First assistant vs scrub nurse

The differences between first assistants and scrub nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a scrub nurse has an average salary of $66,672, which is higher than the $52,444 average annual salary of a first assistant.

The top three skills for a first assistant include patients, patient care and surgical procedures. The most important skills for a scrub nurse are patients, surgery site, and direct patient care.

First assistant vs scrub nurse overview

	First Assistant	Scrub Nurse
Yearly salary	$52,444	$66,672
Hourly rate	$25.21	$32.05
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	3,202	635,835
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	43	44
Years of experience	-	2

First assistant vs scrub nurse salary

First assistants and scrub nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Assistant	Scrub Nurse
Average salary	$52,444	$66,672
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $73,000	Between $43,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between first assistant and scrub nurse education

There are a few differences between a first assistant and a scrub nurse in terms of educational background:

	First Assistant	Scrub Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

First assistant vs scrub nurse demographics

Here are the differences between first assistants' and scrub nurses' demographics:

	First Assistant	Scrub Nurse
Average age	43	44
Gender ratio	Male, 44.5% Female, 55.5%	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 9.4% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between first assistant and scrub nurse duties and responsibilities

First assistant example responsibilities.

Teach patients and family members how to manage their post operative home care needs, self-administration of medication and rehabilitation
Execute and monitor strategic merchandising plans to achieve revenue objectives and reduce expenditures while ensuring payroll remains within budget.
Obtain health history via phone prior to surgery and triage patients upon arrival to the ASC.
Insert Foley catheters and intravenous catheter, if need.
Assist in orthopedics, plastics, ENT, urology, gynecology and ortho-neuro cases.
Provide preventative maintenance ensuring vessel's compliance with USCG regulations, inspections, and certificates.

Scrub nurse example responsibilities.

Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
Assist scrub nurse in the setup, arrangement and count of surgical equipment and sponges.
Maintain and accurately document proper counting of instruments, sponges and needles as per policy.
Include teaching at community outreach seminars and optometry seminars for patients and physicians
Provide teaching to patients and families regarding health care preparation in ambulatory/outpatient care.
Perform and participate in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

First assistant vs scrub nurse skills

Common first assistant skills

Patients, 24%
Patient Care, 16%
Surgical Procedures, 11%
Visualization, 6%
Suturing, 4%
CPR, 4%

Common scrub nurse skills

Patients, 23%
Surgery Site, 11%
Direct Patient Care, 6%
Surgical Procedures, 6%
GYN, 5%
Ortho, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
First Assistant
First Assistant vs Scrub Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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