How To Write a Detailed Health Care Resume (With Example)

Updated July 28, 2023

If you're applying for a position in the health care field, it's important to create a resume that highlights your expertise working for providers and following the industry's best practices. An effective resume for this field highlights the specific skills, qualifications and experience you've gained in the health care industry while it showcases your interest in the role. A detailed resume can help you get the employer's attention and increase the chances they'll consider you for further assessment.

In this article, we discuss what a health care resume is and share how to write your own, including a template and an example to guide you.

What is a health care resume?

A health care resume is a style of resume that highlights an applicant's skills, education, training and experience that are relevant to the health care or medical industries. These industries represent a broad career field with many specializations and professions. Surgeons, physicians, nurses, medical specialists, therapists, health care assistants and health care support personnel all work in these industries.

Whether you currently work in a health care role or you're applying for one for the first time, it's important to write an effective resume that showcases your expertise. Your resume allows you to make an excellent first impression on employers and inform recruiters of your skills. It can also help you differentiate yourself from other candidates when you submit your application to employers' human resources department.

How to create an effective health care resume

Resumes include specific features that showcase a candidate's education, work experience and skills, but a health care resume may include more sections due to the level of specialization the career often requires. As you start writing your health care resume, use the following steps to format your information and ensure your document is as professional as possible:

1. Begin with your contact information

You can begin writing your resume by including your personal information at the top of your document. Include your first and last name, phone number, email address and location. This makes it easier for hiring managers to contact you if you match their requirements and they decide to advance you in the hiring process. Remember to use a professional email, and avoid listing the email of your current workplace.

2. Add a professional summary

Health care resumes typically begin with a professional summary, which includes two to three sentences that describe your professional background, advanced skills, career goals and achievements. This summary can offer employers insight into your qualifications as they relate to the specific health care role you're applying for. Highlight your credentials, your contributions to a health care team and your proudest achievements, but try to keep your summary concise so you have space for other sections. Begin each sentence with a strong adjective and quantify your accomplishments, if possible.

3. List your work experience to explain your background

Under your professional summary, add a work experience section that lists jobs related to the primary role you're applying for. This section showcases your past experience, career achievements and professional development. If you don't yet have much experience, consider including any clinical experience or medical residency and fellowship programs that involved earning an income. Use reverse-chronological order to list your most recent position first and end with your earliest roles.

Include the name of the organization, your job title and the dates you worked at the company. Under each work role, include specific examples of success in your past jobs, and use plenty of action verbs, using present tense for your current responsibilities and past tense when discussing your previous jobs. For example, you could include the number of patients you treated if you worked as a nurse or specialist. Include up to five duties, responsibilities or tasks in bullets for your current or most recent role and three for previous roles.

4. Highlight your skills

Health care and medical employees have a wide range of hard and soft skills unique to the field. Hard skills are the technical abilities that can offer insight into your core professional capabilities and how you achieved success in past roles. Soft skills illustrate how you work with others. Including relevant skills in your resume can showcase your dedication and commitment to your career, which can better inform employers of your abilities and help them understand how your qualifications align with the role's requirements.

Try to vary the skills you include, and be as specific as you can about your best traits and abilities. Organization, teamwork, communication and patient care are important soft skills for a wide range of health care positions. Depending on the role, it might also benefit you to list the software tools or medical equipment you have experience using.

5. Include your educational background and training

After listing your skills, add an education section that presents your education and training. This section helps enhance your credibility and prove your qualifications to employers. Include the names of each degree or diploma you earned, beginning with your most recent one, along with the name of the institution where you studied.

If you're a recent graduate, you can also include your graduation year. The specific academic requirements for a health care career usually vary by subfield, but education and training are crucial for a wide range of jobs. Aides and assistants may only need a diploma or certificate, while medical doctors, nurses and more advanced specialists often need a medical degree or a nursing credential.

6. Record relevant certifications and licenses

Depending on the specific field and its required credentials, a health care resume may include a separate section for certifications and licenses. Many jobs in health care require a specific credential or license, and including these details can help you further demonstrate your qualifications. For example, if you're a registered nurse, you can include the name of your credential, the nursing organization that awarded it and the year you earned it.

7. Format and proofread your resume

After writing your resume, spend some time proofreading and reviewing your resume format for clarity and organization. Make sure you use a legible font and an appropriate font size for headings and subheadings. For example, it's appropriate to have your name in a bold font that's two sizes larger than the rest of the content, and it's important to bold all headings.

Read through the body of your resume to remove spelling and punctuation mistakes and ensure your tone is professional. It might be helpful to have other people, such as family or colleagues, review your resume for you before you submit it.

Tips for writing a health care resume

As you're writing your health care resume, use the following tips to improve your document and further distinguish yourself:

Optimize your resume for applicant tracking systems

Many large health care employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to automate the resume scanning and selection process. You can increase your chances of your resume passing through the ATS software by using keywords and phrases from the job description throughout your resume. Include as many keywords as possible while still being honest about your credential.

Match your skills to the job posting

Use some of the same skills listed in the job description when adding your own. Health care employers often list the skills they're looking for in the job posting. Adding these skills can help you ensure your expertise aligns with that of the employer. If you're not sure which skills to include, consider researching the same position at other companies for more information about helpful skills and characteristics.

Keep your resume brief

Try to ensure your resume is no more than one page long by including only the experience, qualifications and skills that are directly relevant to the position. A one-page resume can make it easier for employers to review your information quickly and determine if you're qualified. You can use bullet points and one-inch margins to keep your resume concise and still include the most important information.

Health care resume template

The following health care resume template can help you outline your own details:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification if applicable]

[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City], [State]

Professional Summary

[Two to three sentences that highlight years of experience, relevant skills, education or certifications and achievements working in health care.]

Experience

(For the most recent role, list 5 experience items. For previous roles, list 3.)

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

Skills

Education

[Degree and major], [Name of school or university]

Licenses and Certifications

[Certification name], [Host organization] - [Year completed or expiration date]

Example health care resume

It can be a good idea to review a few sample resumes before you begin writing your own. Here's a detailed example resume for a person working in a health care field that you can use as guidance:

Jacqueline Rimerez, RN | 345-898-0023 | rimerez-j@email.com

Summary

Dedicated and compassionate Registered Nurse with nine years of experience working in a fast-paced hospital environment requiring highly specialized skills in clinical and patient care. Effective and driven health care team member motivated to improve both patient outcomes and the processes used in diagnoses and treatment.