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Nurse extern vs traveling nurse

The differences between nurse externs and traveling 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 nurse extern and a traveling nurse. Additionally, a traveling nurse has an average salary of $83,961, which is higher than the $37,156 average annual salary of a nurse extern.

The top three skills for a nurse extern include patients, vital signs and CPR. The most important skills for a traveling nurse are patients, acute care, and healthcare.

Nurse extern vs traveling nurse overview

Nurse ExternTraveling Nurse
Yearly salary$37,156$83,961
Hourly rate$17.86$40.37
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs569,180585,515
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a nurse extern do?

The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.

What does a traveling nurse do?

Often employed under a staffing agency, a travel nurse primarily works short-term on different limited-staffed hospitals in cities all over a country, and even abroad on rare occasions. They are mainly responsible for providing treatment and immediate care to patients, administering medicine, assisting in various tasks, preparing meals, and other functions that the supervising colleague delegates. Furthermore, as a travel nurse, one must quickly familiarize the surroundings and colleagues to work efficiently, all while upholding their oath as health care workers.

Nurse extern vs traveling nurse salary

Nurse externs and traveling nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nurse ExternTraveling Nurse
Average salary$37,156$83,961
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $47,000Between $53,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CityHuntington Park, CADetroit, MI
Highest paying stateHawaiiHawaii
Best paying companyMenorah Medical CenterMaxim Healthcare Group
Best paying industryHealth CareProfessional

Differences between nurse extern and traveling nurse education

There are a few differences between a nurse extern and a traveling nurse in terms of educational background:

Nurse ExternTraveling Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeEmory UniversityDuke University

Nurse extern vs traveling nurse demographics

Here are the differences between nurse externs' and traveling nurses' demographics:

Nurse ExternTraveling Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 14.3% Female, 85.7%Male, 15.9% Female, 84.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 9.9% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between nurse extern and traveling nurse duties and responsibilities

Nurse extern example responsibilities.

  • Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
  • Assist patients with activities of daily living, obtain vital signs and assessments, and perform 12 lead EKG's.
  • Perform initial assessments on patients in outpatient oncology clinic; recording vital signs, significant medical history and chief complaints.
  • Shadow to adult medical-surgical nurse staff- head-to-toe assessment, assist with medication administration, computer charting with co-signor, and telemetry monitoring
  • Obtain ACLS, to ensure patients receive the best quality of care.
  • Obtain ACLS certification and then float to all critical care areas as needed.
  • Show more

Traveling nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage critically ill patient as a result of trauma, including vent management, ICP monitoring, and CRRT.
  • Manage and further help stabilize elective and/or urgent surgical patient in their post-operative, post PACU admission to the floor.
  • Manage bedside care per MD orders, administering medications, ensuring patient safety, assisting in ADL care, etc.
  • Monitor chemotherapy and administration of oral chemo medication, obtain laboratory specimens to manage client status via central lines.
  • Travel nurse who provide care to patients in SICU, MICU, CCU, and CVICU.
  • Work in both MICU and SICU
  • Show more

Nurse extern vs traveling nurse skills

Common nurse extern skills
  • Patients, 39%
  • Vital Signs, 11%
  • CPR, 4%
  • Direct Patient Care, 4%
  • Direct Supervision, 4%
  • Patient Care, 3%
Common traveling nurse skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Acute Care, 10%
  • Healthcare, 9%
  • Acls, 6%
  • Surgery, 6%
  • Telemetry, 4%

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