Circulating nurse vs nurse clinician

The differences between circulating nurses and nurse clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a circulating nurse and a nurse clinician. Additionally, a circulating nurse has an average salary of $74,535, which is higher than the $65,159 average annual salary of a nurse clinician.

The top three skills for a circulating nurse include patients, BLS and plastic surgery. The most important skills for a nurse clinician are patients, patient education, and CPR.

Circulating nurse vs nurse clinician overview

	Circulating Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Yearly salary	$74,535	$65,159
Hourly rate	$35.83	$31.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	580,481	596,073
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Circulating nurse vs nurse clinician salary

Circulating nurses and nurse clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Circulating Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average salary	$74,535	$65,159
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $121,000	Between $48,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Healthpoint
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between circulating nurse and nurse clinician education

There are a few differences between a circulating nurse and a nurse clinician in terms of educational background:

	Circulating Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Circulating nurse vs nurse clinician demographics

Here are the differences between circulating nurses' and nurse clinicians' demographics:

	Circulating Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 14.6% Female, 85.4%	Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.6% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between circulating nurse and nurse clinician duties and responsibilities

Circulating nurse example responsibilities.

Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
Monitor vital signs in PACU and review discharge instructions to caretaker regarding procedure.
Circulate ENT, plastics, GYN, GI, general, and orthopedic cases.
Circulate mostly GU and GYN cases
Assist in Pre-Op as needed.
Assist in endoscopy for EGDS, Colonoscopys, and ERCPs.

Nurse clinician example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Provide high level nursing care for ER step down and ICU patients prior to transfer to critical care units.
Instruct ACLS and BLS classes.
Specialize care for telemetry and orthopedic patients.
Provide specialized nursing care to ICU medical cardiac patient populations.
Provide education regarding care of surgical patients as part of orientation to orienting telemetry nurses.

Circulating nurse vs nurse clinician skills

Common circulating nurse skills

Patients, 25%
BLS, 7%
Plastic Surgery, 7%
Infection Control, 5%
Anesthesia, 5%
Acls, 5%

Common nurse clinician skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Education, 5%
CPR, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%
Patient Outcomes, 3%
Educational Programs, 3%

Circulating Nurse vs. similar jobs

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Circulating Nurse
Circulating Nurse vs Nurse Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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