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The differences between mental health nurses and psychiatric registered 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 mental health nurse and a psychiatric registered nurse. Additionally, a mental health nurse has an average salary of $106,812, which is higher than the $73,053 average annual salary of a psychiatric registered nurse.
The top three skills for a mental health nurse include patients, psychiatric mental and PMHNP. The most important skills for a psychiatric registered nurse are patients, home health, and patient safety.
| Mental Health Nurse | Psychiatric Registered Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $106,812 | $73,053 |
| Hourly rate | $51.35 | $35.12 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 86,884 | 640,480 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A mental health nurse is responsible for assisting with the diagnosis and treatment plans of patients with mental health complications. Mental health nurses handle high-quality nursing care under mental health professionals' supervision within a hospital or mental health institution. They support in performing therapeutic activities, administering medical examinations, and counseling patients to know more about their conditions. A mental health nurse also does administrative tasks as needed, such as organizing and updating patients' information on the database, processing treatment payments, and responding to the family's inquiries and concerns.
A registered psychiatric nurse works alongside mental health experts to develop and administer psychiatric treatment plans according to the patients' needs. Among their responsibilities include gathering and organizing patient information, studying the patients' medical histories, conducting interviews and assessments, providing counseling, administering medicine, and restraining unsettled patients. There are also instances when they must conduct inspections to remove potentially harmful objects and provide psychoeducation to the patients' families. Above all, a registered psychiatric nurse must closely monitor the behavior of patients, record their daily progress, and report to the psychiatrists regularly.
Mental health nurses and psychiatric registered nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mental Health Nurse | Psychiatric Registered Nurse | |
| Average salary | $106,812 | $73,053 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $182,000 | Between $45,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Community Health Systems | Scripps Health |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a mental health nurse and a psychiatric registered nurse in terms of educational background:
| Mental Health Nurse | Psychiatric Registered Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between mental health nurses' and psychiatric registered nurses' demographics:
| Mental Health Nurse | Psychiatric Registered Nurse | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1% | Male, 16.7% Female, 83.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.1% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |