ICU Nurse Resume (Examples, Tips, Cover Letter)

An ICU (Intensive Care Unit) nurse, also called a critical care nurse, is the one who provides health care to patients with severe illness or injuries in intensive-care units. This position’s typical responsibilities include closely assessing and recording each patient’s recovery condition, explaining intricate medical knowledge with patients and their families in an understandable way, and assisting the doctors with the treatments. 

Some people may confuse an ICU nurse with an ER (emergency room) nurse. Although there are some similarities between them, an ER nurse faces a more fast-paced environment since he/she has to evaluate patients’ conditions and give treatments almost simultaneously in a very short time. They have to deal with patients in various situations, from sore throat to even gun-shoot injury. By contrast, an ICU nurse’s daily work is to give detailed care only to seriously ill patients.

Now, if you are excited to do a highly stressful but meaningful job, it is time to write an ICU nurse resume to land the job!

Before discussing what to include in one’s ICU nurse resume, here are six steps you should know when it comes to resume writing.

Both CV (Curriculum Vitae) and resume are about one’s professional experience, but the information in an ICU nurse resume tends to be more compressed.

Therefore, an ICU nurse CV will usually exceed two pages, while an ICU nurse resume is only one page (at most two pages). It is better to confirm whether the employers require a CV or a resume since different regions may have their practices. 

Here are four types of resume formats to choose from for your critical care nurse resume: chronological, functional, hybrid (combination),  and targeted resume format. It is optional to use some of these resume formats at the same time to create a layout that distinguishes you the most.

For example, the hybrid resume format uses both chronological and functional resume format. That is, you can list your work experience in reverse chronological order, and meanwhile, emphasize your skills.

Before writing your ICU nurse resume, it is helpful to look at how others did. In this article, we also provide a sample for an ICU nurse resume.

If you are going to apply for the ICU nurse position in several hospitals or healthcare facilities, try to tailor each of your ICU nurse resumes.

For instance, since the ICU nurse position is sometimes under a specific ICU unit, it is weird if a cardiac ICU nurse resume (or CVICU nurse resume) is the same as a neuro ICU nurse resume or a pediatric ICU nurse resume.

Although not every employer requires a cover letter, an ICU nurse cover letter is another opportunity to demonstrate one’s qualifications.

Proofreading is essential for resume writing! One of the crucial characteristics of an ICU nurse is detail-oriented, and an error-free ICU RN resume can prove your attention to detail.

📍 Your ICU nurse resume should include the following sections.

1. ICU Nurse Resume Profile (Personal Information)

It is up to you to include your Linkedin and personal website.

2. ICU Nurse Resume Headline

A resume headline is a cue to trigger employers to read through your critical care nurse resume. It indicates the most outstanding accomplishments of an applicant. Hence, it is best to list several of your greatest strengths related to the ICU nurse position first and craft them in one capitalized sentence.

3. Professional Critical Care Nurse Resume Summary

Since employers do not have so much time on one’s resume, it is thoughtful to provide a summary to outline your most distinguishing achievements. Keep note that a summary should be concise and within two-to-three sentences.

4. Critical Care Nurse Resume Objective

Your critical care nurse resume will include either a resume summary or a career objective. Both have a similar layout, but a career objective is more about one’s career goal and hence, more suitable for people with no experience.

5. ICU Nurse Skills for Resume

The skill section is one of the most critical sections in one’s ICU nurse resume. Hiring managers can quickly understand the expertise you have and decide whether to call you for an interview.

There are 4 ways to list your ICU nurse skills on a resume: a simple bullet list, an expanded bullet list, integrated with work experience, and a categorized skills section. No matter which method to adopt, remember to back those skills you listed up in other parts.

6. Work Experience for Your ICU Nurse Resume

Most ICU nurses need at least one year of experience in critical care or nursing. To receive an interviewing chance, try to adopt position-specific keywords to your intensive care nurse resume. You should take a close look at job descriptions to know the skills and personal traits employers expect.

7. Education Section for Your ICU Nurse Resume

Education is exceptionally fundamental to an ICU nurse. Most employers require an accredited nursing diploma.

According to All Nursing School, having a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree may land you a job with a higher salary. Hence, be sure to put your educational diploma in your critical care RN resume.

8. Certification/Volunteer/Hobbies in Your ICU Nurse Resume

You can also include the following information in your ICU registered nurse resume:

• Certification

Almost every employer states in their job descriptions that a current BLS and ACLS certification is necessary for the ICU nurse position. 

• Volunteer

ICU nurse is a job that needs compassion and dedication, and the volunteer experience can indicate your commitment and care for other people.

• Hobbies

An ICU nurse should be able to shift between day and night and conduct physical tasks such as supporting and lifting patients, pushing beds & equipment. Hence, hobbies like hiking or jogging are a good demonstration of your physical stamina.

Since it takes employers 20 seconds on average to read one’s cover letter, creating well-structured content for your ICU nurse cover letter is essential.

Please send your nurse practitioner resume and CV in PDF files unless recruiters ask for Microsoft Word files. Transferring your documents to PDF files ensures the resume formatting on different devices like mobiles, laptops, and computers.