CNA Resume Example

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) resume example.

A strong CNA resume makes one thing clear in the first few seconds: you are an active certified nursing assistant in good standing on your state's nurse aide registry. From there it shows the patient-care work that fills a shift, ADLs, vital signs, transfers, and charting, and the care setting you know best. The example below leads with the certification a recruiter scans for, names the equipment you can use safely on day one, and quantifies the patient load you actually carry.

Alicia Carter

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

[email protected] · (555) 642-1877 · Tampa, FL · linkedin.com/in/alicia-carter

Summary

Certified Nursing Assistant with 3 years in long-term care and skilled nursing, comfortable carrying a 12 to 15 resident assignment across full ADL support, vital signs, and safe transfers. Active on the Florida Nurse Aide Registry, current in BLS, and known for accurate end-of-shift charting and a calm approach with residents living with dementia.

Experience

Certified Nursing Assistant2023 to Present

Bayshore Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation

Provide direct care to 12 to 15 residents per shift, assisting with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and feeding while protecting each resident's dignity and privacy.
Measure and record vital signs, weights, and intake and output each shift, reporting changes in condition to the charge nurse promptly.
Perform safe bed-to-wheelchair and bed-to-chair transfers using gait belts and Hoyer lifts, with zero resident falls or lift injuries over an 18-month stretch.
Reposition bedbound residents every two hours and follow skin-care protocols, contributing to a unit pressure-injury rate held below facility target.

Certified Nursing Assistant2022 to 2023

Gulfview Assisted Living

Supported activities of daily living (ADLs) for 20-plus residents on a memory-care unit, redirecting and de-escalating residents with dementia during care.
Charted ADL completion, meals, and behavior notes in PointClickCare, keeping documentation current before end of shift.
Answered call lights within facility response standards and assisted with ambulation and range-of-motion exercises to support mobility.
Followed standard precautions and proper PPE and hand-hygiene practices, with no infection-control deficiencies cited during the period.

Skills

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, feeding · Vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respiration) · Patient transfers and mobility (gait belt, Hoyer lift, repositioning) · Intake and output (I&O) and weight monitoring · Skin care, pressure-injury prevention, and fall prevention · Infection control, standard precautions, and PPE · Charting and EHR (PointClickCare), HIPAA compliance · Dementia and memory care, call-light response

Education

Certificate of Completion, State-Approved Nurse Aide Training Program, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL

Certifications

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Florida Board of Nursing; active on the Florida Nurse Aide Registry
Basic Life Support (BLS), American Heart Association

Keywords ATS systems scan for

Use the ones that are genuinely true for you, in your own words. Mirror the exact phrasing from the job posting where it matches.

Certified Nursing AssistantCNAactivities of daily living (ADLs)vital signspatient transfersHoyer liftgait beltinfection controlskilled nursingBLS / CPR certifiedlong-term carePointClickCare

How to make this resume stronger

Specific to cna (certified nursing assistant) roles, not generic advice.

State your certification and registry status up top

Recruiters and the ATS both scan for CNA early, and many states require you to be active on the nurse aide registry to work. Put CNA next to your name and in a certifications section, and note that your certification is active. If your certification is in another state or expired, say so plainly rather than leaving it ambiguous.

Name the care setting and the patient load you carry

A CNA on a 15-resident long-term care unit and a CNA on a hospital med-surg floor do different work. State your setting (long-term care, skilled nursing, hospital, rehab) and the number of residents or patients per shift so a hiring manager can match you to their floor instead of guessing.

List the equipment you can use safely on day one

Naming gait belts, Hoyer lifts, pulse oximeters, and glucometers signals you are floor-ready and need less orientation. Pair the equipment with the task (safe transfers, repositioning) so it reads as real skill, not a keyword dump, and mirror any device the job posting names.

Common mistakes to avoid

Leaving off your certification status or the state nurse aide registry you are listed on, which many employers verify before an interview.

Writing "responsible for patient care" instead of the specific tasks you perform, like ADLs, vital signs, transfers, and charting.

Calling yourself a CNA when you mean a national credential. There is no single national CNA certification. It is a state-issued certification tied to a state registry, so name the state.

Listing "computer skills" generically when the posting names a specific charting system such as PointClickCare or an Epic-based EHR you have actually used.

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) resume FAQ

Do you need to be certified to put CNA on a resume?

Yes. CNA means you have completed a state-approved nurse aide training program, passed your state's competency exam (a written or oral test plus a hands-on skills test), and are listed on that state's nurse aide registry. There is no separate national CNA credential. If you are certified, put CNA in your headline and a certifications section and name the state. If you are still in training, write something like "Nurse aide training completed, state exam scheduled" rather than calling yourself certified.

What skills should a CNA resume include?

The core patient-care work of a shift plus the safety and documentation skills employers screen for. Include activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, toileting, and feeding; vital signs; safe patient transfers and mobility using gait belts and Hoyer lifts; repositioning and skin care; intake and output monitoring; infection control and PPE; and charting in the EHR you have used. Mirror the exact terms in the job posting, since the ATS matches them literally, and note that you are BLS or CPR certified.

How long should a CNA resume be?

One page for nearly all CNAs. Keep a clear certifications section with your CNA and BLS credentials, a skills section covering ADLs, vital signs, transfers, and charting, and three to four bullets per job that name your setting and patient load. A single, well-organized page parses cleanly through an ATS and reads fast for a busy charge nurse or recruiter.

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) resume example.

Keywords ATS systems scan for

How to make this resume stronger

Common mistakes to avoid

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) resume FAQ

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