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Nurse practitioner vs mental health nurse

The differences between nurse practitioners and mental health 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 practitioner and a mental health nurse. Additionally, a mental health nurse has an average salary of $106,812, which is higher than the $100,033 average annual salary of a nurse practitioner.

The top three skills for a nurse practitioner include patients, diagnosis and home health. The most important skills for a mental health nurse are patients, psychiatric mental, and PMHNP.

Nurse practitioner vs mental health nurse overview

Nurse PractitionerMental Health Nurse
Yearly salary$100,033$106,812
Hourly rate$48.09$51.35
Growth rate40%6%
Number of jobs27,91286,884
Job satisfaction2.67-
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age4344
Years of experience22

What does a nurse practitioner do?

A nurse practitioner's role is diverse. It revolves around supervising nurses in a particular area and providing immediate care and treatment to patients through extensive knowledge and clinical experience. Among the duties of a nurse practitioner involves diagnosing and treating medical conditions, performing research and analysis through various tests, evaluating data and results, operating different kinds of medical equipment, and gathering samples from patients. Furthermore, a nurse practitioner must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among fellow health workers in a hospital or clinic.

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.

Nurse practitioner vs mental health nurse salary

Nurse practitioners and mental health nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nurse PractitionerMental Health Nurse
Average salary$100,033$106,812
Salary rangeBetween $62,000 And $161,000Between $62,000 And $182,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyPace UniversityCommunity Health Systems
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between nurse practitioner and mental health nurse education

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

Nurse PractitionerMental Health Nurse
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Nurse practitioner vs mental health nurse demographics

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

Nurse PractitionerMental Health Nurse
Average age4344
Gender ratioMale, 13.1% Female, 86.9%Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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%
LGBT Percentage12%9%

Differences between nurse practitioner and mental health nurse duties and responsibilities

Nurse practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Manage care of chronic pediatric patients in PICU.
  • Assess, diagnose and medically manage patients with various GI diseases and dysfunctions
  • Manage medical illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid conditions and asthma and other medical conditions.
  • Manage pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of diabetes and provide prescriptions and education before discharge from the hospital.
  • Manage appropriate changes to individualize care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.
  • Document correctly the patients' information in electronic health record and observe HIPAA.
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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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Nurse practitioner vs mental health nurse skills

Common nurse practitioner skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Diagnosis, 7%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • Diagnostic Tests, 5%
  • Acute Care, 3%
  • EMR, 3%
Common mental health nurse skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Psychiatric Mental, 10%
  • PMHNP, 6%
  • Medication Management, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Crisis Intervention, 4%

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