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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 | Traveling Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $37,156 | $83,961 |
| Hourly rate | $17.86 | $40.37 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 569,180 | 585,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
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 externs and traveling nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nurse Extern | Traveling Nurse | |
| Average salary | $37,156 | $83,961 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $47,000 | Between $53,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | Huntington Park, CA | Detroit, MI |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Menorah Medical Center | Maxim Healthcare Group |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Professional |
There are a few differences between a nurse extern and a traveling nurse in terms of educational background:
| Nurse Extern | Traveling Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Emory University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between nurse externs' and traveling nurses' demographics:
| Nurse Extern | Traveling Nurse | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7% | Male, 15.9% Female, 84.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |