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CNA Resume Examples

A CNA resume example for long-term care and hospitals, with summaries for new and lead CNAs, the skills facilities ask for, and how to list the registry.

What has to be at the top

A CNA resume starts with the certification and the state that issued it, plus BLS, because a facility checks the nurse aide registry before it looks at anything else. Next comes the setting you work in (long-term care, rehab, hospital or home health) and how many residents or patients you care for on a shift. The bullets then show safe care with a number attached: no falls on transfers, no new pressure injuries, a change in condition reported in time.

The full example

A complete CNA resume example

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Why this example works

  • The certification, the registry state and BLS are all in the first two lines, because a hiring nurse confirms the registry before reading further.
  • Each job gives the setting and the number of residents or patients per shift, which says more about workload than a list of ADLs does.
  • The results are ones a CNA shares in and can honestly claim: no new pressure injuries on the hall, no falls during transfers, and a change in condition caught and reported.
  • The practical nursing program in progress sits in education with its expected date, so a recruiter reads it as a plan to stay in nursing rather than a reason the candidate might leave.

The CNA resume example as text

The same content as the sheet above, readable without zooming, so you can copy any line.

Keisha Monroe
Certified Nursing Assistant, Long-Term Care and Med-Surg

Tampa, FLkeisha.monroe@email.com(555) 013-6205

Summary

Certified nursing assistant with five years in long-term care and hospital med-surg, listed on the Florida nurse aide registry and BLS certified. Cares for 10 to 12 residents a shift; no new pressure injuries on the assigned hall in 18 months.

Experience
Certified Nursing Assistant — Bayshore Gardens Rehabilitation and Nursing CenterMar 2022 – Present
  • Give ADL care and chart vitals and intake and output for 10 to 12 residents a day on a 40-bed hall.
  • Turn and reposition every 2 hours per care plan; no new pressure injuries on the hall in 18 months.
  • Use a gait belt or mechanical lift for every assisted transfer; no resident falls during transfers in 2025.
  • Orient new CNAs to the hall and to PointClickCare charting; 8 trained in the last two years.
Nursing Assistant, Medical-Surgical Unit — Palmetto Coast General HospitalFeb 2021 – Feb 2022
  • Took vitals, glucose checks and weights for 8 to 10 patients a shift on a 30-bed med-surg unit.
  • Reported a patient's new confusion and low blood pressure to the RN, who started the sepsis protocol.
Education
Practical Nursing Certificate (LPN), in progress, expected May 2027, Gulf Coast Technical CollegeAug 2025 – May 2027
Nurse Aide Training Program, 120 hours including clinical practice, Gulf Coast Technical CollegeSep 2020 – Dec 2020
Licenses and certifications
  • Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Florida Board of Nursing, Jan 2021
  • Basic Life Support (BLS), American Red Cross, Valid through Mar 2027
Skills

ADL assistance, Vital signs, Intake and output, Mechanical lift transfers, Pressure injury prevention, Dementia care, PointClickCare, Epic, Patience with confused residents, Dependability, Clear shift reports

Languages

English (Native), Spanish (Conversational)

Illustrative. Not a real person and not a real employer.

Summaries

CNA resume summary examples by experience level

The summary is the part of a resume that changes most as a career goes on. The same job at three stages, and what each stage leads with.

  • New CNA, training and clinicals only

    Certified nursing assistant who finished a 120-hour state-approved training program in 2026, with clinical practice in a skilled nursing facility, and passed the state competency exam on the first attempt. Three years as a restaurant server, used to 10-hour shifts on the floor. Available for nights and weekends.

    Put the training hours, the clinical setting and the exam in the summary. A previous job with long shifts on your feet is evidence you can handle the schedule, so keep it.

  • Hospital CNA or patient care technician

    Hospital nursing assistant with five years on a 36-bed cardiac step-down unit, trained to place 12-lead EKGs and draw blood. Keeps vitals, glucose checks and intake and output on schedule for 8 to 10 patients a shift, and serves as the unit's fall-prevention champion.

    Hospital roles reward the extra skills: EKG, phlebotomy, telemetry. Name them in the summary and in the job title if your employer uses one, such as PCT.

  • Lead CNA or restorative aide

    Lead CNA and restorative nursing assistant with 11 years in long-term care, running the restorative program for 28 residents on a 120-bed campus. Builds the daily assignment sheet for 14 aides and trains every new hire on safe lifting; staff lifting injuries fell from 6 to 1 in two years.

    At this level the page shows that you organize other aides' work. Lead, restorative or medication aide titles go in the job title, where a recruiter sees them first.

Skills

Skills for a CNA resume

CNA postings are short and repeat the same words: ADLs, vital signs, transfers, the charting system. Use those words as the posting spells them, and name the setting you know (long-term care, rehab, hospital, home health), since it tells the reader at once whether you have worked this kind of floor before.

Hard skills

Resident care

  • ADL assistance (bathing, dressing, feeding)
  • Toileting and incontinence care
  • Range-of-motion exercises
  • Dementia and memory care

Observation and charting

  • Vital signs
  • Intake and output
  • Blood glucose checks
  • Reporting changes in condition
  • PointClickCare

Safety

  • Gait belt and mechanical lift transfers
  • Fall prevention
  • Pressure injury prevention
  • Infection control
  • Post-mortem care

Soft skills

  • Patience
  • Compassion
  • Dependability
  • Teamwork with nurses
  • Communication with families
  • Physical stamina

Name two or three of these in the skills section at most. They count for more when a bullet shows one at work.

Bullet points

CNA resume bullet points, before and after

Five lines as people first write them, and the same lines rewritten so the result comes last, where the eye lands. The numbers are illustrative; use your own.

  • Helped residents with daily activities.

    Gave full ADL care to 11 residents a shift on a memory care unit and kept each one's usual bath and meal times; the unit's evening behavior incidents fell from 20 to 8 a month.

  • Took vital signs.

    Took and charted vitals, weights and blood glucose for 9 patients a shift on a med-surg unit, and every out-of-range reading reached the RN within 15 minutes in the unit's quarterly audits.

  • Responsible for patient safety.

    Checked bed alarms and call lights on every hourly round on a 32-bed rehab unit; falls on the day shift went from 9 in the first half of the year to 3 in the second.

  • Trained new aides.

    Worked alongside 10 new CNAs for their first two weeks, teaching the lift, the charting system and the care plans, and 8 of them were still with the facility a year later.

  • Worked in home health.

    Visited 5 home health clients a day for bathing, meals and the exercises in each physical therapy plan; one client went from a walker to a cane in three months.

Starting every bullet with the same verb? Synonyms for overused resume words →

These bullets are waiting in the editor

When you write your experience in our CV builder, pick "Example phrases" under a job and add the CNA bullets from this page in one click. Every number is left as [X], so the figures on your CV are your own.

Beyond experience

Nursing assistant certification and training

A CNA is hired against the state nurse aide registry, so the certification line needs the state and, while you wait, the exam date. Federal rules set the minimum for the training program and the competency exam, and a state can ask for more.

  • Nurse aide registry

    Passing your state's competency exam puts you on its nurse aide registry. NCSBN's NNAAP is one of the exams used for this, and candidates who pass it are added to their state's registry. Write the credential and the state, such as "Certified Nursing Assistant, Florida", and leave the certificate number off unless the application asks for it.

    Issued by National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NNAAP)

  • Training program hours

    Federal rules require a state-approved nurse aide training program to have at least 75 clock hours, including at least 16 hours of supervised practical training. Your program may have run longer, so put its own hours on the education line, as the sample does.

    Issued by Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 483.152

  • The competency exam

    The evaluation has two parts: a written or oral exam, whichever you choose, and a demonstration of randomly selected nursing aide skills. Until you have passed both, write "State competency exam scheduled for June 2026" under the training program.

    Issued by Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 483.154

  • BLS or CPR

    List it whenever you hold it. Red Cross BLS is taught in person or blended (online work, then an in-person skills session), and the certification lasts two years. Put the month it expires next to it.

    Issued by American Red Cross, among other providers

  • Additional state credentials

    Some states offer credentials a CNA can add, such as a medication aide certification. Names and duties differ by state, so use your state's exact title and list it directly under the CNA line.

    Issued by your state's nurse aide registry or board

How to list certifications on a resume →

Template

Which template to use for a CNA resume

Basic. Hospitals and the larger nursing home groups take CNA applications through online forms, and a plain one-column layout goes through them without losing a line. Basic also holds the registry line, BLS and two jobs on one page with space left over. It is the one layout that downloads free without our watermark, which helps when you are applying to several facilities in the same week.

What makes a template ATS-friendly →See all templates filled in →

CNA resume questions

What should a CNA put on a resume?

Your certification with the state, BLS with its expiry month, the settings you have worked in, how many residents or patients you care for on a shift, and a few results such as fall or pressure injury records. Add the charting system you use, any extra skills like EKG or phlebotomy, and your training program with its hours.

What is a good resume summary for a CNA?

Two or three sentences: your certification and state, your years and setting, and one result or strength with a number. The sample and the three summaries above show the pattern for a new CNA, a hospital aide and a lead CNA. Leave out phrases like "compassionate and dedicated" unless a fact right after them proves it.

What are the top skills for a CNA resume?

ADL care, vital signs, safe transfers with a gait belt or lift, infection control and accurate charting form the core of a CNA posting. Hospitals often add EKG, blood draws and telemetry. Of the soft skills, patience and dependability come up most, and the bullets should show them rather than list them.

How do I write a resume for a CNA job with no experience?

Treat the training program as your first job: the school, the hours, where you did clinicals and what you did there. Put the exam result or the exam date at the top. Then list any job where you worked long shifts, cared for people or kept to a schedule, such as food service, retail or caring for a relative.

Should I put my CNA certificate number on my resume?

Not unless the application asks for it. The employer verifies your status on the state registry anyway, and the number is one more personal detail on a page that gets passed around. The state and the date you were certified are enough.

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