Nursing Resume Objective: Tips and Examples

A nursing resume objective is a strategic tool within your resume to quickly distinguish yourself from the competition. It grabs the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s attention and piques their interest for more, similar to an amuse-bouche or other appetizer. Resume objectives specifically cater to nurses that don’t meet the typical candidate profile.

If you are preparing to look for a new job and want to learn more about what a nursing objective for a resume is, when to use it, and how to write one, we’re here to help. We’ll provide you with this essential information, along with 10 nursing objectives examples that will give you a head start on crafting a well-written resume.

What Is a Nurse Resume Objective?

A resume objective is a focused and concise career statement at the top of your resume, just below the header. Its purpose is to highlight your achievements and skills and to express your job goal. It serves as a bridge between your past and future roles.

Nurse Resume Objective vs Professional Summary

For nursing resumes, deciding whether to use an objective or a professional summary depends on your unique circumstances. Using an objective for nursing resumes is ideal for:

• New or novice nurses who have limited work experience
• Nurses who aspire to transition to a different nursing specialty, such as a bedside nurse seeking a non-bedside nursing position
• Nurses who are seeking a career position outside the nursing field

On the other hand, a professional summary is highly effective for experienced nurses seeking a job within their current specialty or field. It’s a longer, more detailed statement that allows nurses to illustrate how their accomplishments and skills from previous related experiences complement the desired position.

How to Write a Nursing Resume Objective

In this section, you’ll learn tips on how to create your objective for a nursing resume. The objective should be:

• Brief — In only one to two sentences, capture who you are as a candidate and what you bring to the position.
• Tailored — Since a nursing objective is so succinct, adapt your objective for each job by focusing on keywords from the job posting.
• Experience-oriented — Prioritize showcasing your best accomplishments, qualifications, and skills that align with what the employer is seeking.
• Goal-centered — Define your career goal so the employer clearly understands what you hope to achieve, especially if you are a non-traditional candidate.
• Simple — Avoid overcomplicating or over-embellishing this section, and keep in mind that the objective is geared towards what you can offer the employer, not just what you are seeking.

Nurse Skills for Resume

When you begin writing a resume, you sometimes need to remember all the great skills you developed as a nurse. For easy reference, here are some nurse skills for resume writing you can use:

• ACLS, BLS, PALS, etc.
• Communication skills
• Compassion or empathy
• Computer skills or EHR skills
• Critical thinking
• Delegation
• IV skills
• Leadership
• Medication administration
• Phlebotomy
• Problem-solving
• Time management
• Teamwork
• Other languages

Nursing Resume Objective Examples

Writing nursing objectives and goals can seem daunting at first. To help you get started, here are 10 different nursing resume objective examples that you can customize for your specific needs.

New Graduate Nurses

• Highly motivated and compassionate new BSN graduate nurse with strong academic and student clinical experience, as well as two years’ experience as an ICU tech. My goal is to join the cardiac ICU nurse residency program at Clara Barton Hospital, where I can apply and expand my nursing skills to provide patient-centered care for critically ill cardiac patients.

• Newly graduated certified registered nurse anesthetist seeking a CRNA position at Loretta C. Ford Hospital’s anesthesia care team. Five years’ experience as a medical ICU nurse with excellent critical care, problem-solving, and communication skills, and the ability to work in high-stress and fast-paced environments.

Nurses Changing Fields

• Compassionate and empathetic RN with three years of acute care experience seeking a hospice nurse position at Dorothea Dix Hospice Center. I apply my nursing skills, emotional intelligence, and communication abilities to provide holistic, palliative nursing care to terminally ill patients and their families.

• Detail-oriented RN with five years of experience in medical-surgical nursing as a bedside and charge nurse, with strong patient advocacy, team-building, and communication skills. Seeking a new role as a nurse case manager at the Lillian Wald Skilled Nursing Facility, where I can apply my clinical and interpersonal skills to coordinate all aspects of patient care and serve as a facilitator between the patients and their multidisciplinary teams.

• Energetic, highly skilled, adaptable RN with four years’ experience as an emergency and trauma nurse with CEN, TNCC, ACLS, and PALS certifications. I thrive in fast-paced environments and am ready to begin a career as a travel nurse with the Walt Whitman Nurse Staffing Agency.

• Detail-oriented public health nurse with high integrity and excellent research, analytical, and writing skills. Looking to enhance my career and utilize my strengths as a clinical research nurse at the Mary Seacole Nurse Health Network to implement, evaluate, and manage clinical trials to improve patient care.

• Outgoing, professional LPN with nine years’ experience in post-acute care with expertise in catheter, tracheostomy, and wound care; phlebotomy and IV skills; patient and caregiver education; and time management. Searching for a position as a home health nurse at Florence Nightingale Home Care to provide excellent skilled nursing care that promotes patient autonomy and prevents hospitalizations.

• Meticulous, empathetic, SANE-certified, psychiatric RN with over two years of experience and robust critical thinking, physical assessment, and communication skills. Eager to transition to a new role as a forensic nurse at Mary Eliza Mahoney Hospital and combine nursing knowledge with forensic science to make a positive impact on crime victims, survivors, and the legal system.

Nurses Leaving the Profession

• With seven years of critical care experience, I aim to transition into a real estate agent role at Virginia A. Henderson Realty. I will utilize my strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills and display dedication to help clients navigate the buying and selling process with confidence to help them find their dream homes.

• I aspire to transition into the health education specialist position within the Department of Health. With one year of acute care nursing experience, I aim to use my skills as a foundation to create and execute effective health education programs that empower individuals to adopt positive lifestyle choices.

Are You Ready to Apply for Your Dream Job?

Now that you know how to write a nursing resume objective, you can finish your resume with confidence. Need help taking the next step? Find the ideal nursing job you deserve on IntelyCare today.