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Personal support worker vs nurse

The differences between personal support workers and nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a nurse has an average salary of $57,564, which is higher than the $37,301 average annual salary of a personal support worker.

The top three skills for a personal support worker include CPR, meal preparation and home health. The most important skills for a nurse are patients, home health, and CPR.

Personal support worker vs nurse overview

Personal Support WorkerNurse
Yearly salary$37,301$57,564
Hourly rate$17.93$27.68
Growth rate36%6%
Number of jobs126,563696,124
Job satisfaction54
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age4844
Years of experience-2

Personal support worker vs nurse salary

Personal support workers and nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Personal Support WorkerNurse
Average salary$37,301$57,564
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $54,000Between $38,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Conviva
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between personal support worker and nurse education

There are a few differences between a personal support worker and a nurse in terms of educational background:

Personal Support WorkerNurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common majorPsychologyNursing
Most common college-Duke University

Personal support worker vs nurse demographics

Here are the differences between personal support workers' and nurses' demographics:

Personal Support WorkerNurse
Average age4844
Gender ratioMale, 28.7% Female, 71.3%Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage7%9%

Differences between personal support worker and nurse duties and responsibilities

Personal support worker example responsibilities.

  • Assist patient in performing ADL's daily.
  • Perform first aid or CPR when need.
  • SKIP, CPR, Defibulator and CDL certify.
  • Provide assistance for patients with alzheimer's and dementia in their home.
  • Provide community support, ADL care, medication administration, clinical documentation
  • Dispense medication to individuals with disabilities by distributing and administering medications according to the AMAP policy and procedures.
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Nurse example responsibilities.

  • Monitor patients' status during surgery (circulate in operating room) and manage patients in PACU.
  • Manage high-acuity cardiac/pulmonary and psychiatric patients
  • Monitor patients for cardiac rhythm changes and implement medication according to ACLS guidelines.
  • Educate patients and families on diseases processes, medications, wind care, and iv infusion.
  • Provide care for patients on medical/surgical, transplant, cardiac, orthopedic, postpartum, neonatal ICU, and psychiatric units
  • Demonstrate competence in CPR and other medical emergency situations.
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Personal support worker vs nurse skills

Common personal support worker skills
  • CPR, 15%
  • Meal Preparation, 15%
  • Home Health, 15%
  • Developmental Disabilities, 11%
  • Direct Care, 8%
  • Support Person, 6%
Common nurse skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Home Health, 7%
  • CPR, 6%
  • BLS, 6%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • Acls, 4%

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