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RESUME writing for NUR 275
Revised from Professor Dewey-Hammer’s handout.
Our goal is for all of you to be able to obtain entry-level RN positions when you graduate. Currently, we are in
difficult economic times and finding new RN positions may not be as easy as it has been in the past. An
attractive resume will be an advantage. Here are some suggestions to assist in developing your resume.
Please use some of the “words” and “descriptions” from currently established definitions and competencies for
RNs when you are describing what you have done in your clinical experiences so far and what your goals are.
See below for the current NY State legal definition of an RN; current desired competencies for RNs; and the
A.N.A.’s definition of a Registered Nurse.
Be clear about the name of the degree that you will be earning and the full name of the institution conferring
that degree. Include your anticipated date of graduation.
Your clinical experiences are essential to include here. You can list the clinical sites, unit/type and dates. It may
be helpful for you to summarize your growing clinical skill set.
When describing your previous work experience, try to correlate it with your future RN role. As an example, if
you had been a painter, you could say that you will be able to bring your excellent ability to pay attention to
details to help ensure the patient’s safety in the nursing care that you will be providing. Or, if you had been a
bartender or a beautician, you could say that your excellent listening and interpersonal communication skills
will help ensure that you will be able to provide “patient-centered care” as an RN in the future.
The example of a resume in your textbook suggests that your objective could state that you are looking for
“stimulation” in our current, high acuity, very understaffed health care system. We are not sure that is a good
thing to say now. Even though your plan may be to “progress rapidly to other units,” don’t include that in your
initial resume for your first RN position. The employing agency who is hiring you is hoping that you are going
to stay where they hire you, because hiring and educating new RN’s is a significant financial investment for any
facility.
References are required for this assignment. Even though you will probably write “References available on
request,” on your resumes, it would be useful for you to have readily available the listing for those references
for applications. Keep in mind proper titles and work/business addresses. “Three” is an appropriate number.
You may list them on a separate page, if you like.
THINK about what you write and proofread it before you hand it in. TRY to make it visually appealing – you
want the reader to pick it up and look it over. Do not crowd all the information into every space on the page.
There are also a number of resume-writing websites that can provide useful hints. REVIEW the grading rubric
to check that you have completed all the requirements for the assignment.
From New York State Education Law – Article 139 “Definition of practice of nursing – 1. The
practice of the profession of nursing as a registered nurse is defined as diagnosing and treating
human responses to actual or potential health problems through such services as case finding,
health teaching, health counseling, and provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and
well-being, and executing medical regimens prescribed by a licensed physician, dentist or other
licensed health care provider legally authorized under this title and in accordance with the
commissioner’s regulation. A nursing regimen shall be consistent with and shall not vary any
existing medical regimen.”
HWinstanley Su09
RESUME writing for NUR 275
Revised from Professor Dewey-Hammer’s handout.
Following the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report in 2003 on Health Professions
Education – professional nursing organizations have been working together to identify what
competencies entry level RN’s should have and have identified the following –
√
PATIENT-CENTERED CARE – Recognize the patient or designee as the source of control
and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for
patient’s preferences, values, and needs.
√
TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION – Function effectively within nursing and interprofessional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decisionmaking to achieve quality patient care.
√
EVIDENCE-BASED – Integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise and
patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal care.
√
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT – Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use
improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and
safety of health care systems.
√
SAFETY – Minimize risk to harm to patients and providers through both system
effectiveness and individual performance.
√
INFORMATICS – Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge,
mitigate error and support decision making.
ANA'S Definition of Nursing
Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities,
prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and
treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families,
communities, and populations.
(Nursing's Social Policy Statement, Second Edition, 2003, p. 6 & Nursing: Scope and Standards
of Practice, 2004, p. 7)
In the first half of 2006, over 65,000 persons were newly licensed as registered nurses, joining
2.9 million other RNs in the nation’s largest healthcare profession.
Each followed a distinct path of education to become a registered nurse and, after obtaining the
RN license, increased his or her expertise as a direct healthcare provider in work settings
ranging from acute care hospitals to home and community centers to corporate work sites.
From the basic education required of an RN to the advanced educational and clinical paths taken
by more experienced nurses, the depth and breadth of the nursing profession is meeting
different healthcare needs of the population.
Websites: http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/CertificationandAccreditation/AboutNursing.aspx
www.qsen.org http://www.qsen.org/competency_definitions.php
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