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Medical surgical staff nurse vs head nurse

The differences between medical surgical staff 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 medical surgical staff nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $67,649 average annual salary of a medical surgical staff nurse.

The top three skills for a medical surgical staff nurse include patients, CPR and acute care. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Medical surgical staff nurse vs head nurse overview

Medical Surgical Staff NurseHead Nurse
Yearly salary$67,649$80,173
Hourly rate$32.52$38.54
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs720,628649,127
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

Medical surgical staff nurse vs head nurse salary

Medical surgical staff nurses and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical Surgical Staff NurseHead Nurse
Average salary$67,649$80,173
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $115,000Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAMinneapolis, MN
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyUniversity of California, BerkeleyAstraZeneca
Best paying industryHealth CareEducation

Differences between medical surgical staff nurse and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a medical surgical staff nurse and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

Medical Surgical Staff NurseHead Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Medical surgical staff nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between medical surgical staff nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

Medical Surgical Staff NurseHead Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 9.6% Female, 90.4%Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between medical surgical staff nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Medical surgical staff nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Provide comprehensive nursing care to a variety of in-patient medical, surgical and telemetry patients.
  • Coordinate and provide direct patient care for cardiac/telemetry, surgical, orthopedic, respiratory, geriatric and pain management patients.
  • Obtain CPR certification for the first time.
  • Assist with patients that have acute active GI bleeding.
  • Administer rapid response and cardiac arrest care as a part of resuscitation team.
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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.
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Medical surgical staff nurse vs head nurse skills

Common medical surgical staff nurse skills
  • Patients, 34%
  • CPR, 10%
  • Acute Care, 7%
  • Acls, 5%
  • Direct Patient Care, 4%
  • Telemetry, 4%
Common head nurse skills
  • Patients, 31%
  • BLS, 9%
  • Compassion, 6%
  • Acute Care, 6%
  • Acls, 4%
  • CPR, 3%

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