse Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for travel nurse resumes? -

One of the best ways to enhance your resume is by starting each bullet point with a strong action verb. Dynamic verbs help you keep the hiring manager’s attention and show the varied nature of your experience. The following list can create a good mix of action verbs for your travel nurse resume:

Action Verbs
Adapted Adjusted
Administered Collaborated
Coordinated Created
Delivered Documented
Evaluated Fostered
Improved Modified
Monitored Prioritized
Provided Reinforced
Relayed Reported
Responded Streamlined
Strengthened Supported
Updated
How do you align your travel nurse resume with a job posting?-

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for registered nurses will increase by about 1% between 2021 and 2031. This growth rate is roughly the same as the average for all U.S. vocations.

You can get more interviews in this growing field if you tailor your resume for each travel nurse application. Start by looking at the job post text and highlighting words or phrases that are repeated or emphasized. Compare these highlighted phrases against the language you’re using in your resume, particularly the profile and key skills sections. Then, look for ways to align your resume language with the job post while not copying phrases or misrepresenting your background.

For example, if the staffing agency seeks nurses with a strong collaborative streak, you may want to call out that aspect of your experience. Or say the job would include assignments in many non-English speaking communities. Highlight your foreign language skills in your profile and as a separate section farther down the document. With adjustments like these, you can make your resume more relevant to each job opportunity.

What is the best travel nurse resume format? -

In nearly all cases, use a combination (or hybrid) resume because it’s easiest for hiring managers to learn about your pertinent skills and experience. It’s also simplest for you to align with your job goals.

With the combination format, you showcase your most relevant skills and background in your experience or work history section and an intro section. (This combination of work history and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro should usually include a profile summary and key skills section, but you may also add a career highlights or awards section. By carefully choosing the details for these intro sections, you can (a) position yourself for your target job and (b) give hiring managers a clear, quick view of what you offer.

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Expert Advice
Include a cover letter with your resume

To increase your chances of an interview, write and submit a strong cover letter. The key to an effective letter is customizing it based on each job opening. Read our Nursing cover letter guide to learn how. See our Entry-Level Nurse and Health Care cover letter guides for other related examples.

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Frank Hackett

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)

Frank Hackett is a professional resume writer and career consultant with over eight years of experience. As the lead editor at a boutique career consulting firm, Frank developed an innovative approach to resume writing that empowers job seekers to tell their professional stories. His approach involves creating accomplishment-driven documents that balance keyword optimization with personal branding. Frank is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PAWRCC).

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