Matron vs head nurse

The differences between matrons and head nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $27,069 average annual salary of a matron.

The top three skills for a matron include emergency calls, customer service and security checks. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Matron vs head nurse overview

	Matron	Head Nurse
Yearly salary	$27,069	$80,173
Hourly rate	$13.01	$38.54
Growth rate	-10%	6%
Number of jobs	631	649,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	-	2

Matron vs head nurse salary

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

	Matron	Head Nurse
Average salary	$27,069	$80,173
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $39,000	Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between matron and head nurse education

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

	Matron	Head Nurse
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Nursing
Most common college	-	Duke University

Matron vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between matrons' and head nurses' demographics:

	Matron	Head Nurse
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 7.8% Female, 92.2%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 2.0% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	6%	9%

Differences between matron and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Matron example responsibilities.

Perform basic first aid procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation which involves kneeling and bending.
Assist children on bus with ESE problems

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.

Matron vs head nurse skills

Common matron skills

Emergency Calls, 22%
Customer Service, 17%
Security Checks, 16%
Clean Bathrooms, 10%
CPR, 10%
Seat Belts, 6%

Common head nurse skills

Patients, 31%
BLS, 9%
Compassion, 6%
Acute Care, 6%
Acls, 4%
CPR, 3%