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Mental health nurse vs psychologist

The differences between mental health nurses and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a mental health nurse has an average salary of $106,812, which is higher than the $97,803 average annual salary of a psychologist.

The top three skills for a mental health nurse include patients, psychiatric mental and PMHNP. The most important skills for a psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Mental health nurse vs psychologist overview

Mental Health NursePsychologist
Yearly salary$106,812$97,803
Hourly rate$51.35$47.02
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs86,88412,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4447
Years of experience2-

What does a mental health nurse do?

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.

What does a psychologist do?

Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.

Mental health nurse vs psychologist salary

Mental health nurses and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Mental Health NursePsychologist
Average salary$106,812$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $62,000 And $182,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyCommunity Health SystemsSierra Corporation
Best paying industryGovernmentHealth Care

Differences between mental health nurse and psychologist education

There are a few differences between a mental health nurse and a psychologist in terms of educational background:

Mental Health NursePsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingPsychology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityNorthwestern University

Mental health nurse vs psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between mental health nurses' and psychologists' demographics:

Mental Health NursePsychologist
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 16.9% Female, 83.1%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage9%20%

Differences between mental health nurse and psychologist duties and responsibilities

Mental health nurse example responsibilities.

  • Interact with patients, coordinate and successfully manage therapeutic group activities with unit staffs under supervision of clinical instructor.
  • Provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management and education for patients with serious and persistent mental illness and debilitating personality disorders.
  • Provide transportation, medication management, daily ADL's, housekeeping, and feeding.
  • Provide hourly room checks and ADL's according to care plan implement by the attending physician.
  • Initiate emergency resuscitative measures according to adult resuscitation protocols.
  • Perform case management for outpatient veterans that include psychiatric treatment.
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Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
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Mental health nurse vs psychologist skills

Common mental health nurse skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Psychiatric Mental, 10%
  • PMHNP, 6%
  • Medication Management, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Crisis Intervention, 4%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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