Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Examples and Templates for 2024
To advance your career within the medical industry, you need a great certified nursing assistant (CNA) resume that illustrates your genuine passion for patient care. Rather than detailing mundane job responsibilities, the key is to focus on describing your most impressive clinical achievements. In this guide, we’ll provide expert advice to help you craft an exceptional resume that conveys the value you can bring to patients and health care organizations.
Key Takeaways:
- Emphasize patient-centered care: Use tangible examples from your nursing career to showcase your passion and commitment to patient-centered care and advocacy.
- Detail quantifiable achievements: Utilize specific data, such as patient satisfaction ratings and positive patient outcomes to demonstrate your impact in previous roles.
- Use keywords for ATS: Incorporate relevant health care keywords from job postings to ensure your resume complies with applicant tracking systems (ATS).
- CNA With No Experience
- Mid-Level CNA
- Acute Care CNA
How To Write a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume
1. Select a suitable layout and design for your certified nursing assistant resume
When creating a CNA resume, opt for a clean, professional layout that allows the hiring manager to easily navigate your health care qualifications. A well-structured template should include the right amount of white space, allowing your sections to breathe without arbitrarily increasing the length of your resume.
2. Write a compelling profile summarizing your certified nursing assistant qualifications
Your opening summary is often the first thing the hiring manager reads during the applicant screening process, so it’s important to make every word count. Create an engaging overview of your background within the nursing field, emphasizing your unique areas of clinical expertise. For example, you might draw attention to your experience delivering compassionate care to patients in oncology units.
Strong summary example for a certified nursing assistant:
An accomplished CNA with eight years of experience delivering exceptional patient care in hospital and nursing home settings. Adept at collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to drive positive patient outcomes and enhance clinical operations.
Weak summary example for a certified nursing assistant:
I’m an enthusiastic and hardworking nursing assistant who enjoys helping others. I’m an expert at finding solutions and completing clinical tasks in a timely manner. I’m excited about the opportunity to advance my career as a CNA at your esteemed hospital.
3. Incorporate a results-focused work history section for your certified nursing assistant resume
Your professional experience section is a key component of your CNA resume, displaying the most impressive aspects of your work history within the medical field. When crafting your bullet points, incorporate hard data to demonstrate how your efforts positively impacted clinical operations. For instance, drawing attention to a high nurse-patient ratio provides additional context for the hiring manager, making a high patient satisfaction score all the more impressive.
Strong experience example for a certified nursing assistant:
Certified Nursing Assistant, Mercy Hospital, New York, NY | April 2018 – present
- Provide exceptional care to patients in a 300-bed hospital with a 1-to-7 ratio and maintain a 92% and above patient satisfaction rating
- Coordinated with registered nurses (RNs) and doctors to implement evidence-based care plans, resulting in a 9% increase in positive patient outcomes
- Support patients with ADLs, monitor vital signs, and report changes in patient condition to the attending physician
Weak experience example for a certified nursing assistant:
Certified Nursing Assistant | Mercy Hospital | New York, NY | April 2018 – present
- Took care of patients
- Checked vital signs
- Helped with patient needs
- Worked with nurses
4. List your education and any pertinent certifications for a certified nursing assistant
Unlike an RN, CNAs aren’t required to hold a college degree. Completing a CNA program in your state is normally sufficient for most job applications. That said, obtaining an associate degree in nursing or additional clinical certifications can help better prepare you for the position and help facilitate your long-term career advancement.
Education example for a certified nursing assistant:
Education:
- Associate of Science (A.S.) Nursing
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Los Angeles, CA | May 2018
Relevant Certifications:
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) | State of New York | April 2018
5. Highlight your essential abilities and technical proficiencies for a certified nursing assistant
Most health care organizations rely on ATS to identify qualified candidates for job openings during the hiring process. To pass the initial screening phase, integrate keywords from the posting into your resume. As a CNA, you need a combination of clinical knowledge and strong interpersonal skills to excel, so be sure to feature both when building out your skill section.
| Acute care | Medication administration |
| ADLs | Mobility assistance |
| Clinical operations | Multi-disciplinary collaboration |
| Communication | Patient care |
| Electronic health records (EHR) | Patient education |
| Geriatric care | Patient-centered care |
| HIPAA regulations | Pediatric care |
| Infection prevention | Vital signs monitoring |
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Build Your ResumeHow To Pick the Best Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Template
Choosing the right template for your CNA resume is critical. Opt for a simple, clean design that highlights your qualifications without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary visuals. Prioritize templates that allow you to clearly display your skills, certifications, and experience, ensuring that hiring managers can quickly see your qualifications. Avoid overly creative or complex layouts that may distract from your experience or make it difficult for ATS to process your resume.
- CNA With No Experience
- Mid-Level CNA
- Acute Care CNA
John Bergsen
[email protected] | (123) 456-7890 | City, ST | LinkedIn | Portfolio
Summary
A CNA with six years of experience providing patient care in both hospital and long-term care settings. A proven track record of identifying opportunities to enhance clinical efficiency and improve the delivery of patient-centered care.
Professional Experience
Certified Nursing Assistant, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD | May 2020 – present
- Deliver exceptional care to over 30 patients per shift, educate patients and families on treatment plans, and achieve a 94% patient satisfaction rating
- Monitored patient vital signs and collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams to streamline patient care procedures, improving overall clinical efficiency by 15%
- Support a team initiative to improve infection control compliance, resulting in an 18% reduction in hospital-acquired infections
Certified Nursing Assistant
Baltimore General Hospital, Baltimore, MD | June 2018 – May 2020
- Provided compassionate care for over 25 patients daily in acute care settings and maintained a 93% patient satisfaction rating
- Trained and mentored five new CNAs on patient-centered care standards, infection prevention protocols, and clinical workflows
- Supported the development and implementation of a patient mobility program, which reduced fall-related incidents by 16%
Key Skills
- Patient health monitoring
- Infection control compliance
- EHR system management
- Team training and mentoring
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Certified
Certifications
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), State of Maryland | June 2018
Education
Associate of Science (A.S.) Nursing
Baltimore College, Baltimore, MD | June 2018
Why this certified nursing assistant resume example is strong:
In this example, the candidate uses clinical data to their advantage, effectively demonstrating how their contributions had a positive impact on patient care delivery. They also display their experience training new CNAs, effectively illustrating their leadership attributes.
Frequently Asked Questions: Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for certified nursing assistant resumes?
Incorporating action verbs is a great way to help the hiring manager visualize your contributions. Using proactive language allows you to own your achievements. For instance, notice the difference between these two bullet points:
- Assisted RNs in caring for patients
- Collaborated with RNs to deliver exceptional patient care
Although the changes in word choice are subtle, the second bullet point is far more impactful because it highlights the collaborative aspect of their role. Below, we’ve compiled a list of action verbs you can use when building your professional experience section:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Administered | Implemented |
| Assessed | Improved |
| Collaborated | Managed |
| Communicated | Monitored |
| Conducted | Oversaw |
| Coordinated | Performed |
| Educated | Provided |
| Enhanced | Supervised |
| Identified | Treated |
How do you align your resume with a job posting?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing assistant occupations are expected to grow by 4% between 2023 and 2033. While CNA roles are expected to continue growing at an average rate, you’ll still face strong competition when pursuing positions at the most prestigious hospitals. To maximize your odds of landing the interview, properly tailor your resume to the job description.
For example, if a hospital is seeking a CNA with a strong background in delivering care to geriatric patients, you might emphasize how you consistently found ways to preserve patient dignity while assisting with ADLs.
What is the best certified nursing assistant resume format?
Reverse chronological is the ideal format for CNAs. This approach places your professional experience towards the top of your document, allowing the hiring manager to quickly see your most notable clinical achievements. A combination format should only be considered for entry-level candidates who need to prioritize skills, education, and certifications to compensate for a lack of work history.
Career Coach
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