Help with resume please

Published

Hi all,

I have been at my current and only RN position since summer 2015. Because of personal circumstances and wanting to create a better work-life-family balance, I am going to start looking for a new position. I have gained so much experience at my current position and really feel as though my managers have afforded me many amazing opportunities which I am extremely grateful for. I want to be able to showcase my experience and skills but struggling at keeping my resume from becoming a laundry list. This is dreadful and would very much appreciate assistance at making this more concise, presentable, and appealing. Thanks in advance for your time.

Objective

  • To secure an RN II nursing position that will allow both personal and professional growth: maintaining clients' rights, respecting privacy, and providing safe and effective care all while remaining dedicated to improving the quality of life and health throughout adulthood.

Education

Bachelor's of Science in Psychology | may, 2012 | XXX

  • Major: Psychology
  • Honors: Dean's List
  • Research: Participated in several research and experimental opportunities held by the Psychology department. Attended American Psychological Association's annual conference in XXX.

Associate's degree in nursing | may, 2015 | XXX

  • Major: Nursing
  • Honors: Dean's List
  • Research: Increased health promotion by researching and educating the community on safe driving practices during a public Health Fair while collaborating with the Bureau of Highway Safety.
  • Clinical rotations: Long-term care, skilled nursing facility, medical-surgical, intensive care unit, maternity, home health and hospice, XXX. XXX Psychiatric Center, XXX. Cardiac and thoracic, orthopedics and post-operative,XXX

PRACTICAL NURSE | AUGUST, 2014 | XXX

  • Major: Practical Nurse
  • Clinical rotation: Long-term care, XXX

Certifications and Trainings

Registered nurse, license #, June, 2015-2018

Basic EKG rhythm and cardiac, 2015-present

Wound treatment Associate, Wound, Ostomy, continence Nursing Society (WOCN Society), 2016-present

Geriatric resource nurse, nurses improving care of healthsystem elders (NICHE), 2016-present

Basic life support, american heart association, 2013-present

Certified lactation counselor, the academy of lactation policy and practice, 2012-present

Dona trained doula, DONA international, 2012-present

Experience

RN II | XXX | July, 2015-present

Cared for teenagers, adults, and the geriatric populations on a medical-surgical floor specializing in post-surgical and orthopedic patients. Proficient with Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM) and Super User for Pyxis Medication Systems. Perfect Attendance Award. Daisy Award nominee.

EXPANDED ROLE AND COMMITTEES: Wound Treatment Associate (WTA)-strengthened the wound team by making recommendations on steps to care for acute and chronic wounds including dressing choice, containment systems, ostomy appliances, vacuum-assisted closure devices, compression therapy for lower extremity vascular disease and lymphedema. Educated patients on how to care for new ostomies and wounds. Assisted in monthly Skin Prevalence study, assessing and documenting each patient on the unit while performing monthly chart audits. Involved with weekly GEMBA walks on unit with upper management in an effort to increase quality goals and performance of staff. Clinical Preceptor and Orientor for both precepting student nurses and newly hired RN's. One of several instructors for NUA Skin course, collaborating with WOCN-RN to create a strong and efficient group of NUA's to help promote skin integrity in some of our most susceptible populations. Member of Peer Review Committee, interviewing potential new hires. Member of the Safe Patient Handling and Fall Prevention Committees. Attended Safe Patient Handling conference, October, 2016, XXX. Interviewed for and appeared in XXX nursing recruitment video which aired both locally and nationwide. Also appeared in XXX magazine promoting XXX orthopedic center. Represented XXX for XXX job fairs, 2016 and 2017.

Bartender| XXX | August, 2005-September, 2009

Responsible for quality control of the bar, keeping detailed records of inventory, tracking beverage trends and working cooperatively with staff to enhance the in-house beverage program.

Restaurant Manager| XXX| August, 2003-August, 2005

Responsible for orienting and training new staff while enforcing the companies policies and vision. Implemented new strategies to increase staff performance while evaluating effectiveness. Maintained a safe and healthy work environment while promoting relationships between staff and clients with effective communication strategies. Assisted with end of shift audit reports and balancing cash checkout at the end of each evening.

References available upon request.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Nice.

I would start by eliminating the non-nursing experience. I know you gained life- and other relevant experience in those positions, but that won't be what makes you stand out as a nursing candidate.

Once you do that, you have more room for a concise paragraph or bullent point about your expanded role as a WTA.

Separate out your other committee participations from the WTA paragraph.

Review for consistency w/ capitalizations, for example especially the Certifications and Trainings paragraph.

Maybe play around with those bigger things and then tweak/perfect.

Good luck ~

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Specializes in ED, med-surg, peri op.

I agree take out non nursing jobs. You have experience now as a rn so no need for them.

Also I would edit you objective, make it more personal not so generic. Also I like to edit this for every job I apply for, to make it more about the job and eemployer too.

Education I don't think needs all that info, clinical rotations, major research can go. Just stuck with the qualification, where from, dates you study and deans list.

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The previous two posters gave you good feedback.

If you follow their suggestions, you should have a solid resume to start that job search.

Good luck, and I hope you find what you want!

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

A minor point, but it's Bachelor of Science, not Bachelor's, and Associate Degree, not Associate's. I would also take out the dates on your education. When you finished doesn't matter as much as that you finished.

An employer is not going to care what you did in your clinical rotations, as it won't count as nursing experience. They won't care about any honors earned during that time either. I would seriously pare down the information in your education section and concentrate on nursing experience in the real world. One line for each of your degrees should suffice, and I would add where your degrees were earned.

As others have said, axe the previous jobs not related to nursing. You are trying to sell yourself to prospective employer, and the more concise your resume is, the better. Don't make them read irrelevant information. A page to a page and a half is considered ideal.

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I agree with all of this and leave off the nursing clinical experience unfortunately not relevant after graduation.

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Thank you very much for the helpful information.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Better?

Just a copy/paste so format may be off.

Objective

· To secure an RN II nursing position that will allow both personal and professional growth: maintaining clients' rights, respecting privacy, and providing safe and effective care all while remaining dedicated to improving the quality of life and health.

Education

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY | MAY, 2012 | UNIVERSITY OF XXX

· Honors: Dean's List

ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING | MAY, 2015 | XXX

· Honors: Dean's List

Credentials and Certifications

• Registered Nurse, License #XXX, 2015

• Basic EKG Rhythm and Cardiac, 2015

• Wound Treatment Associate, Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nursing Society (WOCN Society), 2016

• Geriatric Resource Nurse, Nurses Improving Care of Healthsystem Elders (NICHE), 2016

• Basic Life Support, American Heart Association, 2013

• Certified Lactation Counselor, The Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice, 2012

• Dona Trained Doula, DONA International, 2012

Experience

RN II AND RELIEF CHARGE NURSE | XXX | JULY, 2015-PRESENT

Med-Surg unit specializing in post-surgical and orthopedic patients

• Proficient with Sunrise Clinical Manager

• Super User for Pyxis Medication Systems

• Perfect Attendance Award

• Daisy Award nominee

• Involved with weekly GEMBA walks with upper management

• Collaborated with WOCN-RN to create and instruct NUA Skin Champion course

• As a WTA, strengthened wound team in making recommendations to care for acute and chronic wounds including dressing choice, containment systems, vacuum-assisted closure devices, and compression therapy for lower extremity vascular disease and lymphedema

• Involved with monthly Skin Prevalence study, assessing each patient on unit while making chart audits

• Peer Review Committee

• Clinical Preceptor

• Member of Safe Patient Handling and Fall Prevention committees attending conference

• Chosen to appear in nursing recruitment video, Orthopedic magazine, and yearly nursing job fair

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