Child's nurse vs head nurse

The differences between child's nurses and head 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 child's nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $63,198 average annual salary of a child's nurse.

The top three skills for a child's nurse include patients, social services and CPR. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Child's nurse vs head nurse overview

	Child's Nurse	Head Nurse
Yearly salary	$63,198	$80,173
Hourly rate	$30.38	$38.54
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	377,929	649,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Child's nurse vs head nurse salary

Child's nurses and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Child's Nurse	Head Nurse
Average salary	$63,198	$80,173
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $88,000	Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	Philadelphia, PA	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between child's nurse and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a child's nurse and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

	Child's Nurse	Head Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Child's nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between child's nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

	Child's Nurse	Head Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 8.9% Female, 91.1%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between child's nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Child's nurse example responsibilities.

Manage chronic care conditions like diabetes, hypertension, asthma and HIV.
Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
Give TB shoot and read results as ordered.
Give TB test and check test for positive or negative.
Act as an infection control coordinator, maintaining tuberculosis and hepatitis standards.
Assess psychiatric needs, formulate treatment plans, administered/monitore effects of psychotropic medications/ instruct patients and families.

Head nurse example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Receive intensive training for critical care skill development upon transferring to the medical ICU.
Perform advanced nursing care to acute/chronic medical/surgical, cardiac, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic and oncology/ hematology patients.
Certify staff in CPR and blood glucose monitoring.
Develop and implement an intensive care class for the staff; implement ACLS class for all staff.
Develop process improvement plan with bundles for sedation and ventilation.

Child's nurse vs head nurse skills

Common child's nurse skills

Patients, 49%
Social Services, 10%
CPR, 6%
Family Education, 4%
Physical Assessments, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

Common head nurse skills

Patients, 31%
BLS, 9%
Compassion, 6%
Acute Care, 6%
Acls, 4%
CPR, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Child's Nurse
Child's Nurse vs Head Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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