Nurse skills entail practical abilities, like wound care and patient assessment, as well as personal traits, such as empathy, communication, and problem-solving. Typically, employers look for a well-rounded professional who possesses a mix of both and knows how to apply them in a real-world setting.
In this article, we will explore the most in-demand nurse skills, explain their importance, and demonstrate how to effectively include them on a CV.
Key Takeaways
Nurse skills enable nurses to monitor patients, administer appropriate treatment, and care for their physical and mental health.
Key hard skills for nurses are CPR and BLS, patient assessment and monitoring, medication administration, wound care, clinical knowledge, infection control, and digital literacy.
On the other hand, essential soft skills for this job include communication, empathy, teamwork, flexibility, and problem-solving.
What Are Nurse Skills?
Nurse skills encompass a combination of soft and hard skills that nurses use to deliver patient care. Some of these are job-specific and learned through training and experience, while others are personal traits that can improve your interactions with patients.
Regardless, both types are crucial for a successful nursing career, so you should include them on your CV. This will convince the employer that you’re the right person for the job and set you apart from the competition.
Top 7 Hard Nurse Skills
The top seven hard nurse skills include CPR and BLS, patient assessment and monitoring, wound care, medication administration, digital literacy, clinical knowledge, and infection control.
Let’s examine these in more detail:
#1. CPR and BLS
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and BLS (Basic Life Support) are key skills for nurses and all other medical professionals who may encounter patients experiencing an emergency. All nurses in the UK receive mandatory training in these skills, and many workplaces require that they undergo regular refresher courses throughout their careers.
Essential CPR skills encompass:
CPR Skills
Chest compressions and rescue breaths
Post-resuscitation care and documentation
Recognising when CPR should be administered
Differentiating between adult, child, and infant CPR
Knowledge of correct hand placement and compression depth
On the other hand, BLS skills entail:
BLS Skills
Assessing airway, breathing, and circulation
Operating automated external defibrillators (AED)
Choking response techniques (Heimlich manoeuvre)
Monitoring patient response and adjusting the support accordingly
Effective coordination and communication in an emergency
Now, here’s how you can highlight these skills on a nurse CV:
CPR and BLS Skills Example
Conducted quarterly BLS training sessions for new staff and helped improve team performance scores by 20% in mock resuscitation drills.
#2. Patient Assessment and Monitoring
Patient assessment and monitoring involve gathering information about a patient’s condition and tracking potential changes over a period of time. That’s done to ensure the patient stays stable or that the treatment is working.
These are the patient assessment and monitoring skills nurses should possess:
Measuring and interpreting vital signs
Monitoring and documenting patient progress
Monitoring fluid balance and electrolyte status
Recognising and reporting abnormal lab values
Observing post-operative and high-risk patients
Identifying early signs of deterioration and reacting appropriately
Using pain scoring systems, the Glasgow Coma Scale, and NEWS2
When writing about these skills on your CV, you can say something like this:
Patient Assessment and Monitoring Skills Example
Performed comprehensive assessments on 20+ patients per shift, identifying early signs of deterioration and responding accordingly.
#3. Wound Care
Wound care skills entail assessing the injury and providing treatment to prevent infection and encourage proper healing. It’s a vital clinical skill for nurses, as they regularly deal with wounded patients.
Here are some critical wound care skills:
Wound assessment (size, depth, and signs of infection)
Managing surgical wounds
Administering topical treatments
Cleaning and dressing the wound
Recognising early stages of infection or delayed healing
Monitoring the wound healing process and documenting changes
Performing infection control and preventing cross-contamination
Educating patients and family members on appropriate wound care
Here’s how you can add these skills to your nurse CV:
Wound Care Skills Example
Achieved a 20% reduction in wound infection rates by implementing innovative dressing strategies and documentation practices.
#4. Medication Administration
Medication administration is a nurse’s key responsibility, so you should highlight it in your application. It encompasses:
Verifying prescriptions
Accurately calculating dosages
Reporting adverse drug reactions
Preparing and administering oral, IV, or IM medication
Monitoring and documenting patient response
Handling, storing, and disposing of medication
Maintaining up-to-date medication charts and records
Educating patients on medication practices, dosage, and side effects
Now, let’s see what these skills could look like on a CV:
Medication Administration Skills Example
Maintained zero medication errors over a 12-month period thanks to meticulous verification and double-checking protocols.
#5. Clinical Knowledge
Clinical knowledge refers to the information and practices nurses and other healthcare professionals must possess to work in the field. It’s both theoretical knowledge learned at school and hands-on experience acquired through training or work.
Essentially, it encompasses:
Pharmacology
Pain management strategies
Emergency response protocols
Infection prevention and control
Current clinical guidelines and practices
Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology
Professional standards and ethical practice
Common acute and chronic medical conditions
Ability to interpret vital signs, lab results, and diagnostic findings
Here is how to add these skills to your CV:
Clinical Knowledge Example
Applied clinical knowledge to identify early signs of sepsis in three patients, which ensured a quick emergency response and resulted in their recovery.
#6. Digital Literacy
Nowadays, nurses frequently use technology for record-keeping, monitoring, and other medical practices, so they need to possess fundamental digital skills. Aside from the basics, they should also be proficient in specialised tools and software, though they usually learn this through experience and training.
These are the digital literacy skills nurses are expected to have:
Excel
Google Workspace
Hospital intranet systems
Electronic health records (EHR)
Electronic patient records (EPR)
Email and digital communication tools
Electronic medication administration records (eMAR)
Digital vital sign monitoring and remote patient tracking tools
Now, here is how to add these skills to your CV:
Digital Skills Example
Implemented eMAR for medication tracking, which resulted in a 22% reduction in missed or delayed doses in my ward.
#7. Infection Control
Infection control involves a set of practices designed to prevent the spread of infections, which could put patients at risk. Considering that most people in hospitals are vulnerable and sick, it’s particularly important to avoid contamination that may cause their health to deteriorate further.
So, nurses must possess the following infection control skills:
Monitoring and managing outbreaks
Complying with hand hygiene practices
Staying updated on emerging infectious diseases
Adhering to vaccination and immunisation protocols
Proper use and disposal of various equipment and tools
Educating patients and families on infection control measures
Implementing standard precautions against infection transmission
Ensuring the sterility of environments and tools during procedures
You may describe these nurse skills on your CV as follows:
Infection Control Skills Example
Led isolation protocols during an outbreak, ensuring zero cross-infections among vulnerable patients.
Top 5 Soft Nurse Skills
Important soft nurse skills include problem-solving, teamwork, flexibility, empathy, and communication. These aren’t typically learned through training or experience, but you shouldn’t underestimate their importance in a people-oriented career such as nursing.
That said, let’s take a closer look at these examples of nursing skills:
#1. Problem-Solving
Nurses must be excellent problem solvers because they’re sure to encounter numerous challenges on a daily basis. Patients may experience adverse reactions to medication, suddenly have a health crisis, or exhibit new and unexpected symptoms. All these are problems, and nurses are usually the ones who must deal with them.
So, here are some situations in which problem-solving skills might come in handy:
Prioritising tasks in emergencies
Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
Applying critical thinking to interpret lab results
Analysing patient care issues during deterioration
Integrating new protocols and technologies into practice
Making sound decisions in complicated or ambiguous situations
Managing limited resources without compromising patient safety
And here is how you can showcase them on your CV:
Problem-Solving Skills Example
Anticipated post-operative complications and coordinated interventions, resulting in a 15% decrease in readmission rates.
#2. Teamwork
Nurses work in teams and collaborate with doctors, pharmacists, social workers, and lab technicians, so they must be excellent team players. In particular, these skills are useful in the following situations:
Resolving conflicts
Mentoring junior staff
Participating in handovers
Delegating and prioritising tasks within the team
Coordinating patient care with multidisciplinary teams
Actively listening to team members and their perspectives
Here’s how you can highlight these teamwork skills on your nursing application:
Teamwork Skills Example
Collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of 10+ professionals to implement patient care plans.
#3. Flexibility
A nurse’s job is quite dynamic, as much of it depends on patient conditions and demands. As a result, nurses must stay flexible and quickly adapt to changes, shifting from one approach to another, as the situation requires.
For instance, they may be expected to:
Handle irregular shifts
Balance multiple patients
Calmly handle unexpected situations
Shift between routine and emergency care
Adapt to rapidly changing patient conditions
Modify care plans based on patient response
Manage fluctuating workloads and staff changes
Adjust to new protocols, practices, and technology
Here’s how you can highlight these nurse skills on your CV:
Flexibility Skills Example
Integrated new electronic charting systems, which reduced documentation errors by 17% within the first quarter.
#4. Empathy
Being able to empathise with the patient and their family is an important aspect of a nurse’s job, as people who come to the hospital often need emotional support, too. Good nurses can provide that, making them feel comfortable, understood, and cared for.
This is when empathy can be crucial:
Building rapport with patients
Advocating for patients’ needs
Listening to patients’ concerns and fears
Providing support during difficult and stressful times
Educating patients and families on appropriate care
Recognising non-verbal signs of discomfort and stress
When including empathy in your CV, here’s what you can say:
Empathy Example
Addressed patient concerns, reducing anxiety and complaints by 24% in the ward.
#5. Communication
Empathising is the first step, but you must also be able to communicate effectively with your patients. Here’s what that entails:
Active listening
Mediating conflicts
Conveying information clearly and tactfully
Delivering sensitive news with professionalism
Explaining complex medical concepts in simple terms
Adapting appropriate communication styles for different patients
Here’s how you can describe communication skills on a nurse CV:
Communication Skills Example
Recognised by management for excellent communication skills in stressful and emergency situations.
How to Showcase Nurse Skills on Your CV
To showcase nurse skills on your CV, you can add them to the skills section, CV summary, or work experience section. You’ll use a different writing approach for each of these, but in general, listing them on your application shouldn’t be too complicated.
For starters, let’s take a look at how to include nurse skills in the skills section:
Nurse Skills CV Section
Skills
CPR and BLS
Wound care
Patient assessment and monitoring
Infection control
Problem-solving
Communication
Flexibility
Teamwork
As you can see, you simply list your nurse skills as bullet points, without any additional explanations. In most cases, it’s enough to include 6–10 skills, though you can add a few more if you consider them relevant.
When including your nurse skills in the work experience section, you’ll take a slightly different approach. Namely, this is your opportunity to demonstrate your abilities through achievements with measurable results, like so:
Nurse Skills in Work Experience
Work Experience
Registered Nurse XYZ Hospital, London, UK February 2020–March 2025
Performed comprehensive patient assessments, detecting early signs of deterioration in 10+ patients, which enabled timely interventions.
Maintained accurate digital patient records, improving documentation compliance by 16%.
Collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of doctors, lab technicians, and pharmacists to improve patient care and recovery times by 23%.
Finally, you should take a similar approach in your CV summary, but you can also include some soft skills as traits and descriptors. Also, the skill you choose to illustrate with an achievement should be the highlight, so choose wisely.
Here’s what that might look like:
Nurse Skills in the CV Summary
CV Summary
Empathetic registered nurse with five years of experience delivering quality patient care across medical and surgical wards. Performed comprehensive patient assessments, detecting early signs of deterioration in 10+ patients, which enabled timely interventions. Known for my problem-solving skills, flexibility, and excellent teamwork.
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Final Thoughts
Appropriately highlighting nurse skills on your CV will put you ahead of the competition and help you secure a job in the nursing field. Make sure to include a good mix of hard and soft skills, and don’t forget to add measurable achievements; they give the employer concrete proof of your abilities.
Nurse Skills FAQ
#1. What are the most important skills for nurses in the UK?
The most important skills for nurses in the UK are clinical knowledge, CPR and BLS, wound care, empathy, problem-solving, and communication. In this regard, NHS nurse skills don’t differ much from those other nurses are expected to have.
#2. How do I list nursing skills on my CV?
You can list nursing skills on your CV in the skills section, CV summary, or work experience section. Make the most out of the space you have; elaborate on your skills in the work experience section, even if you’ll only have a single sentence to do so.
#3. How can I improve my nursing skills?
You can improve your nursing skills through continuous education and training, as well as by actively working on yourself. The former is particularly important when working on your hard skills, while the latter approach is effective for soft skills.
