Nursing resume guide
14+ ATS Keywords for Nursing Resumes
Nursing resumes need active license numbers (RN/LPN), specialty areas, and patient ratios handled. EHR proficiency and BLS/ACLS certs are table stakes.
Hard skills ATS filters scan for
Copy these verbatim from the job description you’re applying to — matching the exact phrasing beats synonyms. If the job says “Kubernetes”, don’t write “K8s”.
Tools & platforms
Tool names are high-signal keywords. Recruiters searching their ATS often filter by specific platform experience — list every relevant one.
Certifications that matter
For many nursing roles, ATS filters auto-reject resumes missing the exact cert name. List yours in both the abbreviation and the full name so both matches hit.
- RN
- BSN
- MSN
- BLS
- ACLS
- PALS
- CCRN
- CEN
Soft skills worth calling out
Don’t just list these — show them in bullets. “Communicated” alone is weak; “Presented Q3 roadmap to 40-person engineering org” is strong.
Power verbs for nursing bullets
Start every bullet with one of these. Avoid “responsible for” or “helped with” — they signal passive contribution.
Common nursing job titles
- Registered Nurse
- ICU Nurse
- ER Nurse
- Pediatric Nurse
- Nurse Manager
- Nurse Educator
Stop losing interviews to ATS filters.
Paste your resume into our free ATS checker. We’ll tell you which keywords are missing for nursing roles in 30 seconds.