A fictional person: the names, employers and numbers are invented.
Sarah O'Connor
Senior Staff Nurse (Band 6) · Emergency Department
Liverpool, UKsarah.oconnor@example.comRegistration: NMC registered nurse (Adult), PIN on requestRight to work: UK citizen
Summary
Adult nurse with six years' experience in acute medicine and emergency care, now coordinating shifts in a busy emergency department. Strong in triage, sepsis recognition and keeping a full department moving safely. Led a nurse-led sepsis screen that cut time to first antibiotics by 31 minutes, and supervises student and newly qualified nurses on every shift.
Experience
Senior Staff Nurse (Band 6), Emergency Department · Kingsway General Hospital (NHS), Liverpool
2022 – Present
Coordinate a team of 8 nurses and 4 healthcare assistants per shift in a 42-cubicle department seeing about 300 patients a day.
Introduced nurse-led sepsis screening at triage; average time to first antibiotics fell from 72 to 41 minutes over 12 months.
Redesigned the ambulance handover area with the site team, cutting handovers over 30 minutes by 40%.
Raised hand-hygiene audit scores from 81% to 96% by running monthly spot checks and sharing results at safety huddles.
Practice supervisor for 9 student nurses; all passed their emergency placement assessments first time.
Staff Nurse (Band 5), Acute Medical Unit · Elmwood Park Hospital (NHS), Warrington
2020 – 2022
Cared for up to 8 acutely unwell adults per shift on a 32-bed unit, including NIV, chest drains and end-of-life care.
Helped reduce inpatient falls by 35% in a year by introducing bay nursing and hourly rounding on high-risk bays.
Became the unit's cannulation and venepuncture trainer and signed off 15 colleagues as competent.
Education
BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing · Liverpool John Moores University
2017 – 2020
Placements in emergency care, cardiology, district nursing and theatres.
Skills
Clinical
triage (Manchester Triage System), sepsis screening, IV cannulation and venepuncture, 12-lead ECG, NEWS2 escalation
Leadership
shift coordination, practice supervision, safety huddles, incident reporting (Datix)
Systems
electronic patient records, e-rostering, Excel for audits
Certificates
Advanced Life Support (ALS) · Resuscitation Council UK2024
Immediate Life Support (ILS) · Resuscitation Council UK2020
Emergency Nurse Triage training · Kingsway General Hospital2022
Languages
English — Native
Irish — Conversational
Additional information
Volunteer first-aider at city-centre events and charity runs (2021 – Present).
Three summary options
Start from the one closest to where you are now.
Newly qualified
Newly qualified adult nurse with placements in emergency care, cardiology and community nursing. Confident with observations, NEWS2 escalation, medicines rounds and difficult conversations with families. Looking for a Band 5 preceptorship post on an acute ward with strong teaching and a supportive team.
Charge nurse
Charge nurse with eleven years in acute and emergency care, running a 28-bed medical ward. Reduced agency spend by £84,000 a year through a fairer rota, cut pressure ulcers by half and leads the ward's quality and safety meetings with matrons and consultants.
Return to practice
Registered adult nurse returning to practice after five years raising a family, with a completed return-to-practice course and 450 supervised hours on a surgical ward. Brings previous experience in day surgery and a calm, organised approach to busy shifts.
Keywords to include
Use the ones that are true for you, inside real sentences.
Patient assessment
Triage
Sepsis screening
Medication administration
IV cannulation
Care planning
Infection prevention and control
NMC Code
Clinical governance
Multidisciplinary team
What recruiters look for
Tips for this role, with the kind of numbers that count.
Put registration and tickets first
Recruiters check three things before reading on: your NMC registration and field of practice, your right to work and your current life-support training. Put them in the header or the first lines so nobody has to search for them.
Describe each ward in numbers
"Staff nurse, A&E" tells a manager little. "42 cubicles, about 300 patients a day, coordinating 12 staff" shows the pace you are used to. Add bed numbers, patient ratios and the kind of patients you cared for.
Show outcomes, not duties
Every nurse gives medicines and writes care plans. What stands out is what improved: falls down 35%, faster antibiotics for sepsis, better audit scores, fewer delayed discharges. One measured change per job is enough.
Mirror the person specification
NHS adverts list essential and desirable criteria. Use the same words for the skills you really have, such as "NEWS2", "preceptorship" or "band 6 coordination", so the shortlisting panel can tick each line quickly.
Prove leadership before the promotion
If you are applying for Band 6, show you already lead: coordinating shifts, supervising students, running audits or teaching skills. Numbers help here too, such as nine students supervised or fifteen colleagues signed off.
Keep every patient anonymous
Never include names, dates of birth, case details or photos from work, even to illustrate a success. Describe the type of patient and the result instead, for example "older adults at high risk of falls".
Make this CV yours
Answer one question at a time; the assistant fills each section and never invents numbers.
You can, because employers will check it on the public NMC register before any offer. Many nurses simply write "NMC registered nurse (Adult), PIN on request" and add the number to the application form. What matters most is that your registration status and field are clear at the top.
Do I need a CV if the NHS uses application forms?
Many NHS posts ask for an online form and a supporting statement rather than a CV. A good CV is still worth having: agencies, private hospitals and overseas employers ask for one, and it gives you ready-made, measured examples to copy into the supporting statement.
What should a newly qualified nurse list instead of jobs?
List each placement like a short job: the ward or setting, how many weeks you were there, the skills you were signed off for and one thing you did well. Add any healthcare assistant work, because it shows you already know shift work and teamwork.
