Consultant nurse vs staff nurse

The differences between consultants nurse and staff 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 consultant nurse and a staff nurse. Additionally, a consultant nurse has an average salary of $71,690, which is higher than the $68,342 average annual salary of a staff nurse.

The top three skills for a consultant nurse include excellent interpersonal, patients and discharge planning. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Consultant nurse vs staff nurse overview

	Consultant Nurse	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$71,690	$68,342
Hourly rate	$34.47	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	58,140	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a consultant nurse do?

A Consultant Nurse is responsible for providing healthcare consultations and technical advice to patients. This job also involves consulting with nursing groups about professional and educational problems.

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.

Consultant nurse vs staff nurse salary

Consultants nurse and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Consultant Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$71,690	$68,342
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $101,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Stockton, CA	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	CVS Health	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between consultant nurse and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a consultant nurse and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Consultant Nurse	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Consultant nurse vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between consultants nurse' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Consultant Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.1% 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	9%	9%

Differences between consultant nurse and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Consultant nurse example responsibilities.

Monitor patients' status during surgery (circulate in operating room) and manage patients in PACU.
Subpoena, organize and review medical records for defense counsel in medical malpractice, product liability and personal injury litigation.
Conduct medical record analysis and provide case summation in complex personal injury, product liability, employment and insurance defense litigation.
course for the LTC R.N.
Conform to all applicable HIPAA, billing compliance and safety guidelines.
Create new staffing patterns for surgical and medical and ICU units.

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.

Consultant nurse vs staff nurse skills

Common consultant nurse skills

Excellent Interpersonal, 8%
Patients, 7%
Discharge Planning, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Rehabilitation, 4%

Common staff nurse skills

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

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Consultant Nurse
Consultant Nurse vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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