Licensed practical nurse/supervisor vs staff nurse

The differences between licensed practical nurse/supervisors 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 licensed practical nurse/supervisor and a staff nurse. Additionally, a staff nurse has an average salary of $68,342, which is higher than the $53,008 average annual salary of a licensed practical nurse/supervisor.

The top three skills for a licensed practical nurse/supervisor include patients, resident care and CPR. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Licensed practical nurse/supervisor vs staff nurse overview

	Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$53,008	$68,342
Hourly rate	$25.48	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	261,522	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a licensed practical nurse/supervisor do?

A licensed practical nurse/supervisor provides care and assistance to patients in a medical facility. A licensed practical nurse works under the supervision of a registered nurse and physician. Their duties entail the basics of nursing, such as administering medication, dressing or cleaning wounds, and assisting patients as needed. On the other hand, a supervisor has the responsibility to oversee and direct staff, ensuring patients receive optimal care and service. Additionally, they supervise the training, scheduling, and disciplining of employees, developing strategies to ensure all areas function smoothly and efficiently while meeting the patients' needs.

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.

Licensed practical nurse/supervisor vs staff nurse salary

Licensed practical nurse/supervisors and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$53,008	$68,342
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $74,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Barnstable Town, MA	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	VITAS Healthcare	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between licensed practical nurse/supervisor and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a licensed practical nurse/supervisor and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Emory University	Duke University

Licensed practical nurse/supervisor vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between licensed practical nurse/supervisors' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor	Staff Nurse
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 9.8% Female, 90.2%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 7.1% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	7%	9%

Differences between licensed practical nurse/supervisor and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Licensed practical nurse/supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Review physical needs, monitor patients' physical condition, administer order medications and treatments according to assign medical care standards.
Follow rehabilitation and treatment plans to accelerate patient recovery; minimize pain, infections and complications to optimize patients' outcomes.
Provide behavioral/emotional support and supervision for rehabilitation patients.
Administer and document flu shots and TB results.
Well develop assessment skills, strong knowledge of pharmacology, CPR train

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.

Licensed practical nurse/supervisor vs staff nurse skills

Common licensed practical nurse/supervisor skills

Patients, 16%
Resident Care, 12%
CPR, 7%
Medication Administration, 5%
Quality Care, 4%
Compassion, 3%

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
Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor
Licensed Practical Nurse/Supervisor vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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