As an LVN, writing a resume that effectively showcases your clinical skills and bedside manner can be challenging. Our guide provides targeted advice to help you highlight your unique qualifications and experience, making your resume stand out to potential employers.
- The most effective LVN resume samples, reflecting on experience and skills.
- +10 simple, yet impactful methods to tailor your LVN resume to the job advert.
- Using your professional achievements as the North Star to your unique value as a LVN candidate.
- 'No one cares about your education nowadays …' Let's prove this statement wrong with the best-kept industry secrets to your education and certifications.
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Creating the best LVN resume format: four simple steps
The most appropriate LVN resume format is defined by precision and a systematic approach. What is more, it should reflect upon how your application will be assessed by recruiters. That is why we've gathered four of the most vital elements to keep in mind when designing your resume:
- It's all about presenting how your experience or skills align with the job. Use the reverse-chronological resume format , if your expertise is relevant to the LVN role. Otherwise, select the functional skill-based resume format or the hybrid resume format to shift the focus to your skill set.
- Resume header - make sure you've filled out all relevant (and correct) information, like your contact details and link to your portfolio.
- Resume length - unless you've over a decade of applicable expertise in the field, stick with a one-page resume format. If you'd like to present more of your professional experience, go up to two pages.
- Resume file - submit your LVN resume in a PDF format to ensure all information stays in the same place.
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Listing your relevant degrees or certificates on your LVN resume is a win-win situation. Not only does it hint at your technical capabilities in the industry, but an array of soft skills, like perseverance, adaptability, and motivation.
Traditional sections, appreciated by recruiters, for your LVN resume:
- Clear and concise header with relevant links and contact details
- Summary or objective with precise snapshot of our career highlights and why you're a suitable candidate for the LVN role
- Experience that goes into the nuts and bolts of your professional qualifications and success
- Skills section(-s) for more in-depth talent-alignment between job keywords and your own profile
- Education and certifications sections to further show your commitment for growth in the specific niche
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Clinical skills and experience with patient care, including specific areas of expertise such as geriatrics, pediatrics, or acute care.
- Familiarity with healthcare technologies and electronic health records (EHR) systems.
- Proficiency in administering medications, wound care, patient monitoring, and other essential practical nursing procedures.
- State licensure as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and any relevant certifications (IV certification, BLS/CPR, ACLS).
- Evidence of compassionate patient care, strong communication skills, and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative medical environment.
Defining your professional expertise in your LVN resume work experience section
The work experience section, often the most detailed part of your resume, is where you discuss your past roles and achievements. To effectively list your experience, consider these four key tips:
- Align your expertise with the job requirements. It's vital to integrate keywords matching the job criteria to pass initial assessments;
- Show, don’t just tell. Quantify your responsibilities by stating your actual achievements in previous roles;
- Include measurable metrics. For instance, how did your performance impact the annual ROI?
- Highlight crucial industry skills. Mention both technological knowledge and interpersonal skills in this section.
These guidelines will help you craft an impressive LVN resume work experience section that is bound to catch recruiters' attention.
- Implemented a tailored patient care plan for a diverse caseload of 35 patients per week, enhancing patient satisfaction scores by 25% within the first year.
- Led a cross-functional team in adopting electronic health record keeping, improving documentation efficiency by 40% and reducing errors.
- Acted as a primary instructor for patient education initiatives, covering topics like disease management and medication compliance, reaching over 100 patients monthly.
- Managed wound care for chronic conditions, decreasing healing time by 20% through the introduction of advanced treatment protocols.
- Spearheaded immunization drives for influenza season, administering approximately 500 vaccines and reducing community spread by 30%.
- Provided key support in the implementation of a new patient monitoring system that enhanced the tracking of vital signs for critical care patients.
- Orchestrated the transition to a new patient care module that led to a reduction in medication administration errors by 15%.
- Developed a continuing education workshop for fellow LVNs, boosting team competencies in IV therapy and aseptic techniques.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to plan and evaluate patient care, which enhanced care coordination for 40+ patients daily.
- Delivered compassionate care for over 50 long-term care residents, contributing to a 98% satisfaction rate from resident feedback surveys.
- Initiated a quality improvement project to streamline medication distribution, cutting the time spent on medication rounds by 25%.
- Trained and onboarded 15 new LVNs and nursing assistants, ensuring strict adherence to facility standards and state health regulations.
- Fostered a team environment that emphasized collaborative patient care, resulting in a 10% reduction in hospital readmissions.
- Played a pivotal role in establishing a new outpatient clinic, which now serves 500+ patients monthly, offering primary and specialized care services.
- Conducted home health visits for 30+ patients weekly, optimizing care plans and medication management, leading to better health outcomes.
- Facilitated in-service training for a team of 20 LVNs, enhancing clinical skills and knowledge in palliative care practices.
- Championed a patient-centered approach that reduced emergency department visits by 50% among the managed population.
- Developed individualized diet plans in coordination with nutritionists, benefiting over 150 diabetes patients with improved glycemic control.
- Key player in the treatment and management of care for 25+ renal failure patients requiring complex dialysis treatments.
- Implemented stress-reduction techniques that were instrumental in improving the mental well-being of chronically ill patients by 20%.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to enhance the surgical recovery protocols, significantly lowering average patient recovery times by two days.
- Managed pre- and post-operative care for approximately 10 surgical patients daily, ensuring proper pain management and rehabilitation guidelines were followed.
- Empowered patients through the development and implementation of comprehensive health education resources, leading to more informed health choices and self-management.
- Conducted and analyzed patient satisfaction surveys, utilizing feedback to develop strategies that improved nursing services and patient engagement.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Include the number of patients you care for on a daily or weekly basis to demonstrate workload management.
- List specific percentages to show improvement in patient care outcomes due to your actions.
- State the number of medical procedures you perform regularly to showcase proficiency and experience.
- Highlight any reduction in medication errors under your watch expressed in quantitative terms.
- Document the amount of time saved through efficient care or administrative processes you implemented.
- Mention the size of the teams you've collaborated with to emphasize your teamwork and coordination skills.
- Quantify your involvement in training or supervising new staff by specifying the number of people you've mentored.
- Present any cost savings achieved through inventory management or process improvements in dollar amounts.
Action verbs for your LVN resume
Writing your LVN experience section without any real-world experience
Professionals, lacking experience, here's how to kick-start your LVN career:
- Substitute experience with relevant knowledge and skills, vital for the LVN role
- Highlight any relevant certifications and education - to showcase that you have the relevant technical training for the job
- Definitely include a professional portfolio of your work so far that could include university projects or ones you've done in your free time
- Have a big focus on your transferable skills to answer what further value you'd bring about as a candidate for the LVN job
- Include an objective to highlight how you see your professional growth, as part of the company
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Highlight any significant extracurricular activities that demonstrate valuable skills or leadership.
LVN resume skills: the essential hard skills and soft skills checklist
Ultimately, your LVN resume should hint to recruiters that you possess an array of talents that are indispensable to the role.
For example, listing the technologies and software you're apt at using (or your hard skills) and how you apply them in your day-to-day responsibilities would ensure you meet the technical requirements of the role.
But is this enough to ensure that you make a good impression on recruiters?
Go a step further by detailing the soft skills or personality traits you've attained thanks to your work and life experience.
The best way to balance hard skills and soft skills on your LVN resume is by:
- Highlighting up to three of your most noteworthy career accomplishments in a separate section.
- Listing at least one hard skill and one soft skill you've used to solve a particular challenge or problem.
- Feature niche skills and technologies that would help you stand out amongst candidates.
- Think back on the social impact your efforts have had towards improving the work environment - were you able to always maintain a professional ethic, while enhancing the team culture? Write about your contribution to the role, department, or organization itself as a metric of success.
The skills section of your resume provides you with plenty of opportunities to detail your technical and personal traits.
All you have to do is select the talents that best fit your application and expertise. Make note of some of the most prominent hard and soft skills across the industry from our list:
Top skills for your LVN resume:
Vital Signs Monitoring
Medication Administration
Patient Care Techniques
Electronic Health Records (EHR) Management
Wound Care and Dressing
Intravenous (IV) Therapy
Basic Life Support (BLS)
Health Assessment
Charting and Documentation
Medical Equipment Operation
Effective Communication
Empathy and Compassion
Time Management
Team Collaboration
Problem Solving
Attention to Detail
Adaptability
Conflict Resolution
Patient Advocacy
Stress Management
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If the certificate you've obtained is especially vital for the industry or company, include it as part of your name within the resume headline.
The basics of your LVN resume certifications and education sections
Improve the education and certification sections of your LVN resume by:
- Dedicating more prominent space to certificates that are more recent and have helped you update your skill set
- Keeping all the information you list to the basics: certificate/degree name, institution, and graduation dates
- Writing supplementary information in the details of your certification or education section, only if you lack experience or want to show further skill alignment
- Including your credential or license number, only if the information is valid to your application or certification
Within LVN job adverts, relevant education, and certification are always listed within the key prerequisite for the role.
Ensure you meet all job requirements with some of the leading certificates in the industry:
The top 5 certifications for your LVN resume:
- Basic Life Support (BLS) - American Heart Association (AHA)
- Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) - American Heart Association (AHA)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) - American Heart Association (AHA)
- Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) - Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC)
- IV Therapy/Blood Withdrawal Certification - Various state-approved providers
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If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
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Professional summary or objective for your LVN resume
LVN candidates sometimes get confused between the difference of a resume summary and a resume objective.
Which one should you be using?
Remember that the:
- Resume objective has more to do with your dreams and goals for your career. Within it, you have the opportunity to showcase to recruiters why your application is an important one and, at the same time, help them imagine what your impact on the role, team, and company would be.
- Resume summary should recount key achievements, tailored for the role, through your career. Allowing recruiters to quickly scan and understand the breadth of your LVN expertise.
The resume objectives are always an excellent choice for candidates starting off their career, while the resume summary is more fitting for experienced candidates.
No matter if you chose a summary or objective, get some extra inspiration from real-world professional LVN resumes:
Resume summaries for a LVN job
- With a robust 8-year background as an LVN in busy urban hospitals, I possess a comprehensive skill set including acute care, patient education, and chronic disease management. Recognized for excellence in delivering compassionate care, I led a department-wide initiative to reduce patient readmission rates by 15% through improved discharge planning.
- Seasoned LVN with 10 years of experience, specializing in geriatric care in high-paced nursing homes. Achieved a record of reducing medication errors by 20% through meticulous administration and documentation. Expert in creating individualized care plans and executing doctor’s orders with precision.
- As an adept educator transitioning to nursing, I bring four years of experience in curriculum design and student support. My expertise in instruction and ability to quickly assimilate new information sets the stage for a smooth career pivot into healthcare, driven by a passion to advocate for patient well-being in a clinical setting.
- Former military medic looking to leverage 6 years of field experience into a skilled LVN role. Renowned for maintaining high levels of preparedness, rapid response in high-stress scenarios, and dedication to service, I am committed to applying these strengths in a civilian healthcare environment to enhance patient outcomes.
- Recent LVN program graduate eager to apply extensive knowledge gained from in-depth clinical rotations in pediatrics, medical-surgical, and gerontology. Intrinsically motivated to contribute to a team dedicated to making a palpable difference in patient care and health promotion, with a particular interest in developing practical hands-on skills.
- Entry-level candidate with fresh knowledge from a state-accredited LVN course, seeking to utilize newfound skills in patient assessment, medication administration, and vital signs monitoring. Eager to grow under the guidance of seasoned professionals, with a strong objective to positively impact patient lives through dedicated, empathic care.
Recruiters' favorite additional LVN resume sections
When writing your LVN resume, you may be thinking to yourself, " Is there anything more I can add on to stand out? ".
Include any of the below four sections you deem relevant, to ensure your LVN resume further builds up your professional and personal profile:
Key takeaways
- Pay special attention to the tiny details that make up your LVN resume formatting: the more tailored your application to the role is, the better your chances at success would be;
- Select the sections you include (summary or objective, etc.) and formatting (reverse-chronological, hybrid, etc.) based on your experience level;
- Select experience items and, consequently, achievements that showcase you in the best light and are relevant to the job;
- Your profile will be assessed both based on your technical capabilities and personality skills - curate those through your resume;
- Certifications and education showcase your dedication to the particular industry.
