Primary Care Nurse Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Primary Care Nurse resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Primary care nurses work with patients on a wide range of health concerns. They’re typically the first point of contact for patients when they come into a practice, so they need to be compassionate and have excellent communication skills. Primary care nurses help patients manage chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, as well as provide routine care like annual physicals and vaccinations.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a primary care nurse but need some guidance on writing a resume that will land you an interview, here are some tips and an example to follow.
How to Write a Primary Care Nurse Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume because they’re the first thing recruiters will see. And they have to be compelling enough to make them want to read the rest of your resume.
So rather than just listing your responsibilities, you can use bullet points to describe the results of your work. For example, rather than saying you “provided patient care,” you could say you “provided care for 20 patients per day, resulting in a 98% satisfaction rate among patients.”
The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what your job entailed and the level of responsibility involved. And it also provides a quantifiable result—a 98% satisfaction rate!
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a primary care nurse role, your resume is likely to go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This system will scan your resume for certain keywords related to the position. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right terms, your application might not even make it to a recruiter.
One way to make sure your resume includes the right keywords is to read through job postings and take note of the terms that are used most frequently. Then, use those same terms throughout your resume. Here are some examples:
- Nursing
- Primary Care
- Patient Safety
- Nursing Education
- Healthcare
- Healthcare Management
- Family Medicine
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Hospitals
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Inpatient Care
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
- Acute Care
- Patient Education
- Patient Advocacy
- Nursing Education
- Clinical Research
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Medication Administration
- Patient Care
- Medicine
- Medicine Administration
- Microsoft Access
- Healthcare Information Technology (HIT)
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
- Mental Health
- Primary Care Nursing
- Mental Health Nursing
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification
- Nursing Care
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Nurses are increasingly using technology in their work, and many hospitals and clinics now require nurses to be proficient in electronic health records (EHR) systems. So if you have experience with any specific EHR systems, be sure to list them on your resume. You should also list any other technical skills that are relevant to your field, such as experience with patient monitoring systems or medical devices.
Hiring managers are also looking for nurses who are comfortable with technology and are willing to embrace new ways of working. For example, many hospitals are now using telehealth systems to provide care to patients in remote locations, so nurses who are familiar with telehealth technologies will have an advantage in the job market.