Infection control practitioner vs staff nurse

The differences between infection control practitioners 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 an infection control practitioner and a staff nurse. Additionally, an infection control practitioner has an average salary of $73,111, which is higher than the $68,342 average annual salary of a staff nurse.

The top three skills for an infection control practitioner include patients, infection prevention and infection control. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Infection control practitioner vs staff nurse overview

	Infection Control Practitioner	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$73,111	$68,342
Hourly rate	$35.15	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	58,850	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does an infection control practitioner do?

An infection control practitioner is a highly qualified and sought-after medical practitioner. They operate in a wide range of environments and help prevent, investigate, monitor, and report infectious diseases in these environments. They must be able to formulate and execute effective approaches to minimize the spread of infections and have up-to-date awareness of infection-control methods. Due to the risk of infection in their work environment, they must strictly adhere to safety protocol.

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.

Infection control practitioner vs staff nurse salary

Infection control practitioners and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Infection Control Practitioner	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$73,111	$68,342
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $106,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Children's Hospital New Orleans	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between infection control practitioner and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between an infection control practitioner and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Infection Control Practitioner	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Infection control practitioner vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between infection control practitioners' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Infection Control Practitioner	Staff Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% 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	9%	9%

Differences between infection control practitioner and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Infection control practitioner example responsibilities.

Treat acute illnesses and manage chronic conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, chronic pain, and diabetes.
Manage team of medical support personnel, orient new clinical employees and develop new guidelines for chemotherapy administration.
Provision of care includes health maintenance, disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment with specialty consultations as indicated.
Develop IC plans, ICRA, performing CDC NHSN surveillance.
Develop blood borne pathogen policy and exposure management program to meet OSHA and CDC requirements.
Work collaboratively with staff, departments and administration to reduce the risk of hospital-acquir infections among patients.

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.

Infection control practitioner vs staff nurse skills

Common infection control practitioner skills

Patients, 18%
Infection Prevention, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Public Health, 6%
Infection Control Policies, 6%
Infection Control Practices, 5%

Common staff nurse skills

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

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Infection Control Practitioner
Infection Control Practitioner vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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