13 Travel Nurse Resume Examples for 2025

Creating an effective travel nurse resume is crucial for landing the best assignments. This article offers proven resume examples and strategic advice tailored for travel nurses. Learn how to highlight key skills, experience, and credentials to impress hiring managers. Get insights on what makes a strong travel nurse resume and tips to make yours stand out.

  Compiled and approved by Steve Grafton
  Last updated on See history of changes

  Next update scheduled for

At a Glance

Here's what we see in the best travel nurse resumes.

  • Show Impact With Numbers: Details matter. Use metrics to show your impact. Examples are patient care hours, medication error reduction, emergency response time, and reduced patient recovery time.

  • Pick Relevant Skills: Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned on the job description. Some popular ones are IV therapy, patient assessment, electronic health records (EHR), critical care, and ventilator management. But don't include all of them, choose the ones you have and are mentioned in the JD.

  • Highlight Certifications: For travel nurses, BLS, ACLS, and PALS certifications are very important. Ensure they are clearly listed.

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Education section placement

As a hiring manager, you need to see a travel nurse's education details clearly. Put education near the top if you are new to the workforce or recently got more education. If you have been working as a nurse who travels for jobs and gained experience, place your work history first.

For this role, your degree and any special nursing training are key. Highlight your nursing degree, certifications, or courses on managing patient care during travel. This shows you are ready for the job. If you have advanced certifications or continued education in a specialized field of nursing, make sure these are easy to find on your resume.

Include disease specialization

As a travel nurse, you may encounter diverse health challenges in different regions. Show your expertise in specific areas of care by listing any disease or condition specializations. For example, if you have experience with diabetes management or wound care, highlight these skills. This shows you bring valuable knowledge to each assignment.

If you have undergone training for particular health crises, such as the COVID-19 response, include this information as well. Experience with pandemic protocols can make you stand out, demonstrating that you can adapt to urgent and evolving healthcare situations.

Ideal resume length

For travel nurses seeking employment, presenting a concise and focused resume is essential. You want to show your ability to prioritize and organize information effectively. As a hiring manager, I recommend a one-page resume for most travel nurses. This length is sufficient to list your relevant experiences, education, and skills in a way that is easy for managers to review.

If you have more than ten years of extensive nursing experience or hold senior positions, two pages can be appropriate. It is vital to use the first page to highlight your most recent and relevant experiences. Travel nurses should emphasize diverse clinical skills and adaptability to different working environments. Remember to keep margins and fonts readable. Your goal is to make your resume accessible and easy to skim while showcasing your best qualifications at the beginning.

Showcase adaptability

Being a travel nurse means working in various settings. Highlight your adaptability by listing different types of healthcare facilities you have worked in, such as hospitals, clinics, or emergency rooms.

Mention any experience with electronic health records (EHR) systems. This is valuable information for employers as it shows you can quickly adapt to different tech environments.

Beat the resume screeners

When you apply for a travel nurse position, your resume might first be read by a computer program called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a hiring manager sees it. It's important to make your resume ATS-friendly to improve your chances of getting an interview.

Here are ways to help your resume pass through these screeners:

  • Use standard job titles like 'travel nurse' and include specific details like 'pediatric' or 'emergency room' if that is your area of expertise. This helps the ATS recognize your relevant experience.
  • Include common healthcare certifications like BLS or ACLS and the states where you are licensed. Make sure these are easy to find and read on your resume to show you meet the job requirements.

Highlighting state licenses

Include a section for your state nursing licenses. List all the states you are licensed to work in. This is very important for travel nurse roles as it shows your flexibility.

Also, mention any special certifications, like PALS or ACLS, that are relevant to the job. These give you an edge in the hiring process.

License and certifications details

When you write your resume, you might forget to include important details about your nursing license and certifications. As a hiring manager, I often see resumes that do not list the state of licensure or forget to mention when a certification expires. This information is key for travel nurses, as employers need to know you are qualified to work in their state and that your skills are up to date.

Make sure you:

  • Show the state where you have your nursing license, and include the license number if it is required or recommended in your field.
  • List each certification clearly with the full name of the certification, the organization that gave it to you, and the expiration date. This helps employers see you are ready to start and reduces the time needed to check if you meet the job requirements.

Make your resume fit

To get the best travel nursing jobs, your resume should show that you are the right fit. You need to make it clear you have the skills and experience for this role. Do this by using words that match the job listing. Make your resume easy to read so hiring managers can see why you are a good choice.

  • Highlight your ability to adapt to new work environments, a key skill for travel nurses. Use phrases like quickly adapts to diverse healthcare settings.
  • Focus on your experience with different patient care scenarios. For example, list the various units or clinics you have worked in and the types of care you provided.
  • Show that you are a team player and can lead when needed. Use examples like collaborates with cross-functional medical teams or leads patient care coordination.

Show achievements, not tasks

When you create your resume as a travel nurse, focus on what you've accomplished in your work, not just what duties you had. Instead of listing daily tasks, show how you made a difference.

Think about the results you've achieved and how they benefited patient care or the healthcare team. Here are two ways to change a responsibility into an accomplishment:

  • Before: 'Monitored patient vital signs during shifts.'
  • After: 'Improved patient monitoring by developing a checklist that reduced errors by 20%.'
  • Before: 'Administered medication to patients.'
  • After: 'Enhanced patient recovery rates by tailoring medication plans, resulting in a 15% decrease in hospital stays.'

Remember to include numbers like percentages or other measures when you can. They help to show the real impact of your work.

Use dynamic verbs for impact

As you describe your past work experiences, using dynamic verbs can make a strong impact. Remember, as a travel nurse, your resume should show that you're ready to jump into action and provide top care. Choose verbs that present you as someone who takes initiative and works effectively.

Here are examples of verbs that reflect the energy and skills you bring to the job:

  • To display your ability to quickly respond to medical situations, use administered, assessed, monitored, responded, stabilized.
  • Show your teamwork and leadership with coordinated, directed, mentored, supported, guided.
  • Highlight your adaptability in diverse settings with navigated, adapted, integrated, collaborated, transitioned.
  • To demonstrate your commitment to patient care, use advocated, comforted, educated, encouraged, facilitated.
  • Communicate your proficiency with medical procedures with performed, executed, implemented, operated, delivered.

Want inspiration for other action verbs you can use? Check out synonyms to commonly used action verbs like Utilizing, Achieved, Helped, Advised, Collaborate.

Highlight leadership and growth

When you're listing your experiences as a travel nurse, it's important to show any leadership roles or promotions you've had. This tells employers you're capable of handling responsibility and have grown in your field.

Think about times when you've been in charge of a team or a project. Have you trained new staff or led a group of nurses? Maybe you've been recognized for your leadership skills with a formal title or role. These are all good examples to include.

  • Example: 'Promoted to Lead Travel Nurse for consistently exceeding patient care standards and mentoring junior nurses.'
  • Example: 'Served as Interim Unit Supervisor during staff shortages, managing patient assignments and nurse schedules.'

Even if you haven't had a formal promotion, consider times when you've taken on more duties or helped to guide others. These experiences are worth mentioning as they show your ability to step up when needed.

Essential skills for travel nurses

When you are crafting your resume, it's key to showcase the specific skills that relate to being a travel nurse. Here's a list of hard skills to consider:

  • Emergency care
  • Critical thinking
  • Acute care proficiency
  • Medical software knowledge
  • Life support certification
  • Patient assessment
  • Triage procedures
  • Medical terminology
  • Surgical assistance
  • Infection control

You don't need to include all these skills, but focus on the ones that best match your experience and the job you want. For example, if you specialize in pediatric care, emphasize your experience in that area. Place these skills in a dedicated section for easy reading and to help with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which scan for keywords related to the job.

Remember, a good resume shows you have the practical abilities to do the job well. If you have used certain medical software or equipment, list those to prove you can hit the ground running. It's not just about having skills; it's about showing how you've applied them. So, when listing your skills, think about how they connect to real work situations you've faced. This will help employers see your value right away.

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