Psychiatric nurse vs nurse clinician

The differences between psychiatric nurses and nurse clinicians 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 nurse clinician. Additionally, a nurse clinician has an average salary of $65,159, 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 nurse clinician are patients, patient education, and CPR.

Psychiatric nurse vs nurse clinician overview

	Psychiatric Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Yearly salary	$64,922	$65,159
Hourly rate	$31.21	$31.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	608,055	596,073
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a psychiatric nurse do?

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.

What does a nurse clinician do?

A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.

Psychiatric nurse vs nurse clinician salary

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

	Psychiatric Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average salary	$64,922	$65,159
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $99,000	Between $48,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New York
Best paying company	Highland General Hospital	Healthpoint
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between psychiatric nurse and nurse clinician education

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

	Psychiatric Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Psychiatric nurse vs nurse clinician demographics

Here are the differences between psychiatric nurses' and nurse clinicians' demographics:

	Psychiatric Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9%	Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
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, 12.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.6% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between psychiatric nurse and nurse clinician 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.

Nurse clinician example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Provide high level nursing care for ER step down and ICU patients prior to transfer to critical care units.
Instruct ACLS and BLS classes.
Specialize care for telemetry and orthopedic patients.
Provide specialized nursing care to ICU medical cardiac patient populations.
Provide education regarding care of surgical patients as part of orientation to orienting telemetry nurses.

Psychiatric nurse vs nurse clinician skills

Common psychiatric nurse skills

Patients, 25%
Mental Illness, 11%
CPR, 7%
Therapeutic Interventions, 5%
Psychiatric Care, 4%
IV, 4%

Common nurse clinician skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Education, 5%
CPR, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%
Patient Outcomes, 3%
Educational Programs, 3%

Psychiatric Nurse vs. similar jobs

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Psychiatric Nurse
Psychiatric Nurse vs Nurse Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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