Can I combine similar jobs when listing responsibilities?et

[Clovery]

I'm trying to re-write my resume and need some advice. I have 1.5 years of nursing experience, during which I've held 4 positions in two different areas. I was wondering if I could combine these experiences for the sake of keeping it to one page and since the job responsibilities were the same. I was let go from one position after just two months... I feel like I need to include it but I know all these jobs in a short time look bad. It would look something like this:

Professional Summary

Experience:

Sub-Acute Rehab Nursing

-Company A Per Diem staff nurse Aug 2014 - present

-Company B Per Diem staff nurse Aug 2014 - present

Responsibilities:

- available all shifts, float to different units

- admission nurse

- IV meds, wound vacs, pain management

- collaborate with rehab therapies

Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) Nursing

-Company C Full Time staff nurse night shift May 2014 - July 2014

-Company D Full Time staff nurse day shift April 2013 - April 2014

Responsibilities:

- vents & tele

- complex wound care

- drips, blood transfusions, etc

Computer related non-nursing job 6 years (do I even include this now?)

- Responsible for stuff

- I can computer

The rest of the resume would be school, professional organizations and certifications. Obviously I will be fleshing out my bullets and writing complete sentences and such.

I really want to get back into acute care, but I was out of a job and took two per diem positions in Rehabs because I was in a pinch after losing the second LTAC job. Any advice for how I could best present this?

One of the Rehab companies is part of a big hospital system. I was planning on applying for a hospital job as an internal candidate and keeping the per diem position in the rehab with them.

[labordude, BSN, RN]

Your resume is going to raise red flags. The key thing is making sure you have good answers to the inevitable questions, such as why are you no longer with Companies C & D. I also don't understand why you can't get this on one page. I have 3 degrees, 6 companies, and 4 "license/certification/affiliation/etc" sections on one page.

[Clovery]

I stayed at my first job for a year, left for another position which was way closer to home and saved me a lot of money. At that second job they let me go the day before I became eligible for benefits for no particular reason.

Since I am already working per diem for the organization to which I'm applying, they aren't going to have to run the background check & employment history check on me again. They already have verified dates of employment and gotten references from Companies C & D.

So I was looking for a format that would more highlight my skills to appeal to recruiters and managers at the hospital units. But I guess you're right, it's an odd format. Maybe I should do a "skills summary" and then just list one or two bullets for each position?

Thanks for the reply. I loathe writing resumes and cover letters. When I took that second job I was planning on staying there for years.

[RunBabyRN]

The one page rule is outdated. Don't be afraid to expand as needed.

I really don't like the combined job descriptions. I think it minimizes your jobs and experience. I would also consider leaving job C off, because of how short it was, and you have the same experience over a longer period elsewhere. It would only raise more questions and hurt you more than help you to keep it on. That said, if you have an application that requires every job over the last X number of years, it needs to get listed.

You definitely need richer descriptions of your jobs, but it sounds like you know this.

I would probably keep the computer job, especially because it was 6 years, and it translates to comfort using EMRs. Showing that you DO have longevity somewhere is important, especially with the recent job hopping.