A nursing CV is screened in a specific order: registration category first, then setting and acuity, then everything else. Get the first two wrong and the rest is never read. This page shows how to write nurse duties for a CV, with examples across categories and settings, and explains what recruiters in South African healthcare actually check.
Registration Comes First
Put your South African Nursing Council registration at the very top of the CV, not in a qualifications section near the bottom. Include the category, your registration number and confirmation that it is current, along with any additional qualification such as midwifery, critical care or theatre.
Registration is verified before appointment, so a lapse must be resolved before applying. If you hold an additional qualification, name it explicitly, since it determines which posts you are eligible for. For the full scope picture see nurse duties and responsibilities.
Then State the Setting and Acuity
Add a scope line under each role describing the unit, bed number, patient acuity and your typical allocation. A recruiter reads this to judge whether your experience transfers to their unit, and it is the detail most nursing CVs omit.
- Thirty-two bed surgical unit in a private hospital group, allocation of eight patients.
- Twelve bed intensive care unit, ventilated patients, one to two nurse-to-patient ratio.
- Primary health care clinic seeing approximately one hundred and twenty patients daily.
- Twenty-four bed frail care unit with high dependency residents.
- Theatre complex of six theatres, scrub and circulating across general and orthopaedic lists.
Duty Examples by Category
Write to your registered scope. Claiming duties beyond your category is both inaccurate and a professional risk.
Professional Nurse
- Conducted comprehensive admission assessments and developed individualised nursing care plans.
- Administered prescribed medication including intravenous therapy, monitoring for adverse reactions.
- Recognised clinical deterioration and initiated emergency response, escalating to the medical team.
- Managed complex post-operative care including wound care, drain management and pain assessment.
- Supervised enrolled nurses and auxiliaries, delegating within their respective scopes of practice.
- Precepted student nurses through clinical placements.
- Led shifts as nurse in charge, coordinating admissions, discharges and staffing.
- Participated in unit-based clinical audits and quality improvement initiatives.
Enrolled Nurse
- Provided nursing care within the enrolled nurse scope under professional nurse supervision.
- Recorded and interpreted vital signs, escalating abnormal findings promptly.
- Performed wound care and dressing changes within scope.
- Administered medication where scope and employer policy permitted.
- Assisted with clinical procedures and post-operative care.
- Maintained accurate nursing records and delivered structured handovers.
- Supervised nursing auxiliaries and delegated appropriately within their scope.
Enrolled Nursing Auxiliary
- Provided elementary nursing care under supervision in a thirty-bed medical ward.
- Assisted patients with hygiene, dressing, mobility and nutrition while maintaining dignity.
- Recorded vital signs and fluid balance and reported changes to the nurse in charge.
- Repositioned immobile patients on schedule, supporting pressure injury prevention.
- Maintained infection prevention and control standards.
- Escalated concerns about patient condition promptly.
Adjusting for Specialty
Name the specialty explicitly and include the duties that distinguish it, since recruiters filter on specialty experience.
- Theatre: scrub and circulating roles, instrument and swab counts, sterile technique, list types.
- Critical care: ventilated patient management, invasive monitoring, titrated infusions.
- Midwifery: antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care, deliveries conducted.
- Primary health care: screening, chronic disease management, health education, nurse-initiated management where qualified.
- Occupational health: health surveillance, injury on duty management, medical surveillance programmes.
- Paediatrics: age-appropriate assessment, family-centred care, paediatric dosing awareness.
What Nursing Recruiters Check
- Registration category, number and currency, verified before appointment.
- Additional qualifications relevant to the post.
- Setting and acuity, to judge whether experience transfers.
- Continuity of employment and reasons for moving.
- Shift availability, including night duty and weekend rotation.
- Continuing professional development.
- Contactable clinical references, usually a unit manager.
Writing About Difficult Circumstances
Nursing CVs sometimes carry gaps caused by burnout, illness, family responsibility or agency work between permanent posts. Account for them briefly and factually rather than leaving silence. Agency nursing in particular should be listed properly, naming the agency and the types of unit worked, since it demonstrates adaptability across settings.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Burying registration details at the bottom of the CV.
- Omitting the unit type, bed number and patient allocation.
- Listing duties beyond your registered scope.
- Failing to name specialty experience explicitly.
- Leaving agency placements off, which creates unexplained gaps.
- Omitting continuing professional development.
- Writing generic caring and compassionate rather than clinical specifics.
Related Pages
For the full duty breakdown across categories, read nurse duties and responsibilities. If you are writing an advert, see the nurse job description. For CV duty wording across other roles, use Duties for CV.
FAQs
Where do I put my SANC registration on a CV?
At the very top, with your category, registration number and confirmation that it is current, plus any additional qualification. It is the first thing checked, and a CV that buries it risks being set aside before the reader finds it.
How do I write nurse duties for a CV?
Write to your registered scope, add a scope line describing the unit, bed number and patient allocation, and use clinical specifics rather than general caring language. Name your specialty explicitly, since recruiters filter on it.
Should I list duties from a scope higher than my category?
No. Listing duties beyond your registered scope is inaccurate and carries professional risk, and it will be identified by any nursing recruiter reading the CV. Write to your actual category and let additional qualifications speak for the rest.
Should I include agency nursing?
Yes, as a proper entry naming the agency and the types of unit worked. It demonstrates adaptability across settings and prevents unexplained gaps. Group multiple short placements under a single entry if there were many.
What do nursing recruiters check first?
Registration category, number and currency, then additional qualifications, then the setting and acuity you have worked in. Shift availability, continuity of employment and contactable clinical references follow closely.