Post job

Cardiac nurse specialist vs nurse

The differences between cardiac nurse specialists and nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a cardiac nurse specialist and a nurse. Additionally, a cardiac nurse specialist has an average salary of $70,130, which is higher than the $57,564 average annual salary of a nurse.

The top three skills for a cardiac nurse specialist include patients, BLS and acls. The most important skills for a nurse are patients, home health, and CPR.

Cardiac nurse specialist vs nurse overview

Cardiac Nurse SpecialistNurse
Yearly salary$70,130$57,564
Hourly rate$33.72$27.68
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs396,644696,124
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

Cardiac nurse specialist vs nurse salary

Cardiac nurse specialists and nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Cardiac Nurse SpecialistNurse
Average salary$70,130$57,564
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $108,000Between $38,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Conviva
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between cardiac nurse specialist and nurse education

There are a few differences between a cardiac nurse specialist and a nurse in terms of educational background:

Cardiac Nurse SpecialistNurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Cardiac nurse specialist vs nurse demographics

Here are the differences between cardiac nurse specialists' and nurses' demographics:

Cardiac Nurse SpecialistNurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 19.6% Female, 80.4%Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between cardiac nurse specialist and nurse duties and responsibilities

Cardiac nurse specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Work with patients to recover normal lifestyles post cardiac events including surgery, in a cardiac rehabilitation clinical environment.
  • Develop and implement exercise programs for cardiac and pulmonary patients, stress testing, cardiac monitoring, and patient education
  • Monitor and interprets data from EKG and telemetry within scope of nursing care.
  • Monitor for life threatening EKG changes and administer appropriate therapy in treating patient.
  • Identify critical conditions and take the appropriate action to contact the physician for surgery, rapid response, or ICU care.
  • Show more

Nurse example responsibilities.

  • Monitor patients' status during surgery (circulate in operating room) and manage patients in PACU.
  • Manage high-acuity cardiac/pulmonary and psychiatric patients
  • Monitor patients for cardiac rhythm changes and implement medication according to ACLS guidelines.
  • Educate patients and families on diseases processes, medications, wind care, and iv infusion.
  • Provide care for patients on medical/surgical, transplant, cardiac, orthopedic, postpartum, neonatal ICU, and psychiatric units
  • Demonstrate competence in CPR and other medical emergency situations.
  • Show more

Cardiac nurse specialist vs nurse skills

Common cardiac nurse specialist skills
  • Patients, 30%
  • BLS, 9%
  • Acls, 8%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 4%
  • Electrophysiology, 3%
Common nurse skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Home Health, 7%
  • CPR, 6%
  • BLS, 6%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • Acls, 4%

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs