Writing Resume Objectives
for Your Nursing Resume

Writing resume objectives is simple if you know the formula and use words that show your understanding of the Canadian health care system. A good objective sentence for your nursing resume should be included if you are applying for nursing jobs in Canada in larger urban hospitals and you have specific goals for your nursing career.

Objectives tell the employer what you want to achieve through your application for nursing employment. You should be specific about what you want and what you can offer.

A good objective sentence for a resume will emphasize how your previously learned skills can be put to good use in the job you are applying for.

Writing a Resume Objective Statement

There are three parts to a good objective sentence for a resume.

Part 1

Here are some samples of resume objectives if you have no previous experience and are just starting in your nursing career.

This part of your nursing resume tells the employer what you hope to achieve in your application for employment.

You start the sentence with the word "to". Do not start with the word "I". Employers want to know what you have to offer not necessarily what you want.

Just like in nursing documentation where "the patient" is implied as the subject of every sentence you can start your resume objective statement with an action word. It is fully understood that you are the person who will be doing this action.

Sample Resume Objectives

Part 1

To obtain a position as a community health nurse............

To secure a leadership nursing position ...............

To obtain a position as a registered nurse ...............

Part 2

In this part of your objective statement you should specify the setting in which you want to work.

Nursing jobs in Canada exist in a wide variety of settings. Some of the terms used to describe these are:

long term care	acute oncology	GATU = Geriatric Assessment and Treatment Unit
acute care	acute medicine	STAT = Short Stay Assessment and Treatment Unit
complex care	acute surgery	ACE = Acute Care of the Elderly
sub-acute care	community health	CCU = Coronary Care Unit
rehabilitation	palliative care	PAR = post anaesthetic recovery
home care	surgical day care	ICU = intensive care unit

Sample Resume Objectives

Part 2

To obtain a position as a community health nurse in a metropolitan setting.......

To secure a leadership nursing position in a long term care setting.......

To obtain a position as a registered nurse in a pediatric setting.....

Part 3

When writing your objective statement for your resume part three should describe what you have to offer to the employer.

Write down some strengths or well developed skills that you have that are pertinent to the position you are applying for so the employer knows that you have a good understanding of what is needed in the job.

Sample Resume Objectives

Part 3

To obtain a position as a community health nurse in a metropolitan setting where I can continue to apply my knowledge of epidemiology and community health nursing in a collaborative community focused team environment.

To secure a leadership nursing position in a long term care setting where I can continue to expand my knowledge of gerontology and dementia care in an environment of collaboration and team work.

To obtain a position as a registered nurse in a pediatric setting where I can use my well developed communication skills for family advocacy and collaborative practice.

Never and I mean never put anything in your resume that is not true and that you cannot defend. For example do not say that you have well developed skills if they are not well developed and you think it just looks good on your resume.

Honesty and integrity are highly valued in Canadian culture and they are essential values in the nursing profession.

If you put statements on your nursing resume that are untrue you have already told the employer that you cannot be trusted to perform in your role as a professional nurse with the level of accountability and responsibility that is expected in the nursing standards of practice in Canada.

If you are applying for nursing jobs in Canada you may choose to adapt one of these resume objectives for your nursing resume.

REMEMBER! The purpose of your nursing resume is to get a job interview. Check out the Job Interview Tips for Nursing Jobs in Canada.

Here is a list of all the pages on this website that contain more specific information to help with writing your nursing resume.

Resume Objectives - Include resume objectives in your nursing resume if you are applying for nursing employement in larger urban hospitals and you have specific career goals. Nursing resume objective examples are offered so you can create your own resume objective statements.

Career Objective Examples for Resumes - If you have previous nursing experience a resume objective statement should be crafted for your nursing resume. Sample resume objectives are offered for pediatrics, long term care, and other nursing settings.

Outline of a Resume - An outline of a resume is presented to help with writing a resume for nursing jobs in Canada.

Write A Good Resume- A step by step process offers help with writing a resume so you can create a nursing resume that informs the employer about your ability to work as a professional nurse.

Resume Words for Your Nursing Resume- Use these resume words when completing the resume objective statement or qualifications summary.

Registered Nurse Resume- Create a registered nurse resume that contains a qualifications summary closely matching the Canadian nursing competencies.

Nursing Resume References- Resume references do not need to be included on your resume when you apply for nursing jobs in Canada. Tips for how to handle employment and character references on your nursing resume.

Free Resume Writing Online- Links to sites where you can make a resume online for free!

Current Nursing Shortage

Some provincial health authorities have decreased the number of nursing positions because of funding shortfalls. These are some of the political nuances of nursing in Canada.

The various career sections on health authority websites still show a wide variety of positions, but many of them are not entry level.

This is most likely a temporary situation and all predictions still forcast a nursing shortage for the future.

I will be monitoring this situation over the longer term.

A Canadian visitor says:

Bev:

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Stephanie

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