Thinking about a new post in endoscopy nursing? Your resume is your first impression, so making sure it stands out from the competition is key.
Whether you’re brushing off your resume after decades in the business or drafting your first endoscopy nurse resume after gaining experience in the specialty, there are several ways to amplify and refine your credentials.
Read on for our top 10 tips on resume writing for endoscopy nurses.
#1. Understand the Endoscopy Nurse Resume Structure
Whether you’re eyeing travel assignments or a position in your hometown, bear in mind that all nurse resumes contain several common features.
In addition to the basics—your personal details and contact info—your CV should highlight your:
- Education
- Relevant experience providing direct patient care
- Certifications/licensures (including the state(s) you’re licensed to practice in)
- Continuing education
- Professional affiliations
- Recognitions, awards, and honors
- Volunteer positions (if applicable)
Additionally, your resume should be structured to pass the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), an AI-powered solution that screens resumes before they hit an employer’s desk (so to speak). Used to streamline the process, an ATS may prioritize your CV and possibly even jumpstart endoscopy nurse interview questions depending on how it’s structured.
For this reason, your resume should follow a reverse-chronological structure—meaning it starts with your most recent relevant experience, followed by your certifications, and concludes with your education. Experts suggest that this resume format is not only the easiest to scan by Applicant Tracking Systems, but it’s also preferred by both recruiters and employers.
#2. Highlight Key Skills and Qualifications
An endoscopy nurse resume differs from a typical RN’s in that it underscores exactly why you’re qualified to work in this particular specialty.
So, emphasize essential skills, such as:
- Your knowledge of specific endoscopic procedures, like colonoscopies, hysteroscopies, laparoscopies, and/or laparoscopies
- How you’ve educated patients prior to procedures, as well as on symptoms, illnesses, dietary requirements, follow-up care, and treatments
- Your experience with conducting cancer screenings (if it applies to you) and administering sedation
- The specific health conditions you’ve helped patients navigate, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
It might go without saying that this section should also detail the tasks you perform on a daily basis as an endoscopy nurse. Observing patients’ vital signs, handling medications and intravenous drips, fielding questions from patients and their loved ones, assisting physicians with evaluating images, supervising patient safety, maintaining patient records, and technology skills should all be underlined to demonstrate your proficiency in the profession.
#3. Showcase Endoscopy Experience Effectively
From navigating emergency situations like severe bleeding to easing patients’ fears before procedures, you know firsthand that endoscopy nurses must possess adequate experience to meet the demands of the specialization. Employers want to feel confident that the endoscopy RN they hire is skilled, empathetic, and well-versed in this branch of medicine.
With this in mind, you may want to address:
- Healthcare units – Generally speaking, employers on the hunt for qualified endoscopy nurses will want to guarantee you’ve gained experience in one or more of the following units: Critical/acute care, gastroenterology, and/or med/surgery. If this aligns with your work experience, consider including it, as well as if you worked in post-anesthesia care units (PACUs) and floated to assist in non-endoscopy units.
- Healthcare facilities – Employers will also want to know what type of healthcare facilities you’ve worked in—i.e., an outpatient center, an inpatient facility, and/or a same-day surgery center. Include the unique obligations you conducted in each of your roles in these places to demonstrate the extensiveness and diversity of your work experience.
- Endoscopy procedures – As you also know, endoscopy nurses may either perform or assist with procedures—this, too, should be pointed out on your resume. Have you nursed patients through the entirety of endoscopic processes? Managed their discharges? Painting as clear of a picture as possible may benefit you enormously.
- Patient volume and shifts – Endoscopy nursing moves at a fast pace. Incorporating the number of patients you typically see per shift will provide prospective employers with a better idea of the pace you’re familiar with—and what you’re capable of handling. Here, it might benefit you to also include the kind of call you take or took in previous roles (day or night) and, if you’re applying for travel nursing positions, what type of call you’re comfortable with adopting on assignment.
In this section, be careful not to overlook other pertinent experiences outside of endoscopy, such as serving as an RN in an Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Room, or private clinic. These examples can help hammer home your competence and credibility—and they may be especially appealing to travel nurse employers searching for RNs with a comprehensive roster of experience.
#4. Craft an Engaging Professional Summary and Objective
Your endoscopy nurse resume should also include a professional summary and objective that succinctly presents your:
- Education
- Experience providing direct patient care
- Unique qualifications
- Professional achievements
- Work ethic
- Hard and soft skills
How does this differ from your resume as a whole?
Think of it as an elevator pitch for your career: A brief but captivating synopsis that compels employers to learn more about you by perusing the rest of your CV. It’s also an optimal spot to illustrate why you chose endoscopy nursing as a specialty.
#5. Emphasize Continuing Education and Certifications
Continuing education is mandatory for nurses regardless of their specialty, but including it on your resume (if you’ve reached this stage of your career) is still fundamental. Any additional credentials you’ve earned—such as a CGRN (Certified Gastroenterology Registered Nurse, which can be obtained through the American Board of Certification for Gastroenterology Nurses (ABCGN))—should also be noted.
If you’ve attended any prestigious and/or relevant seminars, workshops, or the like, include them here as well: They’ll exhibit your dedication to your patients and your profession.
#6. Utilize Action Verbs and Quantifiable Achievements
Action verbs make a static, humdrum resume lively and dynamic, especially when you pair them with material accomplishments.
For a candidate prepping for endoscopy nurse interview questions, this may mean “managed 6 patients per shift in a same-day surgery center” or “taught new endoscopy nurses how to assist with a bronchoscopy.”
Some riveting verbs that can help showcase your talents and accomplishments include:
- Conceptualized
- Performed
- Solved
- Systemized
- Advocated
- Rehabilitated
- Upgraded
- Facilitated
#7. Tailor Your Resume to Endoscopy Nurse Descriptions
Employers are more prone to respond to applicants who have done their due diligence: Prospective employees who have a thorough understanding of the role they’re seeking.
Keying in on the primary responsibilities you would assume in the position—and using similar language in your descriptions of your experience—will assure employers of this (and potentially help you come across as the perfect match to a hiring manager sifting through resumes).
#8. Format and Design for Impact
The format and design of your resume can convey that you have a fine eye for detail—a high-priority skill for endoscopy nurses, whose attention to particulars is often relied upon to find irregularities (or indications of illnesses) in patients’ bodies and images.
Some basic rules of resume formatting and design include:
- Use a simple font – Experts suggest that using a slightly different font—like Roboto or Ubuntu—may help your resume stand out in a sea of CVs written in Times New Roman. In terms of font size, 10-12 pt works best, but be sure to use 14-16 pt for headings.
- Exercise precision – An endoscopy nurse resume should be two pages max, but a single page is ideal. So, use as few words as possible while still expressing your primary intent.
#9. Incorporate Soft Skills and Interpersonal Abilities
Endoscopy nursing demands well-honed soft skills to ease patients through procedures and work with other medical professionals. A handful of the most vital soft skills to include on your resume are:
- Empathy
- Patience
- Confidence
- Collaboration
- Dependability
- Resilience and stamina
- Time management
- Leadership skills
- Critical, analytic thinking
You may also want to draw attention to your interpersonal and communication skills to demonstrate that you can work effectively with a broad range of patients and medical personnel.
#10. Proofread and Polish Your Endoscopy Nurse Resume
Last but not least?
Ensure your resume is proofread and polished to perfection. Grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and formatting flaws can take away from what’s imperative: Your expertise in endoscopy nursing and your desire to help others.
Oftentimes, an extra, objective pair of eyes (perhaps from your nursing mentor or a close colleague) can help you spot and avoid any mistakes.
Level-Up Your Endoscopy Nurse Career with Host Healthcare
Endoscopy nurses deserve a round of applause for the compassion and fortitude they bring to the bedside and the healthcare teams they assist. Whether you plan to use the final draft of your stand-out resume to secure a role in an inpatient facility or land a travel nurse assignment, know that the time and energy you put into your CV will be directly reflected in the interest you may receive.
Host Healthcare welcomes endoscopy nurses who are after the latter. Our friendly, top-notch recruiters pair qualified nurses like you with first-rate travel assignments in leading destinations. Plus, we offer 24/7/365 support, housing assistance, travel reimbursements, day-one medical benefits, priority access to thousands of jobs in every state, and more. It’s how we stand out from the competition.
Apply with Host Healthcare today to start building the life and career that you deserve.
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How to Write an Effective Resume Summary (with Examples), 10 July 2023, www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/writing-a-resume-summary-with-examples. Accessed January 12, 2024.
“Endoscopy Nurse Career Overview.” NurseJournal, 28 Feb. 2023, nursejournal.org/careers/endoscopy-nurse/. Accessed January 12, 2024.
“Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume.” Career Services, 5 Oct. 2021, www.colorado.edu/career/job-searching/resumes-and-cover-letters/resumes/action-verbs-use-your-resume. Accessed January 12, 2024.
ApS, Novorésumé. “What’s the Best Resume Font, Size, and Format [for 2024].” Novorésumé, 27 Dec. 2023, novoresume.com/career-blog/resume-fonts. Accessed January 12, 2024.
