The best nursing skills for a resume are those specific to the nursing role you’re applying for. For example, an ICU nurse should highlight skills such as advanced life support, critical care expertise, and proficiency in using ventilators. A pediatric nurse, in turn, should emphasize child health assessments, developmental milestone monitoring, and age-appropriate medication administration. To effectively describe these on a resume, list your most relevant skills in a separate “Skills” section. In the work experience section, use action verbs and numbers to illustrate how you applied your skills in your day-to-day work. Be specific and detailed about your actions and achievements to clearly demonstrate your expertise.
Listing skills that any healthcare professional can claim won’t impress employers. What they crave are specific details showcasing how you applied specialized skills for the exact nursing role you’re applying for.
This guide goes beyond a nursing skills list. We’ll also walk you through how to describe your use of nursing skills in a hospital or clinical setting to deliver exceptional patient care. This, after all, is how you prove your nursing expertise on a resume and land an interview!
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What Are Nursing Skills?
Nursing skills encompass a broad range of clinical knowledge, technical proficiency, and interpersonal abilities, all aimed at providing effective and compassionate patient care.
Here’s what sets nursing skills apart from other types of healthcare skills:
- Holistic care: nurses go beyond medical treatment to provide emotional support, promote well-being, and educate patients for self-care.
- Patient focus: the responsibilities of a nurse revolve around helping patients through bedside care, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, and assisting with daily activities.
- Collaboration: nurses work closely with doctors, therapists, and other healthcare professionals to ensure a coordinated care plan.
Some of those skills are common across most healthcare professionals. But there are certain skills particularly relevant for nurses: all those skills that illustrate the patient-centered nature of your work.
Are the best nursing skills for a resume the same for all types of nurses?
The best nursing skills for a resume depend on the specific nursing position you’re applying for.
Here’s what the best skills to highlight depend on:
- Specialty: different nursing specialties, like pediatrics, geriatrics, or critical care, have unique patient populations with specific needs. Highlight skills and experience relevant to that population (e.g., child development for pediatrics).
- Technical expertise: each nursing position involves specific procedures, equipment, or medications. Prioritize the technical skills directly related to the job’s responsibilities.
- Job description: focus on the skills that the hospital or clinic is emphasizing in their job description.
Some resume skills, like communication and critical thinking, are essential for all nurses.
However, specialized roles require specific skills relevant to that field.
A candidate applying for an emergency room (ER) nurse position, for instance, would prioritize showcasing expertise in using defibrillators and interpreting EKGs to manage cardiac arrest situations. Conversely, a pediatric nurse might emphasize skills in monitoring growth and development milestones and administering age-appropriate medications.
The Best Nursing Skills for a Resume
Here are the best nursing skills for a resume:
- Clinical proficiency
- Patient care
- Medical assessments
- Electronic health records (EHR) systems
- Medication management
- Medical interventions
- Pediatric care
- Geriatric care
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Time management
- Empathy
- Foreign language skills
These skills are relevant to most nurses, but don’t feel tempted to copy and paste those into your resume and call it a day.
Always adjust your resume to match the requirements of the position. Double-check the job description to identify the most sought-after skills and make your resume prove that you have them.
If you want to find more skills beyond what’s listed, you can use Rezi AI Skills Explorer to get a list of relevant nursing skills. Here’s how it works:
- Pick a category of skills you’re after (e.g., hard skills, technical skills, or soft skills).
- Enter your industry or field of skills (e.g., nursing, hospital, medicine, and so forth—the more you list, the more suggestions you’ll get).
- Click “enter.”
And that’s it! You can try it out for free by signing up here.
Below, I’ll go into more detail about how to showcase each type of nursing skill most effectively.
1. Clinical proficiency
Clinical proficiency refers to a nurse's expertise in performing medical tasks and procedures accurately and efficiently.
Skills related to clinical proficiency include:
- Evidence-based practice implementation
- Aseptic technique
- Advanced life support skills
Example of clinical proficiency described on a nursing resume:
Maintained strict aseptic technique during all sterile procedures to prevent infections.
2. Patient care
Nurses are expected to treat, support, and care for their patients. Show that you can provide physical and emotional support, assist patients in daily activities, and develop individual care plans.
Skills related to patient care include:
- Physical and emotional well-being promotion
- Activities of daily living (ADLs) assistance
- Individualized care plan development
Example of patient care skills on a nursing resume:
Ensured holistic patient care through continuous assessment and adjustment of care plans.
3. Medical assessments
Medical assessments mean conducting thorough examinations, reviewing medical histories, and identifying patient needs and risks.
Skills related to medical assessments include:
- Comprehensive physical examinations
- Patient interview and medical record review
- Patient needs and risk identification
Example of how to show medical assessments skills on a resume:
Identified patient needs and potential risks through detailed assessments and timely interventions.
4. Electronic health records (EHR) systems
EHR systems are an electronic software used for documenting, retrieving, and interpreting patient information securely and efficiently.
Skills related to EHR systems include:
- Patient Documentation
- Accurate and efficient patient care documentation
- Patient information retrieval and interpretation
- Patient information confidentiality
Example of EHR systems proficiency shown on a resume:
Retrieved and interpreted patient information from EHR systems to support informed clinical decision-making.
5. Medication management
All nurses must be capable of administering and managing medications safely and accurately. Nurses should also be able to educate patients on medication use.
Skills related to medication management include:
- Medication administration
- Medication reconciliation
- Patient medication education
Example of medication management skills presented on a resume:
Conducted thorough medication reconciliation to verify accuracy and prevent adverse drug interactions.
6. Medical interventions
Medical interventions include performing specific medical procedures. Examples include wound care, emergency response, and phlebotomy.
Skills related to medical interventions include:
- Dressing changes, debridement
- CPR, ACLS (if certified)
- Blood draws, specimen handling
Example of how to describe medical interventions skills on a resume:
Performed phlebotomy with precision, ensuring accurate blood draws and proper specimen handling.
7. Pediatric care
Pediatric care involves providing specialized healthcare to children. You’ll also monitor developmental milestones and offer age-appropriate education.
Skills related to pediatric care include:
- Child health assessments
- Developmental milestone monitoring
- Age-appropriate care and education for children and families
Example of how to write about pediatric care skills on a resume:
Conducted comprehensive child health assessments to monitor growth and development.
8. Geriatric care
Geriatric care focuses on addressing the individual healthcare needs of elderly patients, including mobility assistance and infection prevention.
Skills related to geriatric care include:
- Age-specific care plan implementation
- Mobility and ADL assistance
- Infection prevention and control in geriatric care settings
Example of geriatric care skills described on a resume:
Implemented age-specific care plans to help address the needs of geriatric patients.
9. Communication
This is where we enter the soft skills’ territory. And, while many soft or “people” skills are vital for nurses, communication might just be the most important one. Knowing how to convey information succinctly to patients, parents, and colleagues is crucial.
Nurse-specific skills related to communication include:
- Active patient listening
- Nonverbal communication
- Presentation
- Written communication
Example of communication skills on a nursing resume:
Mediated conflicts between patients and healthcare providers to ensure positive patient experiences.
10. Critical thinking
Show employers that you can apply critical thinking to analyze patient data, make sound clinical judgments, and develop solutions based on evidence and assessment.
Skills related to critical thinking for nurses include:
- Patient data analysis for problem and complication identification
- Sound clinical judgment based on assessment and evidence
- Patient care challenge solution development and implementation
Example of critical thinking skills described on a resume for a nurse:
Investigated root causes of patient symptoms through detailed analysis and provided targeted care recommendations.
11. Time management
Being a nurse with strong, proven time management skills can help you stand out. Clarify that you can effectively prioritize tasks, manage multiple responsibilities, and maintain an organized work space.
Skills related to time management for nurses include:
- Task prioritization for timely patient care completion
- Multitasking in a fast-paced environment
- Organized work area for patient safety and efficiency
Example of how to showcase time management on a nursing resume:
Efficiently coordinated patient schedules to minimize wait times and improve overall patient satisfaction.
12. Empathy
Hospitals and clinics can be stressful environments. Knowing how to empathize with patients and show compassion helps build trust and improve their experience, which can help foster positive treatment outcomes.
Skills related to empathy for nurses include:
- Compassionate care with emotional well-being consideration
- Stress reduction techniques
- Family support
Example of how to describe empathy on a nursing resume:
Advocated for patients' needs, ensuring their voices were heard and acknowledged throughout the entire care process.
The Best Nursing Skills for a Resume Based on Career Level
In short:
- Entry-level nurses should focus on foundational clinical skills and patient care. If you’re writing a resume with no professional experience, double down on your academic background, relevant projects, and qualifications.
- Mid-level nurses build on these with more specialized knowledge and leadership abilities.
- Senior-level nurses emphasize advanced clinical expertise, as well as management, and mentorship.
If you have any further licenses or certifications to mention that help demonstrate your knowledge, include those too.
However, steer away from adding fluff to try and make your resume look more complete—this is a common resume mistake that new grad nurses tend to make. Your resume should be relevant and speak directly to the organization.
Entry-level nurse skills
Entry-level nurse skills are those essential abilities that newly graduated nurses or nurses with minimal experience must possess to provide basic patient care and support. Most of such skills are learned through formal nursing education and training.
- Basic clinical skills: proficiency in taking vital signs, administering injections, and performing basic wound care.
- Patient care: assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs), ensuring patient comfort and hygiene.
- Medication administration: safely and accurately administering medications under supervision.
- Electronic health records (EHR) systems: basic proficiency in using EHR software for documenting patient information.
- Communication: clear verbal and written communication with patients and healthcare teams.
- Empathy and compassion: providing emotional support and understanding to patients.
- Time management: prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively.
- Patient education: teaching patients about their conditions, treatments, and self-care practices.
- Teamwork: collaborating with other healthcare professionals.
- Infection control: adhering to protocols to prevent the spread of infections.
Mid-level nurse skills
Mid-level nurse skills are those intermediate (and advanced) abilities that nurses with more than 3 years of professional experience typically possess. These skills include specialized clinical knowledge, leadership, and the ability to handle more complex patient care situations.
- Advanced clinical skills: proficiency in specialized procedures and treatments relevant to specific medical units (e.g., ICU, ER).
- Patient assessment: conducting detailed assessments and developing individualized care plans.
- Leadership skills: leading nursing teams, delegating tasks, and mentoring junior nurses.
- Critical thinking: analyzing complex patient data and making informed clinical decisions.
- Advanced medication management: managing and administering complex medication regimens.
- Specialized EHR skills: advanced use of EHR systems for documentation and data analysis.
- Patient advocacy: acting as a liaison between patients and the healthcare system to ensure optimal care.
- Educational roles: providing patient and family education, as well as training new nurses and students.
- Emergency response: handling medical emergencies with advanced life support skills.
- Quality improvement: participating in initiatives to improve patient care quality and safety.
Senior nurse skills
Senior-level nurse skills are those highly advanced abilities and extensive expertise that nurses with significant experience and often advanced degrees possess. These skills include top-level clinical knowledge, executive leadership, strategic planning, and a strong focus on mentorship and healthcare improvement.
- Advanced clinical expertise: mastery in specialized areas such as oncology, cardiology, or critical care.
- Change management: implementing strategic changes within the healthcare system.
- Nursing management: overseeing nursing departments, managing budgets, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
- Strategic leadership: developing and implementing policies and procedures to improve patient care and operational efficiency.
- Mentorship: guiding and mentoring mid-level and entry-level nurses, fostering professional development.
- Research initiatives: leading research initiatives and projects, and then applying findings to improve clinical practices.
- Advanced critical thinking: solving complex patient care challenges and making high-stakes decisions.
- Policy development: contributing to healthcare policy and advocating for changes to improve patient outcomes.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration: working with healthcare executives and other departments to improve healthcare delivery.
- Advanced patient advocacy: championing patient rights and ensuring high standards of care across the organization.
- Healthcare innovation: implementing new technologies and innovative practices to advance nursing care.
If you're a senior or a lead nurse, proper leadership is one of the most important aspects of your day-to-day. To hone your leadership skills and learn more about your innate style of leadership, give this guide a read: Leadership Styles: How to Know Which One's Good for You
How to Describe Nursing Skills On a Resume
Of course, your resume will feature a dedicated “Skills” section with all your key competencies listed. But such a list in itself might be vague and not 100% convincing. The most effective way to describe nursing skills on a resume is by showcasing specific healthcare achievements. Use clear, concise action verbs and provide tangible examples to highlight the impact of your skills on patient outcomes, such as improved patient satisfaction.
You should also specify nursing responsibilities that you carried out to make it clear that you know what you’re doing.
Below, I’ll share how to describe nursing skills for different resume sections.
Or, if you want to check out specific resume examples for different nursing job positions, check out our library of resume examples here.
Summary section
Present your nursing skills in the summary section by immediately mentioning your top nursing skills, qualifications, and achievements. If you have any particular career highlights that demonstrate your skills, now’s the time to bring them up.
Example of a nursing resume summary with a strong focus on key skills:
Dedicated pediatric nurse with a 5+ year proven track record in child health assessments and patient education, ensuring optimal developmental milestone monitoring.
Objective section
You can still emphasize nursing abilities, qualifications, and experiences in the resume objective section. Tailor your career goals to the job description and mention key nursing competencies that you’re determined to apply to benefit the healthcare facility and its patients.
Example of how to describe skills in a nursing resume objective section:
Detail-oriented OR Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and certification in sterile processing. Eager to leverage strong surgical asepsis and communication skills in a fast-paced environment to ensure smooth operating room procedures.
Work experience section
Detail your current and previous nursing or healthcare roles in the work experience section. Focus on how you applied specific nursing skills to make a positive impact on patients and the hospital. Show your abilities through healthcare responsibilities and results you’ve been capable of producing.
Example of a skills-focused work history entry from a nursing resume:
Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
ABC Hospital, City, State
June 2018 – Present
• Led patient care for a 20-bed ICU, utilizing advanced life support techniques and critical patient assessments, resulting in a 20% increase in patient recovery rates.
• Performed emergency interventions, including CPR, intubation, and administration of life-saving medications.
• Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to develop and implement individualized care plans, which led to a reduction in patient complications by 20%.
• Trained and mentored 10 new nursing staff on ICU protocols and procedures.
• Managed patient records and documentation, ensuring 100% accuracy and compliance with hospital policies and regulatory standards, leading to zero documentation-related errors in audits.
Education section
All formal academic qualifications belong in the education section. To emphasize nursing skills, mention any educational accomplishments related to healthcare and medicine. If you have years of relevant experience under your belt, you can limit this section to just the degree, school name, and graduation year. If you’re fresh out of nursing school, expand this section, like in the example below.
Example of an education section highlighting relevant nursing skills:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing | University of State | May 2023
Relevant Coursework: Advanced Clinical Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Healthcare Informatics, Pharmacology, Medical-Surgical Nursing
Graduated with honors, GPA: 3.8/4.0
Additional sections
Here are the most common additional sections to consider including to reiterate your level of nursing skills:
- Certifications: highlight relevant certifications to showcase your specialized knowledge and commitment to maintaining up-to-date clinical skills. Certifications such as ACLS, PALS, and wound care demonstrate your healthcare knowledge and a dedication to professional development.
- Projects: detail specific projects to illustrate your ability as a nurse to contribute to healthcare improvements. Projects might include quality improvement initiatives, research studies, or development of patient education programs.
- Extracurricular activities: focus on extracurricular activities that demonstrate leadership, teamwork, and community involvement. Participation in nursing associations, student nursing organizations, or healthcare-related clubs can highlight your ability to take the initiative, which is a beneficial skill to have as a nurse.
- Volunteering: showcase your compassionate nature through your community service and volunteering experience. Volunteering in clinics, hospitals, or health programs shows your dedication to helping others. Make it clear that you have the soft skills and personal qualities to excel as a nurse.
Skills section
Directly state your top nursing skills using specific healthcare terminology. Group related skills together for clarity.
Example:
Clinical skills: patient care, medical procedures, advanced life support
Medication management: medication administration, reconciliation, patient education
EHR Systems: patient documentation, information retrieval, confidentiality compliance
Summary of the Main Points
Let’s recap all the key info about putting nursing skills on a resume:
- The best nursing skills for a resume are those tailored toward the particular nursing role you’re applying for.
- Highlight your nursing expertise, not just by listing skills in the skills section, but by detailing how you successfully applied them in a clinical setting.
- You can also list qualifications and certifications to reinforce your credentials in a particular nursing field.
- Prioritize the skills that are most relevant to your target nursing role and job description.
Above all, make it clear that you can address the specific needs of the hospital or clinic you’re targeting.
FAQ
What nursing skills do I put on a resume for the operating room?
Focus on your proficiency in perioperative care, including preoperative and postoperative patient assessment and preparation. Highlight your expertise in surgical asepsis, sterilization techniques, and the use of surgical instruments. Include your ability to assist surgeons during procedures, manage anesthesia monitoring, and handle surgical emergencies. Showcase your skills in patient advocacy, effective communication with surgical teams, and adherence to safety protocols and regulatory standards. You can also mention any specialized training or certifications, such as CNOR (Certified Perioperative Nurse), to prove your abilities.
What skills to highlight on a nursing student resume?
On a nursing student resume, highlight skills such as patient care, clinical knowledge, and proficiency in medical software. Emphasize strong communication and teamwork abilities, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. To show these skills on a resume, focus on listing relevant qualifications, certifications, and projects. Mention any hands-on clinical experience, familiarity with medical equipment, and your understanding of healthcare protocols and safety procedures. Additionally, showcase your compassion, attention to detail, and commitment to patient well-being.
What skills should a registered nurse list on a resume?
A registered nurse should list skills such as patient care, advanced clinical knowledge, and proficiency with medical software and electronic health records (EHR) systems. Showcase your expertise in emergency response, medication administration, and patient education. Include specific skills like IV therapy, wound care, and familiarity with medical equipment. Make it clear that you understand nursing healthcare protocols and safety standards. Next, highlight critical thinking, strong communication, and teamwork abilities. For soft skills, emphasize strong communication and interpersonal abilities, which are necessary for interacting with patients, families, and healthcare teams. Time management and organizational skills are also key for handling multiple patients and tasks. Showcase compassion, empathy, attention to detail, and adaptability.
What are good computer skills to put on a resume for a nurse?
Showcase computer skills that help improve patient care and operational efficiency. Such skills include proficiency in Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems, such as Epic or Cerner, which are crucial for documenting patient information. Being adept in telemedicine platforms, medical billing software, and patient management systems demonstrates your ability to handle administrative tasks. Additionally, competence in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel for data management and analysis, and PowerPoint for presentations, is valuable. Basic troubleshooting skills and knowledge of data privacy regulations, like HIPAA, are also important to ensure the secure and effective use of technology in healthcare settings.
What technical skills should a nurse show on a resume?
Highlight the technical skills that are essential for carrying out your core medical and administrative responsibilities. Such technical skills include clinical proficiency in patient care, knowledge of medical procedures, and proficiency in diagnostic equipment and electronic health records (EHR) systems, which ensure accurate and efficient patient documentation. Competence in administering medications, performing assessments, and managing acute and chronic conditions is crucial. Skills in patient education and health promotion are also vital for improving patient outcomes.
