Resume and Cover Letter Tips, Tricks, and Examples

How to Write a Nurse Manager Resume

Stephen M. King

Certified Resume Writer & Career Coach


Regarding a nurse manager job description, Clinical Nurse Managers work in a variety of healthcare facilities and are responsible for supervising and coordinating nursing staff. Common work activities performed by nurse managers include:

  • Recruiting new employees
  • Training nurses
  • Assigning tasks
  • Scheduling shifts
  • Improving patient care standard

The average sample nurse manager resume lists qualifications such as nursing expertise, organization, communication including bedside manner, interpersonal abilities, fielding complaints and questions, and medical teamwork including working with other clinical managers to institute put new policies to improve patient care. Those aspiring to become Clinical Nurse Managers should be registered nurses and mention a nursing degree in their nurse manager resume.

Creating the Nursing Management Resume

You dream job. Be the nurse that is leading the charge.

In aiming to achieve the optimal format for nurse manager resumes, the following are recommended: 

  • Nursing leadership resume summaries rather than resume objectives are the preferred choice for applicants whose job experience exceeds two years. 
  • Begin with a header that contains your name and contact information.
  • Make sure that your nurse manager resume template has resume sections that have the appropriate headings.
  • Choose fonts that are easily readable and professional in appearance.
  • For a nurse leader resume, use a reverse chronology listing of positions held.
  • Be sure to include white space as that makes it much easier for the reader.
  • Make sure to save the nurse manager resume as a PDF so its formatting will remain intact.

Writing the Nurse Manager Summary

The resume summary is also referred to as a professional profile. As the short version of your resume, its purpose is to act as an introduction. Therefore, it should show your best traits right from the beginning. For the summary, you can include numbers, percentages, a high GPA, or mention your biggest professional achievements. Looking at nurse manager resume examples, the following is a very effective summary.

Award-winning bilingual Nursing Supervisor highly regarded for improving patient care, quality, and staff performance for high-acuity floors. Selected to direct Critical Care efforts covering multiple units and overseeing more than 1,250 employees. A hands-on leader known for keeping the focus on the patient’s needs, improving state customer- satisfaction scores by 42% within 3 years that improved profitability 26%. Utilizes 20+ years as a nurse to educate, assess, mentor, and train clinical staff members improving retention as well as cross-collaborative departmental efforts. Strategizes with Physicians and C-Level Executives to develop initiatives promoting quality while reducing costs. Respected for keeping the focus on impeccable care while consulting with patients to ensure they understand the situation and have a plan of action to increase the quality of life.

Note the many elements in this nurse manager resume sample. First, the fact that the person won an award, lead many employees, and boosted customer-satisfaction scores and profitability was all mentioned in as measurable attributes. Then, the summary mentions mentorship and experience working with physicians and C-level executives.

Create the Optimal Nurse Manager Job Description

After creating a captivating resume summary, next you need to tailor your resume to the position you are applying to. The goal is to direct the hiring manager’s attention to your valuable relevant experience and primary skills.

As with other managerial jobs:

  • Begin with listing your latest position and then proceed in backward order to your previous ones. 
  • Now add your job titles, company names, locations, and dates.
  • Then, list your duties and achievements in up to 5–6 bullet points for each position.
  • While listing achievements, examine a nurse manager resume example. It is good practice to start each bullet point with a resume action verb. For example: devised, developed, supervised, spearheaded, etc.
  • Then, present your experience relevant to the job.
  • Lastly, produce numbers wherever possible to show the real impact of your actions.
  • Also, make sure your experience bullets on your nurse manager resume show both hard and soft skills as both are critical in managerial positions.

Note the power of numbers in this example bullet: 

Created and executed plans to empower team to meet core measure metrics such as CHF, AMI, Pneumonia to 100% compliance and implemented plan which decreased bloodstream infections to 0%.

To illustrate how you can specifically display soft skills, here is an example that shows a candidate’s organizational and coordinating skills.

Demonstrated knowledge, judgment, expertise, and managerial skills to ensure smooth functioning of unit on a 24-hour basis. Serve as liaison, resource, and educator for other hospital departments integrated into the organization’s overall operation.

The following is a good example of a job description demonstrating solid soft skills.

Mentored and motivated members of team to complete higher education and career development.

Get Optimal Value from your Nurse Manager Resume Education Section

The education section is a very important aspect of your nurse manager resume because you must have a nursing degree to be qualified. Sometimes clinical nursing positions even require certifications. However, knowing what to list and when to list it is crucial. Note the following:

  • If you have more than 5 years of experience, keep your education section relatively short. Only list your degree, school name and location, in addition to graduation year.
  • If you have less than 5 years of experience, you should consider adding your GPA. Only add if it is above 3.5. Then, you can add extracurricular activities, academic achievements and awards, and relevant coursework.
  • Make sure to put your certifications and licenses in a dedicated section so that they do not get overlooked.

Note the following example:

Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Texas A & M University, Kileen, TX; 06/2018

As mentioned earlier, certifications can be listed under education. Refer to this list for valuable nurse manager certifications which will increase your overall value:

  • Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) — American Red Cross
  • Medical Assistant — ASPT
  • Certified Case Manager (ACM) — ACMA
  • Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) — ENA
  • Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC) — AALNC
  • Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) — ONCC
  • Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) — ARN
  • Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN) — AACN
  • Family Nurse Practitioner — ANA
  • Certified Nurse Technician (CNT) — NHA

Highlight Your Nurse Manager Skills

The following are nurse manager skills:

  • Leadership skills
  • Knowledge of managed care program policies and procedures
  • Knowledge of managed care and insurance industry
  • Verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
  • PC proficiency (MS Office, Apple iWork)
  • Analytical skills and clinical judgement
  • Acute and rehabilitative care
  • Care plan assessment
  • Nursing Practice Act, JCAHO
  • Basic patient care
  • Patient monitoring
  • Administering medications
  • Organizational skills
  • Project management
  • Wound care
  • Admitting and discharging
  • Meditech documentation
  • Patient/family education

You should not add everything you can do, so remember to focus on your primary professional skills. As you can see, this list includes hard, soft, and technical skills. So as you craft your resume, consult your job posting and see what skills are mentioned. If you have them, then list them!

Increase your Nurse Manager’s Value by Adding Other Sections

Adding these extra sections will make your nursing manager resume stand out.

  • Achievements and awards
  • Language skills
  • Volunteering
  • Hobbies and Interests.

Nurse Manager Resumes, Samples, and Templates

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