Staff Nurse CV Example: Registered Nurse CV for NHS Roles

Use a reverse-chronological layout on two pages, with your NMC registration near the top. Recruiters want to see your current registration, your field of nursing and your most recent clinical area before anything else. Put your name, a professional email address and your town at the top, then a short profile of three or four lines.

Each job entry should give your title, band, ward or department, employer and dates. Underneath, list what you did on a typical shift and what you improved, using concrete details such as patient acuity, bay size, the systems you used and any link nurse or supervision roles. Avoid copying your job description word for word, because every applicant for that post has the same one.

Leave out your photo, date of birth, marital status and National Insurance or PPS number. UK and Irish employers do not need them on a CV, and they take up space that should describe your practice. Save the file as a PDF unless the advert asks for Word, and give it a clear name such as your full name followed by the words Staff Nurse CV.

State that you are on the NMC register, your field of practice and whether your registration is active. Many nurses also add their PIN, because employers check it against the online register during pre-employment checks. If you would rather not publish it on a document that may be shared, write that it is available on request and give it on the application form.

If you trained in Ireland and are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, name that board accurately rather than implying NMC registration you do not hold. The same applies to nurses who trained outside the UK and are part way through the NMC application process. Describe the stage you have reached honestly, for example application submitted or test of competence booked.

Add your revalidation date only if it helps. It can reassure a recruiter that your registration will not lapse soon after you start, but it is not compulsory. Keep mandatory training such as manual handling and safeguarding in a single line, and give more space to clinical courses like ILS, ALS or a critical care module.

Match your skills to the person specification in the job advert, because shortlisting is scored against it. NHS adverts list essential and desirable criteria, and panels look for evidence of each one in your CV and supporting statement. If the post asks for IV competence, tracheostomy care or experience with NEWS2, name those skills plainly.

Group technical skills by area rather than listing dozens of tasks. Acute care, medicines management, wound care, end of life care and safeguarding are useful headings that a recruiter can scan in seconds. Mention the electronic record and rostering systems you have used, without assuming that a system name alone proves competence.

Show professional behaviours through examples, not adjectives. Instead of saying you are a good communicator, describe the handover tool you helped improve or the family meetings you supported. The NHS values of compassion, respect and working together for patients can guide which examples you choose.

Treat your clinical placements as your main experience and describe each one like a short job. Give the ward or service, the setting, the length of the placement and what you were trusted to do by the end of it. A final placement where you managed a small group of patients under supervision is particularly worth detailing.

If you worked as a healthcare assistant before or during your degree, include it, but keep the job title accurate so nobody confuses it with registered practice. That experience shows you understand ward routines, personal care and teamwork. Add your expected registration date if you are applying before your PIN is issued, and mention the preceptorship programme you hope to join.

Keep the education section clear and complete. List your nursing degree with the university and year, then A-levels or an Access to Higher Education Diploma. Dissertation topics, academic prizes and extra placements can go here if they relate to the post you want.