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Psychiatric nurse vs psychologist

The differences between psychiatric nurses and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, 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 psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Psychiatric nurse vs psychologist overview

Psychiatric NursePsychologist
Yearly salary$64,922$97,803
Hourly rate$31.21$47.02
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs608,05512,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4447
Years of experience2-

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 psychologist do?

Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.

Psychiatric nurse vs psychologist salary

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

Psychiatric NursePsychologist
Average salary$64,922$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $99,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CitySanta Rosa, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyHighland General HospitalSierra Corporation
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between psychiatric nurse and psychologist education

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

Psychiatric NursePsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingPsychology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityNorthwestern University

Psychiatric nurse vs psychologist demographics

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

Psychiatric NursePsychologist
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 18.1% Female, 81.9%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage9%20%

Differences between psychiatric nurse and psychologist 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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Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
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Psychiatric nurse vs psychologist skills

Common psychiatric nurse skills
  • Patients, 25%
  • Mental Illness, 11%
  • CPR, 7%
  • Therapeutic Interventions, 5%
  • Psychiatric Care, 4%
  • IV, 4%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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