Free nurse cover letter template

A full example for a Band 5 staff nurse post, what to mention in yours, and how it fits with an NHS supporting statement.

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  • Matches your CV design
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Write yours free See the example
A nurse cover letter in the Hampstead design, with a made-up name and a typed signature

Nurse cover letter example

Daniel Mensah, Staff Nurse (Band 5), Acute Medical Unit · registered nurse (Adult) since 2024

Dear Ms Adeyemi,

I am applying for the Band 5 Staff Nurse post on your Acute Medical Unit. I have been a registered nurse (Adult) since September 2024, working on a 28-bed respiratory ward, and I am ready for the pace and variety of acute medicine.

On my ward I care for a bay of up to eight patients, including people on non-invasive ventilation. I am confident with NEWS2 and sepsis screening, IV medicines and cannulation, and I escalate early: last winter I recognised a patient deteriorating on a night shift and had the outreach team with us within minutes. I also support student nurses as a practice supervisor.

Your advert mentions patient flow and safe discharge. I start planning discharges on the day of admission, work closely with our therapy and pharmacy teams, and helped to write the ward’s discharge checklist, which our matron has since shared with two other wards.

I would welcome the chance to bring this experience to the AMU team. I can work the full rota, including nights and weekends.

Yours sincerely,
Daniel Mensah

Or write yours from the job advert

What to mention in a nurse cover letter

Keep it to one page. Pick what the advert stresses most, and give an example for each point.

Writing the CV too? See the nurse CV template and our registered nurse CV example.

  1. Your registration

    Your field of practice and when you joined the NMC register, or when you expect to if you are newly qualified.

  2. The setting and patients

    The ward or service you work on now, the patient group and the acuity, in a sentence.

  3. Two or three skills from the advert

    Pick the ones the person specification stresses, and give one short example of using each.

  4. The trust’s values

    Most trusts publish their values. One honest example of living one of them goes further than repeating the words.

  5. Teaching and improvement

    Supporting students, audits, quality projects or a change you helped bring in.

  6. Availability

    Full rota, nights, weekends, or the hours you can work.

Nurse cover letters: your questions

Is a supporting statement the same as a cover letter?

They do a similar job, but an NHS supporting statement is usually longer and follows the person specification point by point, with an example for each. A cover letter is shorter and goes with a CV, for agencies, private hospitals, hospices and GP practices.

How long should a nursing cover letter be?

One page: four or five short paragraphs. Keep the detail for your CV and the interview.

What should a newly qualified nurse write in a cover letter?

Your university and when you joined (or will join) the register, the placement that best fits the ward and why, and one example of good care you gave as a student. Say what support or preceptorship you are looking for.

Keep going

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Your turn. Write yours

Paste the job advert and make the draft your own. Download it in your CV’s design, with your signature.

Write yours freeSee the example