ICU Charge Nurse Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this ICU Charge Nurse resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
ICU charge nurses are responsible for the overall care of the unit. They coordinate the efforts of the ICU staff in order to deliver the best possible experience for patients and families. And they’re the go-to resource for doctors and nurses alike when it comes to patient care.
Because the ICU is a high-pressure environment with a lot of moving parts, charge nurses need to be highly organized when it comes to planning shifts, assigning duties, and managing resources. They need excellent communication skills to coach, guide, and mentor their team members. And they need strong clinical skills to manage patient care effectively.
Here are some tips and an example resume for writing an effective ICU charge nurse resume that will help you land the job.
How to Write an ICU Charge Nurse Resume
Here’s how to write an resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume, because they’re the only thing hiring managers will have to go on if they’re trying to decide between two candidates. So it’s crucial that you use them to your advantage by highlighting your most impressive achievements and strongest skills.
For example, rather than saying you “managed patient care,” you could say you “managed care for 15 patients during evening shift, ensuring all patients received proper care and met discharge criteria on time.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides specific details about what you did and the outcome of your work. It also includes a quantifiable result (15 patients).
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as a critical care nurse, your resume is likely to go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This program will scan your resume for certain keywords related to the position, like “ICU” or “critical care.” If your resume doesn’t have enough of these keywords, the ATS might reject your application.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of common ICU charge nurse keywords to help you target your resume:
- Nursing
- Medicine
- Patient Safety
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Acute Care
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Hospitals
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
- Inpatient Care
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Healthcare
- Patient Education
- Healthcare Management
- Acute Pain
- Interventional Radiology
- Critical Care Nursing
- Nursing Education
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- Critical Care Medicine
- Wound Care
- Microsoft Access
- Patient Advocacy
- Leadership
- Emergency Nursing
- Critical Care Management
- Medicine Residency
- Nursing Management
- Surgery
- Cardiology
- Informatics
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As an ICU charge nurse, you will be responsible for the care of critically ill patients. You will need to be proficient in the use of various software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. These might include electronic health records (EHR) systems, patient monitoring systems, and medical devices. Additionally, you will need to be familiar with the various types of medications used in the ICU and how they work.