If you’re looking to work as a travel nurse, start by crafting a resume that displays your credentials, skills, and willingness to travel. From patient relations to key medical specializations to your specific state licenses and certifications, share what makes you the ideal candidate. Follow the examples and tips below to elevate your resume.
Key Takeaways
- Emphasize specializations: Travel nurses are in high demand and it’s often for their specific skill sets. Be detailed about which patient populations you have worked with and the types of nursing care you have done, as well as specializations and certifications.
- Detail quantifiable achievements: Paint a picture of your travel nursing accomplishments with data and numbers. It could mean sharing patient satisfaction scores, positive patient outcomes, or the number of nurses you trained.
- Use keywords for ATS: Crafting your resume carefully with keywords that may get you through Applicant Tracking System (ATS) screenings is important. Look at job descriptions and include some of the same verbiage.
Most Popular Travel Nurse Resumes
Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
It demonstrates adaptability and a strong clinical foundation by showcasing both travel assignments and staff-nurse experience.
Key Tips
Focus on adaptability and measurable achievements by emphasizing how quickly you integrated into new teams and any improvements in patient outcomes. For more guidance on structuring your resume, check out Best Resume Formats.
Travel Nurse Supervisor Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates strong leadership and organizational skills by detailing how the candidate supervised a large travel-nurse team and improved retention. It also highlights clinical versatility across multiple units, underlining the candidate’s adaptability.
Key Tips
Emphasize leadership and tangible improvements: quantify training efficiencies and retention gains to showcase impact. For more insights on highlighting your skills, visit Skills to Put on Resume.
Senior Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume balances leadership achievements and clinical expertise, demonstrating the candidate’s ability to mentor and manage teams while elevating patient care outcomes. It clearly quantifies improvements in satisfaction and efficiency.
Key Tips
Always quantify leadership outcomes and clinical impacts to highlight value. For advice on presenting your education effectively, see How to List Education on a Resume.
ICU Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume underscores specialized ICU competencies like ventilator management and rapid emergency response, while demonstrating leadership through staff training. Quantified outcomes, such as infection-rate reductions, highlight its impact.
Key Tips
Emphasize critical care metrics to showcase expertise, such as infection- or complication-rate improvements. For more tips on structuring experience, check Work Experience on a Resume.
Emergency Room Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights critical ER competencies like triage efficiency, trauma code leadership, and protocol development, backed by measurable reductions in wait times and improved patient outcomes.
Key Tips
Include response times and survival metrics to demonstrate life-saving impact. To refine your summary, visit How to Write a Resume Summary.
Med Surg Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume showcases post-operative and telemetry expertise, highlighting outcomes like reduced stays and readmissions. It also underscores teaching ability with measurable improvements in patient compliance.
Key Tips
Quantify improvements in length of stay and readmission rates to demonstrate value. For more guidance on resume length, see How Long Should a Resume Be.
NICU Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights specialized NICU skills like ventilator management and surfactant therapy, backed by measurable reductions in BPD rates. It also demonstrates family-centered care through parent education initiatives.
Key Tips
Include clinical outcomes (e.g., extubation rates, reduced BPD). For more on tailoring your skills section, visit How to List Skills on a Resume.
First-Time Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes a strong orientation program and early clinical outcomes, like reduced falls and LOS, showing readiness for travel assignments. Quantified improvements showcase value despite limited travel experience.
Key Tips
Highlight residency achievements and measurable improvements to compensate for limited travel tenure. For more on writing objectives, check Resume Objective Examples.
Critical Care Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights advanced critical care skills, like sepsis protocol and code blue leadership, backed by quantifiable improvements in VAP rates and antibiotic times, underscoring impact.
Key Tips
Use specific critical-care metrics to illustrate your contributions. Visit Resume Action Words for strong verbs to describe interventions.
Labor and Delivery Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes specialized L&D competencies like fetal monitoring and VBAC success, along with education initiatives that reduced protocol errors, clearly demonstrating expertise and leadership.
Key Tips
Quantify safety and success rates in obstetric care to showcase expertise. For resume summaries, see How to Write a Resume Summary.
PICU Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights essential PICU skills like ventilator management and poison control coordination, while quantifying outcomes like reduced ventilator days and improved protocols, underscoring clinical excellence.
Key Tips
Use pediatric-specific metrics to showcase expertise and leadership in quality improvement. For skill presentation ideas, see Technical Skills in an IT Resume (adapt concepts to nursing).
RN Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates versatility across med-surg, telemetry, and PCU settings, while quantifying improvements in LOS and documentation accuracy, emphasizing both efficiency and quality care.
Key Tips
Highlight cross-unit adaptability and EHR accuracy to convey reliability. For more on listing experience, see Work Experience on a Resume.
Oncology Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights specialized oncology skills like chemotherapy administration and side-effect management, while demonstrating quality-improvement successes, underscoring expertise and patient advocacy.
Key Tips
Quantify error rates and compliance improvements in oncology care. For additional tips on presenting your education, visit How to List Degree on Resume.
Telemetry Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes telemetry expertise like ECG interpretation, alarm management, and educational leadership, demonstrating clinical proficiency and mentorship.
Key Tips
Highlight reductions in alarm fatigue and code blue survival rates to underscore value. For help with keywords, see Resume Keywords.
Rehab Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates specialized rehab skills like mobility training and pressure ulcer prevention, backed by quantified outcomes such as FIM improvements and reduced readmissions.
Key Tips
Emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration and patient outcomes. For advice on highlighting accomplishments, see How to Write a Convincing Resume Profile.
Cardiac Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights specialized cardiac care skills like post-PCI education and cath lab support, while showing quantifiable reductions in readmissions and LOS, demonstrating clear value.
Key Tips
Include specific cardiac metrics (readmission rates, LOS reductions). For optimizing bullet points, see How to Use Bullet Points on a Resume Effectively.
Neuro Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights neuro-specific expertise, such as ICP monitoring and stroke assessment. It shows measurable improvements in ICU stay and readmission rates, underscoring clinical impact.
Key Tips
Use neurological scales and outcome measures to emphasize expertise. For guidance on describing exams, see Resume Personal Statement Examples.
Pediatric Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume highlights pediatric oncology and resuscitation expertise, backed by measurable reductions in infection rates and distress scores, clearly demonstrating specialized pediatric skills.
Key Tips
Include pediatric-specific certifications and outcome metrics to showcase niche proficiency. For suggestions on formatting education, see How to Mention Year of Graduation on a Resume.
Behavioral Health Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume emphasizes specialized behavioral health skills like group therapy and de-escalation, while detailing measurable reductions in restraints and improved patient engagement, showcasing impact.
Key Tips
Highlight crisis-management outcomes and therapy facilitation successes. For more on tailoring descriptions, see How to Tailor a Resume to a Job Description.
Long-Term Care Travel Nurse Resume Example

Why This Resume Is a Great Example
This resume demonstrates LTC specialties like chronic disease management and wound care, while quantifying outcomes like reduced hospital transfers and improved ADL scores, underlining effectiveness.
Key Tips
Include long-term outcomes (hospital transfer rates, ADL improvements) to show impact. For further tips on structuring your resume, visit Best Looking Resumes.
Travel Nurse Text-Only Resume Examples and Templates
How To Write a Travel Nurse Resume Example
As a travel nurse, it’s important to highlight your commitment to excellent patient care as well as your expertise in various areas of nursing and skills transferable to different roles. Your travel nurse resume should include the following sections:
- Contact information
- Profile
- Key skills
- Professional experience
- Education and certifications
1. Share your contact information
Your resume should have your most up-to-date information so recruiters can contact you for potential work opportunities. Provide your full name, current contact information (phone number, email address, and city/state location), and a link to your online professional profile.
Example
Your Name
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation Zip Code
LinkedIn | Portfolio
2. Craft an outstanding profile with a summary of your travel nursing qualifications
The start of your resume should summarize your background and qualifications. In two to three sentences, share the highlights of your nursing career, specializations like emergency medicine or pediatrics, and any relevant certifications. The goal is to capture the reader’s attention and illustrate why you’re a good match for the job you’re seeking. Nursing specializations can also help you stand out from competitors.
Senior-Level Profile Example
A seasoned travel nurse with an expansive educational background and diverse experience from leading pharmaceutical companies. A strong combination of advanced clinical knowledge, leadership, and communication skills, plus supervisory roles managing health care teams, delivering advanced patient care, and mentoring junior nurses. Handle intricate travel logistics and regulations, ensure the implementation of comprehensive treatment plans, and administer complex procedures with a track record of improved patient outcomes.
Entry-Level Profile Example
A flexible and dedicated travel nurse with a registered nurse (RN) license providing high-standard patient care in varying medical facilities. Demonstrates expertise in adapting to new environments and working conditions, harnessed during assignments across premier health institutions like UnitedHealth Group and Albany Medical Center. In addition, a Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN) certification brings a robust and comprehensive understanding of health care community trends and practices.
3. Showcase your travel nursing experience
This section of your professional resume will describe your work history and take up the bulk of your resume. Start with your most recent job and work backward. For each position, include the employer name, location, start and end dates, and bullet points that describe your most relevant accomplishments and duties. When possible, quantify your contributions, whether it’s talking about patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, or infection prevention data.
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example
Senior Travel Nurse, Johnson & Johnson, Durham, NC | June 2022 – present
- Leverage advanced clinical knowledge and skills to handle complex patient cases and administer advanced procedures, contributing to improved patient health outcomes
- Oversee and manage the performance of the nursing team to ensure a high standard of patient care, resulting in 96% patient satisfaction scores during the last year
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary health care teams to develop and implement comprehensive treatment plans for patients, ensuring cohesive care coordination
Lead Travel Nurse, Roche Holding AG, Philadelphia, PA | May 2019 – May 2022
- Mentored and trained 12 junior travel nurses, familiarizing them with the hospital system and equipping them with the necessary skills for efficient service delivery
- Utilized stellar interpersonal and communication skills to build and maintain excellent relationships with patients, colleagues, and other health care professionals
- Oversaw travel logistics and ensured compliance with travel regulations among the travel nursing team
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
Travel Nurse, UnitedHealth Group, Philadelphia, PA | June 2023 – present
- Provide quality care to a diverse patient pool, monitoring vital signs, administering medication, and assisting with recovery
- Adapt to constantly changing environments and teams as assignments vary
- Consistently follow contract terms and conditions, fulfilling agreed-upon responsibilities and remaining at each assignment for the full duration
Staff Nurse, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY | January 2023 – May 2023
- Delivered patient-centered health care in a fast-paced hospital ward
- Utilized electronic health record (EHR) systems for accurate record-keeping and streamlined patient care
- Earned Basic Life Support Certification and continuously expanded knowledge in specialized nursing areas
Resume writer’s tip: Quantify your experience
Organizations are interested in the value that you can bring and appreciate candidates who can share metrics and data about their workplace achievements. You might include patient satisfaction scores, the number of patients you cared for, the nurse-to-patient ratio in your unit, and other indicators of quality work.
Here’s an example of how it could look on your resume:
Do
- “Coordinated with multidisciplinary teams to improve care delivery, resulting in a 15% increase in patient satisfaction within 90 days”
Don’t
- “Worked with multidisciplinary teams to provide patient care”
Resume writer’s tip: Tailor your resume for each application
To grab the attention of recruiters and hiring managers, update your travel nurse resume to reflect what each specific employer is looking for. Although the job outlook for RNs is expected to grow faster than average, this will create better alignment between you and the role you’re seeking. For instance, if the job description is looking for someone who has experience with children and you worked in a pediatric clinic, highlight that key experience and skill set in the profile section.
What if you don’t have experience?
If you’re new to travel nursing, share your general nursing or clinical experience. You can include past health care jobs, clinical rotations (if you’re fresh out of school), related volunteer experience, academic achievements, or nursing certifications.
4. Outline your education and travel nurse-related certifications
Hiring managers for travel nursing will need to see that you’ve completed the necessary schooling and are licensed to practice in their state. List each school you attended with degree name and date completed, along with any professional certifications in nursing specializations.
Education
Template:
[Degree Name]
[School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
University of Albany, Albany, NY | May 2022
Licenses
Template:
[License Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example:
- Registered Nurse (RN), Arizona State Board of Nursing, 2023
Certifications
Template:
[Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example:
- Basic Life Support (BLS), National Safety Council, 2023
- Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Desert Education Solutions, 2022
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Arizona State Board of Nursing, 2015
5. Outline your most useful travel nurse skills and proficiencies
As a travel nurse, you’ve likely acquired a number of skills in your various assignments. Share the ones most relevant for the positions you’re applying for, and make tweaks based on the specific job postings. For example, if you’ve worked in cardiology, surgical units, and with intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the past, and you’re seeking a travel job in a hospital network, note the skills relevant to that opportunity. Include a mix of hard and soft skills as well.
To give you an idea of some possible skills you can include, see our list of common travel nursing skills:
Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
---|---|
Communication | Emergency medical response |
HIPAA compliance | Medication management |
Patient relations | Vital signs monitoring |
Travel logistics |
Resume writer’s tip: Use strong action verbs
When creating the professional experience section of your resume, using impactful action verbs can bring your resume to life and elevate your past achievements. To help you brainstorm, here’s a list of action verbs that could work well on a travel nurse resume:
Action Verbs | |
---|---|
Administered | Advocated |
Assessed | Collaborated |
Diagnosed | Documented |
Implemented | Monitored |
Resolved | Treated |
How To Pick the Best Travel Nurse Resume Template
When selecting a travel nurse resume template, aim for substance over style. In other words, keep it simple, professional, and clean, with clearly labeled sections rather than using templates with heavy imagery and design elements.
Frequently Asked Questions: Travel Nurse Resume Examples and Advice
The nursing profession is projected to grow faster than the average job through 2032, and in some areas, there may not be enough nurses to fill positions. Writing your resume strategically can help you match with potential travel nursing positions that align with your skills. See what a particular travel nurse agency or health care organization is looking for, and bring those related skills and experiences to the forefront of your resume.
Using a reverse-chronological resume format is the norm for many professionals, including nurses. It allows recruiters to see how your career has progressed, as well as easily identify your top skills.
To optimize your Travel Nurse CV for ATS, make sure to incorporate the right keywords from the job description, especially in sections like skills, experience, and certifications. Stick to a clean, straightforward layout that avoids complicated formatting or images, as these can confuse the ATS. This will help your CV get past the automated systems and into the hands of hiring managers.
Include a cover letter with your resume
Craft a cover letter to send with your resume to help make the case for why you’d be a good fit for a travel nursing role.
Check Out Related Examples
Resume Templates offers free, HR approved resume templates to help you create a professional resume in minutes. Choose from several template options and even pre-populate a resume from your profile.