Nurse Manager Resume Tips
Companies are now using applicant tracking system software to screen resumes, meaning a resume must contain the right keywords to be chosen by the applications algorithm. This means you have to provide enough information, focusing on relevant keywords specific to your profession, to make the first cut.
Pack your resume with relevant specifics that showcase your skills and experience. Highlight areas and keywords you know will be of particular interest to the employer. Include a list of how you helped your current facility, your successes and how they were measured.
Below are some examples of bullet points to include in a Nurse Manager resume:
- Obtained and maintained 5 out of 5 Stars for the past 2 years
- Deficiency-free survey for 2 years
- Supervised a team of 56 employees
- Achieved and maintained an average census of 98% over the past 12 months
- Developed a fall program that dramatically reduced falls
- Reduced readmission to the hospital by 15%
- Implemented a staff appreciation program
Nurse Manager Requirements & Skills 5
- Current licensure as a Registered Nurse
- Graduate of an Accredited School of Professional Nursing, BSN required
- Minimum of three years of clinical practice in provision of clinical nursing of mother and baby patients with emphasis on leadership and management experience
- NICU RN experience, required
- ACLS required
Title Aside All Nurses Are Called To Leadership
The call to leadership moves all of us to a higher plane of responsibility and accountability, with or without a management title it is inherent in all nursing positions from staff nurse to CEO. We all have similar goals and responsibilities for patient care.
The call to leadership moves all of us to a higher plane of responsibility and accountability, with or without a management title it is inherent in all nursing positions from staff nurse to CEO.
With all the changes currently underway in our healthcare delivery system and the nursing profession, all nurses must strive to emulate the hallmarks of good management and leadership and never stop working on our professional growth. We all need to stay informed and be politically saavy we need to know what our professional journals and nursing organizations are saying and advance our education.
In the end, each nurse must be a nurse leader a visionary, critical thinker, skilled communicator and teachers. And the good news is you do not need a formal manager or leader title required to do any of these things.
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Other Qualities Of Nurse Managers
An aptitude for business is vital, according toRegisteredNursing.org. Nurse managers must have business acumen to understand budgeting, coordinate schedules, improve patient satisfaction and handle human resources issues. They must also focus on quality and patient safety. Hiring managers look for a nurse manager with a financial background, strong physician relationships, collegiality and networking ability and the appropriate use of power. Nurse managers should also be creative, innovative and able to multitask, prioritize and self-direct.
References
The Role And Responsibilities Of Nurse Managers

ByKaren P Williams | Submitted On July 13, 2010
Managing a staff of nurses is a challenging career that requires nursing and managerial skills. A nursing management career starts with being a licensed practical nurse and working your way up through years of clinical practice and advanced education. They also participate in management training that addresses specific issues that deals with employees, behavioral standards, and handling of legal issues that is associated with the supervision of the people working in the hospital environment. Nurse Managers or what used to be called as head nurses handle specific departments such as the intensive care unit or pediatrics.
Duties of a nurse manager
Key challenges in nursing management
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What Is The Nurse Manager Work Environment Like
Nursing managers have challenging and fast-paced work environments. They often spend a lot of time on their feet and manage many tasks at one time. Their hours can be inconsistent depending on the status of the hospital and the staffing situation. Many nursing managers work overtime to ensure operations function smoothly, and they may stay on-call to respond to emergency or critical situations. They get to help people with their work, and connecting with patients can be very rewarding.
Qualifications For Nursing Manager
- Current RN License in the state
- Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
- Strong leadership skills and ability to work collaboratively with a large team
- Able to work efficiently under time constraints
- Able to lift 50 pounds
- Strong analytical and mathematical skills
- Ability to handle multiple assignments simultaneously
- Able to interview nurses for open positions
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The Main Difference Between Nurse Leaders And Nurse Managers
Although both positions require management and leadership skills, their job descriptions and key responsibilities differ. Both nurse leaders and managers aim to provide top-quality care in an efficient, meaningful way. But nurse leaders are more hands-on in terms of focusing on patient care, whereas nurse managers work behind the scenes on daily operations. Below, we outline the job descriptions of each position.
Nurse Staffing & Training
From recruitment to retention, nurse managers evaluate prospective and active members to maintain an optimal performance from their nurse staff. Theyre in charge of interviewing applicants and conducting monthly evaluations. Also, nurse managers lead training that covers administrative procedures and department protocols. RN managers need to be observant leaders who know when to step in if a team member faces a challenge.
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Nurse Manager Duties & Responsibilities 5
- Initiates, guides, and directs the coordination of all Unit functions.
- Functions as a resource person for staff members and assists in necessary education of individual members of the nursing staff.
- Assumes responsibility for the overall quality of nursing care provided by the unit.
- Makes decisions regarding activities within these areas based on Hospital Administrative Standards, Human Resource Standards, Department of Nursing Standards, collaborating with the Director in unusual situations.
Nurse Manager Job Description Template
We are looking for an experienced nurse manager to train new nurses and supervise existing staff. The nurse manager sets the standard of care in a healthcare facility, manages assigned funds for the department, and responds to complaints from patients.
To be successful as a nurse manager you must have patience when training new staff. A good nurse manager can multitask under pressure.
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Where Does A Nurse Manager Work
Nurse managers are typically found in hospitals where they oversee and manage nursing staff on a specific unit or specialized floor. They may also be found in ambulatory care centers as well as long term care centers where they may manage nursing staff working in different areas of the facility, such as a nursing home or assisted living center.
The Role Of A Nurse Manager

Related
A nurse manager provides oversight for a nursing staff and completes administrative tasks to ensure the health-care facility is running smoothly. Responsible for personnel matters, a nurse manager coordinates staffing and all needs related to patient care. This position serves as a conduit between front-line staff, physicians and other administrators. You’ll need strong communication skills, clinical experience and the ability to lead others to excel in this role.
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The Role Of The Nurse Manager
This module explains the
- Responsibilities of the nurse manager.
- Leadership and management roles of the nurse manager.
- Key business and health care quality improvement frameworks.
- Quality measurement.
Video Segments
ZIP files
- the entire CUSP Toolkit
Internet Citation: The Role of the Nurse Manager. Content last reviewed July 2018. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/cusp/modules/nursing/index.html
The Future Of Nurse Managers
As the current nursing workforce ages and retires, the anticipated shortage of nurses will create opportunities for newly minted nurse managers. Researchers have found that nurse managers are vital to overall nurse retention because they influence the quality of work and the stability of a work environment.
Strong leadership qualities in the nursing unit manager have been associated with greater job satisfaction, reduced turnover intention among nursing staff, and improved patient outcomes. Nurse leaders need to be supported in an effort to retain nurses given ongoing workforce issues and to ensure high-quality patient care, researchers said in the 2014 Leadership skills for nursing unit managers to decrease intention to leave study.
Researchers found there must be cohesive relationships among staff members and better communications with staff for nurse managers to do a better job in the future. Continual changes in healthcare and a focus on costs are among the many things that make the role of nurse manager challenges.
Nursing professionals at Florida Atlantic University encouraged leaders to challenge their thinking and practices to recognize that the crux of leadership is in the power of relationships.
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Study Design And Demographics
Nurse managers in their current positions for at least 5 years at a large home healthcare organization in New York, N.Y., were asked to participate in this qualitative phenomenologic study. After Institutional Review Board approval, communication with the home healthcare organization’s human resources department assisted with identifying potential participants who met the selection criteria. A purposive sampling of 20 nurse managers was selected because the geographic location allowed for conducting face-to-face interviews. Validation strategies applied to this study included triangulation, member checking, and thick descriptions of participant responses.
The 20 voluntary participants, identified as study nurse manager 1 to study nurse manager 20, had the following demographic characteristics: 17 were female and 3 were male years in their current position ranged from 5 to 20 years, with an average of 9 years 11 were in previous nurse manager positions ranging from 1 to 15 years, with an average of 5 years 9 were with the current agency longer than 15 years, 6 for 10 to 15 years, and 5 for 5 to 10 years and 19 were RNs for more than 15 years, with 1 for 10 to 15 years.
Nurse Manager Duties & Responsibilities 6
- Manages Center staff and function to ensure quality nursing practice, patient interaction and treatment, and control costs through strategic, tactical planning and growth at home facility. Develops and monitors budgets of Occupational Health and Workers Compensation in area of practice.
- Administers and maintains Occupational Health programs consistent with Company policies and procedures to include federal and state recordkeeping related to OSHA, Workers Compensation, post-offer physicals, integrated disability management, etc. as established by customer supplier agreements. Collaborates with management and the Occupational Health staff at each location in assigned region to carry out objectives of Occupational Health programs.
- Determines staffing requirements in assigned area and participates in recruitment, selection and training. Develops and promotes opportunities for professional development and continuing education of staff.
- Oversees the quality assurance component of the Occupational Health and Workers Compensation departments through audit process. Conducts coaching sessions and provides performance appraisals for Nursing Supervisors with input from HR, Operations and Corporate Medical Department.
- Establishes and maintains systems to improve health of associates and dependents through direct provision of medical care efficiently and appropriately delivered, e.g. HIP , health and wellness programs, annual health fairs, etc.
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Nurse Manager Duties & Responsibilities 4
- Establish and maintain a solid partnership with facility leadership across all divisions to review Health Services and facility initiatives, and guidance on best practices
- Engagement with the leadership of the contingent nurse provider on hiring needs, performance and expectations of nursing requirements
- Assists with strategic planning for Health Services, and ensures communication and engagement within all levels of operations
- Lead projects that support the standardization and continuous improvement initiatives regarding operational programs and processes
- Support various internal Health Services initiatives, with operational responsibility for regulatory programs and compliance and regulation
- In close collaboration with Health Services leadership, support the development and implementation of a comprehensive region / business specific health needs that assesses current health risks and vulnerabilities and develop corresponding policy and protocol for acceptance, adoption, and effective execution.
- Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of regional health needs based upon varying business/occupational threats and risks.
Nurse Manager Requirements & Skills 7
- Current RN licensure appropriate to state regulations required.
- BLS certification, with ACLS certification to be obtained within one year of hire or position start date required.
- CRRN certification obtained within a year of meeting the eligibility requirement to sit for the examination required.
- Bachelor’s degree in nursing or related field preferred.
- Five or more years of nursing experience, including two or more recently in an inpatient hospital setting required.
- Progressive nursing management experience, including 24-hour accountability required.
- Previous service in leadership roles, such as charge nurse or supervisor, including responsibility for reporting, issue resolution, setting of direction, and accountability for results required.
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Slide 16 Frameworks That Are Useful For Nurse Managers
Say:
Hospitals, as businesses, employ frameworks to increase efficiency and quality of care. Some frameworks commonly seen in or adapted for health care include The Malcolm Baldridge Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence, Quint Studer’s Five Pillars, Balanced Scorecard, and the American Organization of Nurse Executives Nurse Manager Leadership Partnership Learning Domain Framework. These frameworks are proven in both the nursing and business worlds and deliver a results-driven protocol for nurse managers to follow when putting into effect business and health care quality improvement initiatives on their units. Nurse managers can support their unit’s CUSP work through using other quality improvement frameworks. Using additional frameworks provides nurse managers with an additional reference point to gauge the success of the CUSP intervention and align the unit’s work with it.
- Finance.
- Growth.
When nurse managers apply the Five Pillars to their unit’s CUSP work, they are providing unit staff with another means of identifying their work with the unit’s goals.
The service pillar is related to the quality of service that the unit staff delivers to patients and their families. When projects are aligned with this pillar, staff members are able to see where their work coincides with the service delivered to patients and their families.
Aligning goals with the people pillar provides nurse managers with a means of assessing how the CUSP intervention affects staff.
What Is Nursing Leadership And Management

Nursing leadership and management refer to the roles of nursing professionals who direct nursing staff, oversee the organizational structure of medical processes and lead nursing teams in providing patient care. While many nurses take on informal leadership roles throughout their careers, there are several differences between nurse leaders and nurse managers.
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Slide 12 Customer Focus
Say:
Nurse managers ensure the care delivered on their unit is customer focused. The hospital unit has numerous customers, and each has its unique needs and care delivery requirements. Nurse managers are responsible for ensuring the needs of customers are met.
Patient- and family-centered care
Nurse managers work with patients, families, and unit staff to develop patient- and family-focused care plans. Involving patients and their families in their care ensures the best possible care for the patient and creates a supportive and caring environment in which staff members are able to work closely with patients and their families.
Regulators
Nurse managers must also adhere to the requirements of regulatory agencies and organizations, such as the Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The regulations of these organizations will determine almost all components of care delivery and staffing needs on the unit.
Local governments
Local governments take an active interest in the quality of care their local hospital delivers to the community. Nurse managers ensure the goals of the local government are embodied on the unit and community members receive the highest quality of care possible.
Nurse managers must understand of the following skills:
Budgeting
Nurse managers ensure the unit’s expenses fall within its budget. This includes sharing financial expectations with unit staff so staff members are aware of the unit’s financial goals.
Staffing costs
Nurse Manager Duties & Responsibilities 3
- Planning work to be accomplished by subordinates, setting priorities and preparing schedules for completion of work
- Assigning work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and the requirements of the assignments, and the capabilities of subordinates
- Evaluating the performance of subordinates
- Making recommendations for appointments, advancements or reassignments of subordinates
- Giving advice, counsel, or instruction to subordinate personnel on work and administrative matters
- Hearing and resolving complaints of subordinates and referring more serious complaints not resolved to higher level supervisors.
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What Are The Education Requirements For A Nurse Manager
In order to become a nurse manager, an individual must first attend an accredited university or college and graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing . The nurse must pass a board exam called the NCLEX-RN to receive a nursing license.
After this has been completed, the nurse must obtain experience in the form of direct patient care, ideally in an acute care setting such as a hospital. Length of experience is variable, though many employers will require at least 5 years’ experience for this type of role. Many nurse manager positions promote and hire from within the staff nurses if there is interest.
The next step in this process is to obtain a Master of Science in Nursing or Master’s in Healthcare or Business Administration . For some nurse manager positions, this step is optional, though highly desired.
There are two paths designated by the American Organization of Nurse Executives for certification: