Having a solid healthcare resume can make or break your chances at landing your unicorn travel job. But having a solid healthcare resume can be easier said than done. Luckily, we’re here to help make the process easier!

How To Write a Travel Healthcare Resume

Don’t let your resume fall to the bottom of the pile. Instead, use these hot tips to create an effective and travel healthcare resume that will put you on the top.

What to include in your travel resume

You have much to include in your travel healthcare resume, young grasshopper. The challenge is figuring out how to fully share your awesomeness without your resume becoming as long as an ancient scroll. To help narrow down what to include, here are six things you’ll want to make sure are emphasized on your resume (in this order).

No. 1: Personal summary

First things first, it’s time to write a brief personal summary. Your personal summary should be two-to-three sentences that describe your professional background, advanced skills, and credentials. The point to the summary is to give employers a sneak peek into your qualifications before they dive into the rest of your resume. So, make sure your personal summary reels them in.

No. 2: Education and training

Now it’s time to wow potential employers with your education and training background. This is where you want to include all the deets on your educational accomplishments, such as a high school diploma or GED, any completed certification programs, an undergrad degree, and graduate degree, if applicable. Pro tip: include the start and end dates for each educational program, so employers can paint an accurate timeline of your training background. The education and training section is your chance to showcase your academic experience and highlight any accomplishments or specific credentials you earned while completing school.

No. 3: Clinical experiences, residencies, and fellowships

Next in line is any clinical experience you may have, including residencies and fellowships. Now, you might be thinking, “But my residency was a job, so I want to put it with my professional experience!” We hear you. Here’s the thing: Putting your clinical experiences, residencies, and fellowships in their own section will allow employers to quickly assess your professional training in your medical field prior to your full-time employment history. Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to include here, not all healthcare specialties require clinical experience, residencies, or fellowships.

No. 4: Job history

Should you include all of your travel jobs in the history of ever on your resume? I mean, you want to be thorough, but you don’t want your resume to never end. So, for the answer, we turned to one of Fusion’s Resume Support Specialists, Lyndsay Hearn. Here’s what she said:

“When it comes to your travel resume, we want it to be thorough and straight to the point. You should include all employment for the last seven years, plus a short list of duties, including jobs that aren’t medical-related.”

So start in reverse-chronological order with your current or most recent job and work your way back seven years. Like your education history, you’ll want to include the start month and year of each job, as well as the end date month and year. If there are any gaps of employment, add those, too, plus the month and year. This helps employers see the full picture of your job history.

No. 5: Certifications and licenses

Depending on your healthcare division and specialty, you may need a separate section to list your certifications, licenses, and maybe even continued education units (CEUs). List these accomplishments to demonstrate your personal qualifications and current credentials and show employers that you meet the necessary requirements of the job.

No. 6: Skills and capabilities

It’s no secret you’ve got skills. Now’s your time to shine and show future employers what those skills are. And we’re not just talking hard skills like knowing chart requirements or having the ability to analyze healthcare data, we’re also talking soft skills — you know, time management, strong work ethic, problem-solving capabilities, things like that. Listing these skills and capabilities help emphasize your achievements and dedication to your career, proving you’re a top candidate for the job.

While the general purpose of professional resumes is to highlight transferable skills, abilities, and work experience, healthcare resumes are a smidge bit different. Instead of mainly focusing on skills and abilities, a healthcare resume also emphasizes education, training, and medical work experience, as well as medical certifications and licenses. Other things that you can include on your healthcare resume are:

• Awards and achievements
• Clinical experiences, residencies, and fellowships
• Memberships
• Proficient languages
• Volunteer experience

Tips on how to write a healthcare resume

We understand that writing a healthcare resume can be easier said than done. But luckily, far from impossible! Use these helpful tips on how to write a healthcare resume to get started.

Optimize your resume for ATS software

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is a special software that manages and tracks job candidates through the recruitment and hiring process. A lot of employers use this technology to automate the resume scanning and selection process. Since you won’t know for sure if a company uses an ATS, it’s best to play it safe and ensure your resume makes it through instead of being rejected before ever reaching a human hiring manager.

But how? Simply use keywords and key phrases from the job description you want. Yep. That’s it. The ATS will scan your resume, pick up on those keywords and phrases, and enhance your chances of your resume making it through the scanning process.

Bada bing, bada boom.

Match your skills with what’s in the job posting

Is there a job out there that you really, really want? Then optimize the skills listed on your resume and we know you have lots of great skills. Highlight the ones that are actually in the job description by moving them to the top of the list. You don't have to take out the other ones, but make sure the hiring managers see what they're looking for. This not only highlights your qualification for the job, but it also helps you get past the ATS. Win-win.

Keep your resume short, sweet, and to the point

The last thing anyone wants is a resume that resembles a short book — you don’t want to write it and employers don’t want to read it.

According to Lyndsay, travel healthcare resumes should be three pages long tops. So, be strategic about the details you share. If you need a hand deciding what to include vs what to leave out, reach out to your recruiter, and get their words of wisdom.

Travel healthcare resume template

Still not sure what a travel healthcare resume should look like? Here’s a template to help guide you:

[First and last name]

[Contact information]

[Personal summary: Two-to-three sentences]

[Educational background]

• [University name and dates attended]
• [Degree or certification]

[Residencies and fellowships]

• [Name of organization and the dates you attended]
• [Responsibilities and accomplishments]

[Work experience in reverse-chronological order]

• [Organization name, job title, type of facility, and dates of employment]
• [Brief description of job duties]

[Skills]

• [Skill set and a quick example of how you use it]

Travel healthcare resume example

Jane Doe, RN

111-111-1111

Jane.Doe@email.com

Personal summary

Dedicated and compassionate registered nurse with five years’ experience working in a fast-paced hospital setting with specialized skills in clinical and patient care. Efficient and driven healthcare team member motivated to improve patient outcomes.

Educational background

University of Nebraska at Omaha; Omaha, Nebraska. August 2017.

• Bachelor of Science—Nursing
• Licensed RN in the state of Nebraska

Certifications

• Registered nurse, state of Nebraska—August 2017 to present
• CPR, First-Aid, and AED certifications, American Red Cross—April 2017 to present
• ACLS and BLS certifications—American Heart Association—April 2017 to present

Work experience

Registered nurse, UNMC Hospital. August 2022 to present

• Assessment of patient vitals
• Collection for laboratory testing
• Evaluation of patient care

Registered nurse, Methodist Physicians Clinic. February 2022 to August 2022

• Evaluation of patient health systems to aid in diagnosis
• Administer medications to patients using a variety of delivery methods
• Assist patient health team in treatment of disease and illness

Skills

• Compassionate patient care for improved health outcomes
• Medication dosing and administration methods
• HIPAA compliance and expertise
• IV management
• Technical skills including telemetry equipment and screening instruments

So, you want to be on top (of the pile of job candidates)? Use these tips to ensure your travel healthcare resume is in tip-top shape. Once you’ve created your ideal travel healthcare resume, you're ready to submit it and find high-paying travel jobs.