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Psychiatric nurse vs head nurse

The differences between psychiatric nurses and head 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 psychiatric nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $64,922 average annual salary of a psychiatric nurse.

The top three skills for a psychiatric nurse include patients, mental illness and CPR. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Psychiatric nurse vs head nurse overview

Psychiatric NurseHead Nurse
Yearly salary$64,922$80,173
Hourly rate$31.21$38.54
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs608,055649,127
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

Psychiatric nurse vs head nurse salary

Psychiatric nurses and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Psychiatric NurseHead Nurse
Average salary$64,922$80,173
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $99,000Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CitySanta Rosa, CAMinneapolis, MN
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyHighland General HospitalAstraZeneca
Best paying industryHealth CareEducation

Differences between psychiatric nurse and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a psychiatric nurse and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

Psychiatric NurseHead Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Psychiatric nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between psychiatric nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

Psychiatric NurseHead Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 18.1% Female, 81.9%Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between psychiatric nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Psychiatric nurse example responsibilities.

  • Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
  • Staff register nurse, acute medical rehabilitation unit.
  • Perform emergency triage differentiating psychiatric versus medical conditions.
  • Perform triage assessment, psychiatric evaluations, medication administration, psychotherapy and case management.
  • Provide comprehensive medical-psychiatric care to patients via assessment, planning, evaluation and supervision of therapeutic interactions.
  • Provide therapeutic communication and psychiatric rehabilitation with residents to assist with their recovery to return to the community.
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Head nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Receive intensive training for critical care skill development upon transferring to the medical ICU.
  • Perform advanced nursing care to acute/chronic medical/surgical, cardiac, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic and oncology/ hematology patients.
  • Certify staff in CPR and blood glucose monitoring.
  • Develop and implement an intensive care class for the staff; implement ACLS class for all staff.
  • Develop process improvement plan with bundles for sedation and ventilation.
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Psychiatric nurse vs head nurse skills

Common psychiatric nurse skills
  • Patients, 25%
  • Mental Illness, 11%
  • CPR, 7%
  • Therapeutic Interventions, 5%
  • Psychiatric Care, 4%
  • IV, 4%
Common head nurse skills
  • Patients, 31%
  • BLS, 9%
  • Compassion, 6%
  • Acute Care, 6%
  • Acls, 4%
  • CPR, 3%

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