Resume to get into Nursing School- Help please!!!

[Cari001]

Hi all!

I am applying to a nursing school that requires a resume in the application. I don't have a ton of health care experience, so I want to make the relevant experience POP! I need help! Please let me know if you have any recommendations for my resume. I need all the help I can get and I know you pre-nursing students out there know the feeling. ? I would love to know if you think I should add anything else that would be relevent, for example volunteer work, or a better objective. Thanks to all of you who reply!:redpinkhe

OBJECTIVE

To gain acceptance into the University of XXXXX Nursing Program.

EDUCATION

XXXXXXX

Bachelor of Science in Biology

- GPA 3.0

WORK

EXPERIENCE

XXXXXXXNovember 2009- Present

Certified Nursing Assistant

- Provide care to adult orthopedic, respiratory and medical surgical patients in a fast paced environment.

- Perform patient care duties such as activities of daily living, vital sign measurement, blood glucose monitoring, repositioning, catheter care, drain care, intake and output recording, etc.

- Demonstrate flexibility when performing a variety of duties as requested by the Registered Nurse.

XXXXX May 2007- Present

Regulatory Project Specialist

- Assist with planning and coordination of activities required for US and international submissions.

- Provide on-going support to product development teams for regulatory, labeling, and compliance issues and questions.

- Maintain knowledge of FDA regulations governing the use and application of XXX's products and therapies.

XXXXXXX January 2005- September 2008

Clinic Assistant

- Served as a primary resource for clinical support in the areas of pre-operative and post-operative patient education.

- Promoted to a position to answer and trouble-shoot all clinic incoming calls.

- Maintained open and effective communication with all clinic personnel, patients, and physicians to build trust and relationships.

XXXXXXX June 2002- August 2002

Home Health Aid

- Provided care to my grandmother who was ill with cancer while she lived in my home.

- Assisted with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding and assistance with mobility.

- Responsible for making Lynn comfortable by providing constant supportive care.

LICENSURE / CERTIFICATIONS

Nursing Assistant Licensed / Home Health Aid Certified February 2009

XXXXX College

C.P.R and First Aid Certified September 2008

RELATED

COURSEWORK

- Human Growth and Development

- Microbiology

- Anatomy and Human Physiology

Biology

Nutrition

[•M♥J•]

I would say your experience is pretty good for trying to get into nursing school. Perhaps you could consider only listing years instead of months? They don't need to know exactly how many months you were at a certain position.

Also, I would leave the fact that the person you were caring for was your relative. Just say a patient so it seems more professional.

[mangopeach]

If you have volunteer experience, definitely put that in.

[Cari001]

Thanks for the tips guys!

I agree volunteer experience looks good, but even if it's not nursing related? For example, I have volunteered at a food shelter and at my previous college. I'm not sure if that's relevant.

Also, I put my grandmother's name as my employeer because I wasn't technically "employeed" by anyone. How would you manage that?

Thanks again for both your help.

[•M♥J•]

I would say "Private In-Home Employer" or something like that, then list underneath "Will furnish upon request". That way, if they ask, it will already be at the interview and you will be set. It also helps you look professional that you are not showing everyone the name of someone who was ill that you were caring for. :)

[Guest 360983]

I dislike objectives on resumes, but that's a personal thing.

Why did you include the related coursework? Do you feel listing the CPR certification is necessary? I would assume that you're CPR certified if you're a CNA. I would leave both out, since that almost feels like you're stretching to put things on there.

When I wrote my resume for nursing school, I used short paragraphs (3-5 sentences) to describe my jobs. I very briefly described my main job duties (for fast food: Prepared food according to standards; for call center: Assisted callers with account information) and then spent most of the space describing the "soft skills" I had developed that I felt would make me a good nurse (Army: Learned to work well as a member of a team and under intense pressure; call center: Multitasked extensively to complete duties in short time frame. Attention to detail was vital in dealing with complex banking regulations.). None of my jobs had anything to do with healthcare, though. If I had a job in healthcare I'd just describe what I did since that's something a nursing school would understand (vs me working for a credit card company in a call center).

You're doing very well when describing what you've done--you use lots of strong action words, which is very important.

I can't tell from this post how long your resume is, but I would suggest keeping it to one page if possible. I've heard from various job hunting experts that 1 page is a good length.