resume critique

RunBabyRN · Nov 30, 2014

Take out the paragraph at the top. All of that is meant for your cover letter.

Include the hours of each rotation from your clinicals.

Describe your job duties more. You are assuming a lot here, that your potential employers just know everything that you do within these jobs. Never assume. You don't have to list every single thing, but include things that relate to nursing. Police officers have very similar jobs to ER nurses (my brother, an officer, and I love to make these correlations!). You need to be able to de-escalate situations, identify what drugs someone is on, ensure situational safety, stay calm in high-stress scenarios... As an instructor, there's a lot of teaching, adapting your style to meet the needs of your students, staying current with the standards, etc.

Loo17 · Nov 30, 2014

I would agree with the above poster about taking out the first paragraph and about highlighting your previous non-nursing experience. You held jobs that have a lot of similar qualities to nursing. Highlight them! Maybe write a sentence or two and then bullet some key things about each job that are important in nursing.

You are selling your past career short by only listing that you are ACLS certified under your paramedic position. Honestly that is a given and should not be listed here in my opinion. Use this space to highlight the awesome qualities you possess.

Under your work experience section you could have a section titled licenses and certifications. List your RN, EMT-P, ACLS, and PALS with dates there.

Lastly, I think you should list your nursing clinical rotations in the education section. Like you should list your school as you did but then have bullets below with your rotations. This information needs to be in a completely different section from work experience especially if you plan to upload your resume when applying online. The way you have it listed it could inadvertently make clinical experience look like actual nursing experience because of the way it is uploaded/input into the HR software. Not sure if I am explaining that well, sorry if not.

Good luck!

vengeance · Dec 5, 2014

Paramedic

ACLS, CPR, BTLS and PALS certified and instructor; proficient at IV therapy including external jugular access; epic surgical cricoids; chest decompression; child birth; portable vents; self motivated; able to provide advanced assessment and care to patients under stressful conditions; knowledgeable of cardiac arrhythmia-related symptoms and treatment of traumatic injuries; accurately documenting physical findings and treatment rendered on a patient care record; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with patients.

Police Officer

De-escalate situations; identify individuals under the influence of narcotics/alcohol; ensure situational safety; stay calm in high stress scenarios; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with individuals; criminal investigator

RunBabyRN · Dec 7, 2014

Paramedic
ACLS, CPR, BTLS and PALS certified and instructor; proficient at IV therapy including external jugular access; epic surgical cricoids; chest decompression; child birth; portable vents; self motivated; able to provide advanced assessment and care to patients under stressful conditions; knowledgeable of cardiac arrhythmia-related symptoms and treatment of traumatic injuries; accurately documenting physical findings and treatment rendered on a patient care record; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with patients.
Police Officer
De-escalate situations; identify individuals under the influence of narcotics/alcohol; ensure situational safety; stay calm in high stress scenarios; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with individuals; criminal investigator

Keep the subjective stuff (bolded) in your cover letter. The resume should be more objective.

The underlined stuff, you can reword that for the resume- assess cardiac sxs..., communication and negotiation.

Otherwise, I think it's better. Do you have any training about sxs of drug influence or anything like that? I know my brother does, and that's very helpful in the ED, or even on other floors, where a pt may sneak in drugs (or leave to use and then come back).

Loo17 · Dec 9, 2014

Paramedic
ACLS, CPR, BTLS and PALS certified and instructor; proficient at IV therapy including external jugular access; epic surgical cricoids; chest decompression; child birth; portable vents; self motivated; able to provide advanced assessment and care to patients under stressful conditions; knowledgeable of cardiac arrhythmia-related symptoms and treatment of traumatic injuries; accurately documenting physical findings and treatment rendered on a patient care record; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with patients.
Police Officer
De-escalate situations; identify individuals under the influence of narcotics/alcohol; ensure situational safety; stay calm in high stress scenarios; positive communication skills and ability to negotiate with individuals; criminal investigator

I like it, even with the subjective information. Maybe just set up differently. I quickly set up an example which I am sure you could improve.

Paramedic

Provided care to patients across the continuum, with the ability to quickly and safely stabilize patients suffering from life-threatening injuries and illnesses through thorough assessment and knowledge of treatment protocols.

-ACLS, CPR, BTLS and PALS certified and instructor

-Superior IV insertion skills

-Proficiency in cardiac rhythm interpretation

-Knowledge in managing portable ventilators and difficult airways

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2014

I agree with pretty much all the suggestions given. The only comment I have--and this is more personal opinion than gospel--I would't list your nursing school clinical experiences. As a graduate from a nursing program, it is assumed that you had a med-surg rotation, OB rotation, etc. This has been discussed before on AN and there were mixed opinions, but, in my view, don't "waste" valuable resume space mentioning all the clinical rotations the employer knows you had. In your cover letter I would mention you preceptorship in the ED (or this you could integrate into your resume), and, if OK with them, use your preceptor as one of your references.

RunBabyRN · Dec 11, 2014

I agree with pretty much all the suggestions given. The only comment I have--and this is more personal opinion than gospel--I would't list your nursing school clinical experiences. As a graduate from a nursing program, it is assumed that you had a med-surg rotation, OB rotation, etc. This has been discussed before on AN and there were mixed opinions, but, in my view, don't "waste" valuable resume space mentioning all the clinical rotations the employer knows you had. In your cover letter I would mention you preceptorship in the ED (or this you could integrate into your resume), and, if OK with them, use your preceptor as one of your references.

The reason I suggest including this is because the locations of these rotations will vary widely. For example, where I live, there is no pediatric unit, so many people ended up with school nurses, home health, and even preschools for our pediatric rotation. I did most of mine in an ED. For psych, there is only one inpatient psych unit, and not everyone got to spend time there, so listing where we did them is important. Our program didn't have a LTC/SNF rotation. My point is, never assume, because programs DO vary.

Also, I think I failed to mention before, tease out what you did in the ED during preceptorship. Anything particularly exciting? Did you get a lot of opportunities? How many patients did you take on? What were you allowed to do?

vengeance · Dec 16, 2014

thank you for the help several calls this week for interviews!