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Lactation consultant vs clinical research nurse

The differences between lactation consultants and clinical research 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 lactation consultant and a clinical research nurse. Additionally, a lactation consultant has an average salary of $73,158, which is higher than the $60,347 average annual salary of a clinical research nurse.

The top three skills for a lactation consultant include patients, IBCLC and patient care. The most important skills for a clinical research nurse are patients, BLS, and acute care.

Lactation consultant vs clinical research nurse overview

Lactation ConsultantClinical Research Nurse
Yearly salary$73,158$60,347
Hourly rate$35.17$29.01
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs5,809703,983
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a lactation consultant do?

Lactation consultants are responsible for assisting new mothers in caring for their newborn babies. Their job includes helping mothers in their breastfeeding sessions and giving pre- and post-natal education to help them recover from giving birth. Before the actual process of giving birth, lactation consultants also provide seminars for couples who want to have a baby to prepare for pregnancy. They provide education to prepare clients physically, socially, and emotionally for the lactation period or the process of breastfeeding.

What does a clinical research nurse do?

A clinical research nurse is responsible for conducting research studies on various health conditions, illness treatments, and healthcare methodologies, analyzing existing scientific research to make new reports. Clinical research nurses also communicate with other health professionals and health organizations for their insights and recommendations for a specific medical study, ensuring to report their findings to doctors and medical researchers for further validation and clinical trials. A clinical research nurse must have excellent knowledge of communication, both written and spoken, as well as expertise in the medical industry.

Lactation consultant vs clinical research nurse salary

Lactation consultants and clinical research nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lactation ConsultantClinical Research Nurse
Average salary$73,158$60,347
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $99,000Between $44,000 And $82,000
Highest paying CityPalo Alto, CASacramento, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyChildren's Hospital of MichiganUniversity of California, Berkeley
Best paying industryHealth CareEducation

Differences between lactation consultant and clinical research nurse education

There are a few differences between a lactation consultant and a clinical research nurse in terms of educational background:

Lactation ConsultantClinical Research Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Lactation consultant vs clinical research nurse demographics

Here are the differences between lactation consultants' and clinical research nurses' demographics:

Lactation ConsultantClinical Research Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 3.7% Female, 96.3%Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 9.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between lactation consultant and clinical research nurse duties and responsibilities

Lactation consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage communications with referral source, medical providers, injure worker and other parties involve in the rehabilitation process.
  • Provide clinical lactation support, community breastfeeding education, and CPR instruction
  • Work in outpatient breastfeeding center as IBCLC with occasional floating to inpatient lactation consulting.
  • Provide guidance to birth mothers on proper positions and latch techniques to minimize potential complications.
  • Implement and oversee a maternity services clinic focusing on prenatal education, lactation services, and breastfeeding.
  • Perform nutrition assessment for participants by providing participants with information on healthy eating, nursing assistance, and healthy lifestyle choices.
  • Show more

Clinical research nurse example responsibilities.

  • Maintain accountability and compassion while providing care, administering medications, performing procedures and managing emergencies.
  • Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, administering medications, performing procedures and managing emergencies
  • Command of CPR team until a doctor arrives; defibrillate and assess patients' condition.
  • Administer pain medication through intravenous, oral or subcutaneous injection to recovering patients in the immediate post-operative period of surgery.
  • Provide complete nursing care for patient populations undergoing procedures relate to abdominal surgery, multiple trauma, oncology, and peritoneal dialysis
  • Provide skil nursing care for patients spanning the pediatric medical spectrum including hematology, immunology, oncology, neurology and endocrinology.
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Lactation consultant vs clinical research nurse skills

Common lactation consultant skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • IBCLC, 17%
  • Patient Care, 13%
  • International Board, 8%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Mother-Baby, 4%
Common clinical research nurse skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • BLS, 10%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • Acls, 3%
  • Surgery, 3%
  • Quality Care, 3%

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