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The differences between psychiatric nurses 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 psychiatric nurse and a mental health nurse. Additionally, a mental health nurse has an average salary of $106,812, 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 mental health nurse are patients, psychiatric mental, and PMHNP.
| Psychiatric Nurse | Mental Health Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $64,922 | $106,812 |
| Hourly rate | $31.21 | $51.35 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 608,055 | 86,884 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Psychiatric Nurses role is to supervise the medication and treatment of patients diagnosed with mental disabilities, illnesses, or distresses. They have an essential role in the administration of psychiatric treatment and care.
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.
Psychiatric nurses and mental health nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychiatric Nurse | Mental Health Nurse | |
| Average salary | $64,922 | $106,812 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $99,000 | Between $62,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Highland General Hospital | Community Health Systems |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between a psychiatric nurse and a mental health nurse in terms of educational background:
| Psychiatric Nurse | Mental Health Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between psychiatric nurses' and mental health nurses' demographics:
| Psychiatric Nurse | Mental Health Nurse | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9% | Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.1% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |