Nursing Skills to List on Your Resume [20+ Examples]

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Table of contents

What skills should you list on a nursing resume?
20+ nursing skills [examples to put on your resume]
How to add nursing skills to your resume
More skills resources
Nursing skills — key takeaways

From Florence Nightingale in the 1850s to today's modern clinics, nurses are the heart of the medical world.

How do nurses keep the blood pumping? Through their extensive training, dedication and diverse set of nursing skills, they ensure patients receive the best care possible.

Nursing skills cover a range of abilities, from soft skills like communication and empathy to hard skills like IV insertion and patient assessment. These skills come in handy when making a resume to send to employers.

Here's what we'll cover:

What we mean by nursing skills.
Examples of nursing skills in action.
How to add these skills to your resume.
Other skill sets you might want on your resume.

Are you updating your nursing resume? Consider using a AI resume builder. These tools streamline the resume creation process and offer a wide range of nursing skills examples that you can effortlessly incorporate with just a click.

What skills should you list on a nursing resume?

For nurses, skills are your professional foundation — think of them as the vital signs of your resume.

Skills make your nursing resume immeasurably better by highlighting your ability to provide exceptional patient care, collaborate with healthcare teams and handle the complexities of the medical field.

Common skills on nursing resumes include patient care, communication, critical thinking, technical proficiency and empathy. These high-level skills ensure you can deliver top-notch care and effectively interact with patients and colleagues alike.

Finally, nursing skills are helpful in several professions, including healthcare administration, clinical research and medical sales. So, if you ever decide to change careers, you will have no shortage of transferable skills.

Next, we'll give you more details on which skills to include in your resume.

20+ nursing skills [examples to put on your resume]

Nursing skills range from hard skills like IV insertion and patient assessment to soft skills like communication and empathy. Great nurses possess plenty of both, ensuring they can handle the technical aspects of care while connecting with patients on a personal level.

Let's go a bit deeper, checking out various skill categories.

Patient care

Patient care is a cornerstone of nursing. Why? Because providing compassionate, effective care is the heart of what nurses do. Here are a few skills that fall into this category:

Administering medications
Wound care
Monitoring vital signs
Assisting with daily living activities

Communication skills

Without communication skills, nurses couldn't connect with patients, collaborate with colleagues or educate families. That's why it's one of the most important skill sets nurses need to master. Here are a few key examples:

Active listening
Patient education
Clear documentation
Conflict resolution

Technical skills

Technical skills are just as important as the soft skills we've discussed so far. These abilities prove you have what it takes to do the job. Here are a few nursing technical skills to consider adding to your resume:

IV insertion
Catheterization
EKG interpretation
Phlebotomy

Technology

It's 2024, and your computer skills can't take the backseat. Using software effectively and managing electronic health records is nearly as important as making patients feel comfortable. Here are a few technology skills to put on your resume:

Electronic health record (EHR) management
Telehealth services
Medical billing software
Data entry

Administrative skills

In the medical field, paperwork never ends, so you better get good at dealing with it. Efficient administrative skills ensure smooth operations and compliance with regulations. Here are some administrative skills you might find on a nursing resume:

Scheduling
Medical coding
Insurance processing
Recordkeeping

Management skills

You don't need "manager" in your title to be a boss. In fact, management skills are crucial for ensuring high-quality patient care and team efficiency. Here are a handful of examples:

Team coordination
Conflict resolution
Training and mentoring
Time management

How to add nursing skills to your resume

Alright, it's time to put these skills to good use and elevate your resume.

Your resume's strength lies in how well you showcase your skills. Below, we'll guide you through the process, step by step.

Step 1

Highlight nursing skills in the job post

Have you ever underlined parts of a job description?

The truth is, a job post is like a patient's chart. It tells you exactly what you need to address on your resume.

Why is this so important? Gone are the days when you sent the same resume to every employer.

Instead, you need to tailor your resume. Nearly 99% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS). These software programs filter for specific keywords. Resumes that don't include the right keywords get ignored.

You can get around this system by reading the job post very carefully and highlighting the skills. Each skill would make a valuable addition to your resume.

Here's an example of a job listing with the nursing skills in bold:

We are seeking a dedicated registered nurse to join our team. The ideal candidate will have:

Experience in patient assessment, IV insertion and wound care.
Strong communication skills and the ability to work well in a team are essential.
Familiarity with electronic health record (EHR) management and telehealth services is a plus.

In step two, we'll show you how to build out your resume with your new skills list.

Pro tip

Keep a master list of your skills and experiences. For each job application, try to find these skills in the job description. You might find the listing uses slightly different language to describe one of your skills, and that's okay. Match their wording on your resume.

Step 2

Create a skills section

Let's start with the obvious — you should highlight your skills in a skills section.

Take the skills you found in the job ad and use them as the backbone of your resume.

Here's what a skills section might look like when it lines up with the job description above:

Patient assessment
IV insertion
Wound care
Communication skills
Electronic Health Record (EHR) management
Telehealth services

Make sure you cover a range of skills. You don't want them weighted too much in one direction — balance technical skills with soft skills to show you're a well-rounded candidate.

Pro tip

If you're changing careers or just starting out, think about using a functional resume format. This approach lets you highlight your abilities and strengths more prominently.

Step 3

Sprinkle skills throughout the rest of your resume

Your resume is made to highlight skills, much like a nurse's report highlights patient progress.

Beyond your skills section, your professional summary, resume objective and work history are perfect forums to champion your strengths.

Let's start with your professional summary or objective statement. This is where you summarize or lay out your career goals as succinctly as possible. One catch — you don't have much space, so you should only include your most relevant skills here.

Here's a summary with the nursing skills from the job listing in bold:

Dedicated registered nurse with over five years of experience in patient assessment, IV insertion and wound care. Adept at providing exceptional care and fostering strong communication skills with patients and healthcare teams. Proficient in electronic health record (EHR) management and experienced in telehealth services.

Committed to delivering top-notch patient care and improving healthcare outcomes.

Next, take a close look at your work history. Every bullet point is a chance to add one more skill. Here's what a work experience entry looks like with the skills from the job ad:

Registered Nurse
XYZ Hospital
January 2019–Current

Conduct thorough patient assessments and develop individualized care plans.
Perform IV insertions and manage wound care for a diverse patient population.
Utilize strong communication skills to educate patients and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams.
Manage patient information using electronic health records (EHR) systems.
Provide remote patient care through telehealth services, ensuring continuity of care.

Pro tip

Level up your education section by including relevant skills you acquired during your studies. For example, mention specific clinical skills, technological proficiencies or any certifications obtained.

Step 4

Add skills to your cover letter

Finally, don't forget your cover letter.

Even when not required, a nursing cover letter is one last chance to tout your skills.

Cover letters are great for providing context to your experiences, elaborating on specific skills mentioned in your resume and demonstrating your enthusiasm for the position.

They also give you space to tell stories that illustrate the specific skills you'd like to highlight for the employer you're targeting.

Looking for more guidance? Check out our cover letter examples.

Next we will share some additional skills guides to help you in your job hunt.

More skills resources

Haven't found what you're looking for? Maybe one of our other skills guides can help:

Nursing skills — key takeaways

Tailor your resume to each job
Customize your resume by highlighting the specific skills mentioned in the job description. This helps you pass through the ATS and get your resume seen by recruiters.
Balance hard and soft skills
The best resumes include a mix of technical skills like IV insertion and wound care alongside soft skills like communication and empathy.
Leverage every section of your resume
Use your professional summary, work history and even your education section to highlight relevant skills and emphasize your strengths and expertise.
Use your cover letter to tout your skills
In your cover letter, provide context to your experiences and elaborate on specific skills mentioned in your resume. Highlight the skills that make you a perfect fit for the position.

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Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years' experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.