Hampstead
Shaded headings keep Registration, Clinical skills and Experience apart, so a busy ward manager finds each one in seconds.
Use this design: HampsteadFree nurse CV template
Designs that put your registration, clinical skills and ward experience where a nurse manager looks first. For NHS, agency, private and community roles.
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The best designs for nurse CVs
Picked for how nurse CVs are read in the UK. Each one is free, and your CV works in every design, so you can switch at any time.
Kew
Plain and one column, so it reads cleanly when you upload it to an agency or a trust’s online system.
Use this design: KewTimeline
Dates down the left make rotations, placements and bank work easy to follow.
Use this design: TimelineWant more choice? See every design, or browse by style: Simple Modern Professional Creative Graduate and student One page IT and technical
Previews show made-up sample CVs. Yours will show your own details, in the colour and font you choose.
What to put on a nurse CV
Most NHS nursing posts are applied for on NHS Jobs or Trac with an application form and a supporting statement. A CV still matters: nursing agencies, private hospitals, hospices, GP practices and care providers ask for one, and it is the quickest way to get your registration, skills and posts in order before you fill in any form.
Whoever reads it checks your registration first, then your field of practice, the settings you know and the skills the ward needs. Two pages is right for most nurses, with your most recent post first.
Whatever the job, the UK CV format applies: your name and contact details, a short profile, experience with the most recent first, then education and skills. No photo, age or date of birth.
Your registration, near the top
Give your NMC PIN, your field of practice (for example Adult or Mental Health) and your revalidation date, as nurses revalidate every three years. Newly qualified? Say when you joined the register, or when you expect to.
A short profile
Two or three lines on your band, your specialty and the ward or setting you want next, such as acute medicine, theatres, community or care homes.
Each post with its setting
The employer, the ward or service and your band, then three to five bullet points: the patient group, the skills you used daily, audits or quality projects, and students you supported.
Clinical skills
A short list in the words the job description uses, such as NEWS2, IV therapy and cannulation, wound care or ECG interpretation. Only list what you are signed off for.
Training with dates
Life support (BLS, ILS or ALS), safeguarding level, medicines management, mentoring or practice supervisor training, and any post-registration courses.
Leave off
Your date of birth, a photo and your full address. Copies of certificates and your references are asked for later, so you do not need them on the CV.
Skills and keywords for a nurse CV
From our skills guides and CV examples for this job. Use the ones that are true for you, in the words of the job advert, so recruiters and applicant tracking systems find them.
- NMC registration
- Patient assessment
- Medication administration
- Care planning
- Clinical documentation
- Infection prevention and control
- Wound management
- IV therapy and cannulation
- NEWS2
- Sepsis recognition
- ECG interpretation
- Discharge planning
- Electronic patient records (EPR)
- SystmOne
- EMIS
- ALS / ILS
- Practice supervisor (SSSA)
See it filled in
The example CVs are illustrations written with AI. The people in them are fictional.
Nurse CVs: your questions
Should I put my NMC PIN on my CV?
Yes. Employers check every nurse on the NMC register before they make an offer, so giving your PIN and field of practice near the top saves them a step. If you are newly qualified and waiting to join the register, say when you expect your PIN.
Do NHS jobs accept a CV?
Most NHS posts are applied for on NHS Jobs or Trac, with an application form and a supporting statement, and a CV is not usually accepted in place of them. Keep your CV up to date anyway: you can copy from it into the form, and agencies, private hospitals and GP practices often ask for one. Our guide to CVs for NHS jobs explains more.
How long should a nursing CV be?
Two pages for most nurses. A newly qualified nurse can often fit everything on one or two pages, with placements in a section of their own.
What should a newly qualified nurse put on their CV?
Your degree and university, when you joined (or expect to join) the register, and your placements: the ward or setting, how long, and what you did there. Add your clinical skills, your training and any healthcare work, such as HCA or bank shifts.
Keep going
- Free CV checkerA CV Score out of 100 for the job you want, and the fixes to make first, in about 30 seconds.
- Cover letterA cover letter in the same design as your CV, with your signature.
- CV examplesExample CVs by job and level, to borrow structure and wording from.
Read next: How to write a CV for NHS jobs Personal statement examples How long should a CV be?
CV templates for other jobs: Healthcare assistant Care worker Teacher Teaching assistant Retail Customer service Hospitality Administrator Receptionist Accountant Project manager Sales Marketing Software developer Electrician and trades Warehouse School leaver Apprenticeship Part-time job Career change
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