Clinical physician assistant vs staff nurse

The differences between clinical physician assistants and staff nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a clinical physician assistant has an average salary of $145,549, which is higher than the $68,342 average annual salary of a staff nurse.

The top three skills for a clinical physician assistant include patients, primary care and medical care. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Clinical physician assistant vs staff nurse overview

	Clinical Physician Assistant	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$145,549	$68,342
Hourly rate	$69.98	$32.86
Growth rate	28%	6%
Number of jobs	94,210	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	39	44
Years of experience	-	2

What does a clinical physician assistant do?

A clinical physician assistant is in charge of performing support tasks in clinics, hospitals, and similar establishments. Typically serving as the patients' first point of contact, it is their responsibility to gather the personal and medical information of patients, identify their needs, answer inquiries, and escort them to offices and other rooms. They may also perform clerical tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, preparing and filing documentation, and coordinating with other offices. Moreover, a clinical physician assistant must maintain an active communication line with physicians and nurses, assisting them as needed.

What does a staff nurse do?

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

Clinical physician assistant vs staff nurse salary

Clinical physician assistants and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Physician Assistant	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$145,549	$68,342
Salary range	Between $84,000 And $252,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Duluth, MN	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	Minnesota	California
Best paying company	Central Ohio Primary Care	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between clinical physician assistant and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a clinical physician assistant and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Physician Assistant	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Physician Assistant	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Clinical physician assistant vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between clinical physician assistants' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Clinical Physician Assistant	Staff Nurse
Average age	39	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 11.5% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black 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%
LGBT Percentage	12%	9%

Differences between clinical physician assistant and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Clinical physician assistant example responsibilities.

Implement and manage cardiology internship college course.
Work closely with patients to manage their depression and anxiety beginning with initial diagnosis to med-initiation and follow-up care.
Complete nursing assessments, complete care plans, perform ADL's, utilize lifts, alarms and transfer patients safely.
Care for multiple patients in a fast pace setting and provide total care including all treatments, medications and ADL's.
Perform tracheostomy care and suctioning for ventilator dependent patients.
Provide physical therapy services in the inpatient rehabilitation unit and oncology floor.

Staff nurse example responsibilities.

Manage and further help stabilize elective and urgent care surgical patients in their post-operative/post PACU admission to the floor.
Accomplish extensive critical care course with EKG interpretation and yearly critical care medication exam.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Participate in discharge planning including teaching family members and patients wind care and medication administration process after discharge.
Provide direct nursing care to patients in a variety of settings with an emphasis in critical care and PACU settings.
Prepare patients for surgery and endoscopy procedures including initiating intravenous lines, physical assessments and administering medications.

Clinical physician assistant vs staff nurse skills

Common clinical physician assistant skills

Patients, 30%
Primary Care, 6%
Medical Care, 6%
Family Medicine, 5%
Urgent Care, 5%
Diagnostic Tests, 4%

Common staff nurse skills

Patients, 28%
BLS, 9%
CPR, 6%
Acls, 5%
Acute Care, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

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Clinical Physician Assistant
Clinical Physician Assistant vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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