LPN Resume Examples: Annotated Samples and ATS Keyword Guide

Q: What are the best skills to put on an LPN resume?

The top ATS keywords in 90%+ of LPN job descriptions include vital signs monitoring, medication administration, wound care, catheter care, CPR/BLS, and the specific EMR used at the target facility. Tailor by setting: add IV therapy and phlebotomy for hospital roles, OASIS documentation for home health, and fall prevention and restorative nursing for long-term care.

Over 97% of healthcare facilities use ATS software to filter nursing resumes before a recruiter sees them, and 75% of nursing resumes are rejected at that stage alone (SHRM, cited by ResumeAdapter, 2026). With 54,400 LPN job openings projected annually through 2034 (BLS), your resume has to clear the ATS first. This guide gives you annotated LPN resume examples, setting-specific keyword tables, and before/after bullet rewrites that show exactly what the screening software looks for.

LPN Resume Example (Annotated)

Below is a sample resume for an experienced LPN with five years in long-term care transitioning to an acute care hospital. Each section includes a callout explaining the strategic choice.

Sample Resume: Experienced LPN

Maria Reyes, LPN

Phoenix, AZ • (602) 555-0192 • m.reyes@email.com • LinkedIn

NCLEX-PN License No.: AZ-LP-204918 • BLS Certified (exp. 2027)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Licensed Practical Nurse with 5 years of experience in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities. Proficient in medication administration, wound care, and IV therapy. Seeking acute care med-surg role to expand clinical scope. Experienced with Cerner EMR and PCC (PointClickCare).

CLINICAL SKILLS

Medication Administration • Wound Care • Vital Signs Monitoring • Catheter Care • IV Therapy • Phlebotomy • NG Tube Management • CPR/BLS • Cerner • PointClickCare (PCC) • HIPAA Compliance • Fall Prevention Protocols

WORK EXPERIENCE

LPN, Sunrise Gardens Skilled Nursing Facility — Phoenix, AZ (Jan 2021 – Present)

Administered medications to a census of 28 residents per shift, maintaining a 99.6% medication accuracy rate over 48 months
Reduced Stage II pressure ulcer incidence by 22% over 12 months by implementing standardized repositioning protocol across 3-nurse team
Trained 4 new LPNs in EMR documentation, reducing charting errors by 31% in first 90 days
Managed 6–8 IV therapy patients per shift; zero infiltration incidents in 18-month period

LPN, Maricopa Home Health Services — Phoenix, AZ (Jun 2020 – Jan 2021)

Provided skilled nursing visits to 10–12 homebound patients per day across a 30-mile service area
Coordinated care transitions with RN supervisors and physicians for 3 post-surgical patients, supporting zero hospital readmissions in 60-day episode

EDUCATION & LICENSURE

Diploma in Practical Nursing — Maricopa Skill Center, Phoenix, AZ (2020)

Arizona LPN License No. AZ-LP-204918 (Active, expires 12/2026)

BLS for Healthcare Providers — American Heart Association (exp. 2027)

Annotation: License in the header. ATS systems scan the top third of the resume most heavily. Placing your NCLEX-PN license number directly under your contact information ensures it parses correctly in Taleo, Workday, and iCIMS, all of which score nursing resumes partly on credential visibility.

New Grad LPN Resume (Clinical Rotation Version)

Sample Resume: New Grad LPN

James Okafor, LPN

Houston, TX • (713) 555-0284 • j.okafor@email.com

NCLEX-PN License No.: TX-LP-882341 (Active) • BLS Certified

OBJECTIVE

New graduate LPN with 600+ supervised clinical hours across med-surg, geriatric, and pediatric settings. Seeking entry-level position in long-term care or outpatient clinic. Experienced with Epic EMR through clinical rotation at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

CLINICAL ROTATIONS

Clinical Rotation, Memorial Hermann Hospital (Med-Surg) — Houston, TX (150 hours)

Performed vital signs, medication administration, and wound assessments under RN supervision on 22-bed unit
Completed 40+ IV therapy procedures; documented in Epic EMR with zero errors per supervisor evaluation

Clinical Rotation, Brookdale Senior Living (LTC) — Houston, TX (200 hours)

Provided ADL assistance and medication administration to 18-resident assignment; received commendation for patient communication

EDUCATION

Diploma in Practical Nursing — Lee College, Baytown, TX (2025) | GPA: 3.8

Texas LPN License No. TX-LP-882341 • BLS (AHA, exp. 2027)

Annotation: "Clinical Rotations" as experience. ATS systems do not distinguish clinical rotations from paid employment when scanning for nursing competency keywords. List each rotation site, hours, and setting. Quantify patient assignment size and any procedures completed to generate scorable keyword matches.

How to Write Your LPN Professional Summary

Your summary is the first human-readable section after the ATS clears your resume. It should front-load your license, years of experience, and clinical setting specialization within the first two sentences. Here are three formula-based templates:

New Grad LPN

"New graduate LPN licensed in [State], with [X] supervised clinical hours across [settings]. Proficient in [top 3 clinical skills]. Seeking [role type] position where I can develop [specific competency]."

3-5 Years Experience

"Licensed Practical Nurse with [X] years in [setting]. Experienced in [key clinical skills] with proven record of [quantified outcome]. Proficient in [EMR system]. [Cert if relevant]."

Charge / Senior LPN

"Senior LPN with [X] years and [Y] years in charge nurse capacity overseeing [team size]. Track record of [outcome metric]. Credentialed in [certs]. Experienced with [EMR systems]."

Always name your NCLEX-PN license state in the summary when applying across state lines or to travel positions. Some ATS systems filter candidates by licensure state match before a recruiter ever sees the application.

LPN Skills Section: ATS Keywords by Clinical Setting

The most common ATS error LPN candidates make is using a generic skills list that does not match the language of the specific job posting. Nursing home recruiters search for different terms than hospital nurse managers. Use the tables below to select the right keyword set for your target setting.

Setting	Top ATS Hard Skills	EMR Systems
Long-Term Care / Nursing Home	Medication Administration, Wound Care, Vital Signs, ADL Assistance, Catheter Care, Fall Prevention, Pressure Ulcer Prevention, Restorative Nursing	PointClickCare (PCC), MatrixCare, SigmaCare
Hospital / Acute Care	IV Therapy, Phlebotomy, NG Tube Management, Telemetry Monitoring, Post-Op Care, Patient Assessment, Specimen Collection, HIPAA Compliance	Epic, Cerner, Meditech
Home Health	Skilled Nursing Visits, Wound Assessment, Medication Reconciliation, Care Coordination, Patient Education, OASIS Documentation	Homecare Homebase, Kinnser, WellSky
Clinic / Physician Office	EHR Documentation, Triage, Immunizations, Phlebotomy, Patient Intake, Prior Authorization, Insurance Verification	Epic, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen

Soft Skills Hiring Managers Filter For

Soft skills belong in your work experience bullets as demonstrated behaviors, not as a comma-separated list. However, these terms do parse in ATS systems when used contextually:

Patient Communication

Care Coordination

Team Collaboration

Critical Thinking

Time Management

Charge Nurse Leadership

Staff Education

Regulatory Compliance

Work Experience: Quantifying Your LPN Accomplishments

Generic duty statements score poorly in ATS and fail to differentiate you to human reviewers. Every bullet should follow the pattern: Action verb + clinical context + measurable result. Below are six real before/after rewrites showing the transformation.

Before/After Bullet Rewrites

Before (weak)	After (ATS-optimized)
"Responsible for giving medications to patients."	"Administered medications to 24-resident assignment per shift, maintaining 99.4% accuracy rate across 36-month period with zero incident reports."
"Helped with wound care."	"Performed wound assessments and dressing changes on 8–10 patients daily; contributed to 18% reduction in Stage II pressure ulcer incidence over Q3-Q4 2024."
"Worked with the team to improve patient outcomes."	"Collaborated with RN charge nurse and CNA team of 6 to implement hourly rounding protocol, reducing patient fall incidents by 27% in the 6 months following rollout."
"Trained new nurses."	"Onboarded and mentored 3 new graduate LPNs in EMR documentation and medication administration procedures; all 3 passed 90-day competency evaluations on first attempt."
"Provided care to home health patients."	"Conducted skilled nursing visits for 10–12 homebound patients per day, documenting in Homecare Homebase; achieved 0 OASIS documentation errors over 8-month period."
"Did IV therapy as needed."	"Managed IV access and therapy for 6–8 patients per shift in subacute unit; maintained zero IV infiltration incidents over 14-month period."

What metrics can LPNs realistically cite? Patient census/assignment size, medication error rates, fall incident rates, pressure ulcer rates, readmission numbers (home health), documentation error rates, staff training outcomes, and patient satisfaction scores if your facility tracks them. If you do not have exact numbers, use directional language: "contributed to [X]% reduction" or "maintained below-target incident rate."

Education, Certifications, and Licensure

The credentials section is where many LPN resumes lose ATS points due to formatting issues. Here is the correct format for each credential type.

NCLEX-PN License Format

The ATS-correct format is:

[State] LPN License No. [Number] (Active, expires [MM/YYYY])

Include both the state abbreviation and the word "LPN" or "Licensed Practical Nurse" so systems searching either term match your record. If you hold multi-state compact licensure, list your home state license followed by "(Compact)" in parentheses.

Certifications to List

BLS/CPR: American Heart Association preferred; list expiration date
IV Therapy Certification: by state; list certifying body
Phlebotomy: NHA, ASCP, or state-specific
Wound Care: CWCN or facility-based training
Medication Aide: if applicable in your state

LPN-to-RN Bridge Program: How to List It

If you are currently enrolled in an LPN-to-RN or LPN-to-BSN bridge program, list it in your education section as:

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) — [University Name], [City, State]
Currently enrolled, expected graduation [Month Year]
LPN-to-BSN Bridge Track

This framing signals upward career trajectory to hiring managers and explains any part-time or reduced work schedule. Do not list it in the certifications section, as some ATS systems will incorrectly parse it as a completed degree.

LPN Resume by Specialty Setting

Each clinical setting has a different hiring priority. Use these checklists to tailor your resume for each application rather than submitting a generic document.

Nursing Home / Long-Term Care

Include PointClickCare or MatrixCare explicitly
Cite patient census size (e.g., "28-resident assignment")
Mention MDS familiarity if applicable
Highlight fall prevention and pressure ulcer protocols
Note charge nurse or team lead experience

Hospital / Acute Care

Use "Epic" or "Cerner" by name in skills section
Reference unit type (med-surg, telemetry, ER)
Highlight IV therapy, phlebotomy, specimen collection
Mention HIPAA compliance and patient privacy protocols
List any acute care clinical rotation hours if new grad

Home Health

Note visit volume per day (e.g., "10–12 patients/day")
Include OASIS documentation if Medicare-certified agency
Highlight care coordination and physician communication
Mention travel radius or geographic coverage area
Note independent practice and self-scheduling ability

Travel LPN

List every state license held (compact or individual)
Group travel assignments by facility type, not chronology
Name every EMR system used across assignments
Highlight quick orientation and independent ramp-up
Note agency name and contract duration for each placement

LPN Salary and Job Outlook in 2025

Understanding the job market helps you set realistic expectations and prioritize higher-paying states and settings.

$62,340

Median annual wage (BLS, May 2024)

Projected job growth, 2024–2034 (BLS)

54,400

Openings per year projected (BLS, 2024–2034)

$79,970

Top-paying state (Washington) median (BLS)

The top three paying states for LPNs are Washington ($79,970), California ($79,090), and Oregon ($78,160) (BLS via Nightingale College, 2025). The lowest-paying states average closer to $47,000, so geography is the single largest compensation lever available to an LPN beyond specialty setting. Demand is driven almost entirely by the aging population: the Centers for Disease Control projects the U.S. population aged 65+ will grow from 57 million in 2022 to over 88 million by 2050, sustaining long-term care and home health hiring regardless of hospital budget cycles.

ATS tip for travel LPNs: When applying across state lines, many healthcare ATS systems use location filters as a first-pass screen. Include your current compact license state and any pending licensure applications directly in your resume header to avoid being filtered out of multi-state searches.

Frequently Asked Questions

List each clinical rotation as a separate experience entry, including the facility name, setting type (med-surg, LTC, pediatrics), total supervised hours, and 2–3 bullets describing procedures performed. Quantify wherever possible: patient assignment size, number of procedures completed, or any supervisor evaluations you received. Include your NCLEX-PN license number (once passed) in the header and a skills section populated with setting-specific keywords from the job posting.

Place your license in two locations: directly in the resume header under your contact information (e.g., "TX LPN License No. TX-LP-882341") and again in the education/licensure section with the expiration date. The header placement ensures the license parses correctly in ATS systems that read the top of the document first. If you have passed NCLEX but are waiting for the paper license, write "(Pending)" after the number.

The top ATS keywords appearing in 90%+ of LPN job descriptions include: vital signs monitoring, medication administration, wound care, catheter care, CPR/BLS, and the specific EMR system used at the facility (Epic, Cerner, PointClickCare). Beyond those, tailor your skills to the specific setting: add IV therapy and phlebotomy for hospital roles, OASIS documentation for home health, and fall prevention and restorative nursing for long-term care.

One page for fewer than five years of experience; two pages for five or more years, multiple settings, or a charge nurse or supervisory history. Healthcare hiring managers do not penalize two-page resumes the way corporate recruiters sometimes do, but every line on page 2 should earn its place. If your second page is less than half full, consolidate.

Yes. List the staffing agency as the employer, then add a sub-line for each facility placement: facility name, setting, and dates. For example: "LPN, MedStaff Nursing (2022–2024): assignments at [Facility A] (acute care, 8 months), [Facility B] (LTC, 6 months), [Facility C] (home health, 4 months)." This format documents the breadth of your experience without making it appear you had multiple short-tenure jobs.

Optimize My Resume Free

Upload your LPN resume and see exactly which ATS keywords you are missing.