Maybe you’ve taken time off from nursing to raise your family, or you’re seeking a new challenge after working for years on a specific hospital unit. As you begin to look at your options in the job market, one of the most important tools you can have in your arsenal is a well-structured resume.

Mary Wagoner, editor-in-chief and senior writer at Nurse Prose, a Virginia Beach-based company that offers resume services to nurses, says it can be difficult for nurses to effectively communicate their work experience without either downplaying their accomplishments or overstating their nursing background.

If you’re an experienced nurse looking for a new job, here are some tips for creating a strong resume.

Explain Any Gaps in Work History

If you’re returning to nursing after taking time off to care for an elderly parent or raise your children, don’t expect your hiatus to be a disadvantage.

“It’s not uncommon to see gaps in a nurse’s resume since many nurses take time off to care for their children or aging parents,” says Yvonne Roddy-Sturm, RN, MSN, CCRN, chief nurse executive with Kaiser Permanente in Ontario, California . “We’re always on the lookout for nurses who are seeking long-term employment and who want to advance and grow in their careers. We have a very low turnover rate with our nursing jobs.”

Roddy-Sturm recommends being upfront about gaps in your employment history. Also, be sure to mention any volunteer work or skills related to your field that you learned while you weren’t working.

Make Professional Development a Priority

Whether nurses are looking to change jobs or reenter the workforce, Wagoner says it’s important for nurses to keep up with the latest nursing trends and new technology. “One of the most important things for nurses to do is to keep their professional credentials current, and to expand their areas of expertise,” she adds.

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Whether this entails taking online continuing education courses or taking a nurse refresher course, Wagoner says nurses must demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, and application of practice changes, such as dispensing medications and charting, two functions that are now computerized.

“Many hospitals including Kaiser Permanente are on a Magnet journey, where they are recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center [ANCC] after demonstrating excellence in patient care in more than 35 areas of focus throughout the entire hospital,” Roddy-Sturm says.

To qualify for Magnet status, 100% of nurse managers in the organization must hold at least a bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN), and while ANCC doesn’t specifically mandate a BSN for direct care nurses, approximately 52% of nurses in a typical Magnet hospital have a BSN.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we encourage our nurses to advance their education and offer tuition reimbursement to those who have an interest in pursuing advanced degrees,” says Roddy-Sturm. “We have many nurses who are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate.”

Tailor Your Resume for an Applicant Tracking System

Many hospitals and health care organizations now use an applicant tracking system (ATS) where nurses apply for jobs by filling out an online application. In the past, resumes were reviewed by a human resources representative, but today many large health care organizations are now using an ATS that creates unique data files on candidates, allowing information to be conveniently searched and matched to job openings.

To craft a resume that improves your chance of matching the results provided by the ATS, experts recommend using Microsoft Word to write a resume that is simple and doesn’t include fancy fonts, headers, or footers. Avoid listing your entire work history in reverse chronological order, and be sure to include as many keywords and phrases as possible in your resume that fit the particular job description.

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Emphasize Your Nursing Expertise and Key Skills

Rather than offering a fairly generic description of your job duties, such as “provided patient care,” Wagoner recommends nurses list their specific skills and job duties.

“If you cared for patients with nasogastric (NG) tubes or administered specific medications, you want to note this on your resume,” Wagoner says.

Also list any electronic medical record software that you have used, such as Epic or MEDITECH, and note skills such as fluency in a different language, or knowledge of sign language.

List Your Last 10 Years of Experience

While some seasoned nurses may worry about age discrimination, Roddy-Sturm argues that nursing is one field that promotes a multigenerational workforce.

“We have millennials [those born in the 1980’s through the early 2000’s] working side by side with Baby Boomers [those born between 1946 and 1964],” Roddy-Sturm says. “Having a workforce composed of nurses of various ages and backgrounds stimulates creativity.”

According to a 2013 report issued by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration about one-third of the nursing workforce is over the age of 50.

“As a rule of thumb, it’s recommended that you list only the last 10 years of your work experience, unless the work done earlier in your career is an exact match to the job that you’re applying for now,” Wagoner says.

Linda Childers
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