Home care nurse vs head nurse

The differences between home care 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 home care nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $53,762 average annual salary of a home care nurse.

The top three skills for a home care nurse include patients, home health and CPR. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Home care nurse vs head nurse overview

	Home Care Nurse	Head Nurse
Yearly salary	$53,762	$80,173
Hourly rate	$25.85	$38.54
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	692,730	649,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Home care nurse vs head nurse salary

Home care nurses and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Home Care Nurse	Head Nurse
Average salary	$53,762	$80,173
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $84,000	Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	Eugene, OR	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Overlake Medical Center & Clinics	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between home care nurse and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a home care nurse and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

	Home Care Nurse	Head Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Home care nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between home care nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

	Home Care Nurse	Head Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% 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 home care nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Home care nurse example responsibilities.

Manage patient care monitoring vital signs, performing physical assessment, checking patients medications for effectiveness.
Enter the nursing profession working in an ICU step down unit, with medical and surgical patients.
Care for many patients with complex issues with compassion and care and enhances the standard of care within the clinical area.
Provide care for pediatric patients with chronic illnesses and pediatric ventilator and tracheostomy patients.
Provide home dialysis services to patients receiving rehabilitation in a nursing home setting utilizing NxStage machines.
Monitor cardiac rhythms and treat per ACLS protocols

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.

Home care nurse vs head nurse skills

Common home care nurse skills

Patients, 25%
Home Health, 18%
CPR, 8%
Companionship, 8%
Social Work, 3%
Primary 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
Home Care Nurse
Home Care Nurse vs Head Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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