Public health nurse vs nurse clinician

The differences between public health 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 public health nurse and a nurse clinician. Additionally, a nurse clinician has an average salary of $65,159, which is higher than the $60,319 average annual salary of a public health nurse.

The top three skills for a public health nurse include community health, patients and health education. The most important skills for a nurse clinician are patients, patient education, and CPR.

Public health nurse vs nurse clinician overview

	Public Health Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Yearly salary	$60,319	$65,159
Hourly rate	$29.00	$31.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	310,843	596,073
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a public health nurse do?

A Public Health Nurse maintains the public's health through providing health services and information. They promote a healthy lifestyle, take part in health campaigns, and educate and inform the public about issues, such as preventing disease.

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.

Public health nurse vs nurse clinician salary

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

	Public Health Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average salary	$60,319	$65,159
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $84,000	Between $48,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Hawaii	New York
Best paying company	Dignity Health	Healthpoint
Best paying industry	Government	Education

Differences between public health nurse and nurse clinician education

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

	Public Health Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Public health nurse vs nurse clinician demographics

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

	Public Health Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% 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 public health nurse and nurse clinician duties and responsibilities

Public health nurse example responsibilities.

Participate in manage care activities to produce health change, specifically providing diabetes education and lifestyle counseling in chronic disease areas.
Assist in application of traction devices.perform routine tests such as urine dip stick, vision and hearing tests.
Dispense medications and provide education for TB patients.
Provide basic CPR classes at the community level as well.
Produce and conduct staff classes such as CPR, respiratory protection, infectious diseases, etc.
Instruct family in the care and rehabilitation of patient, maintenance of health and prevention of disease for family members.

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.

Public health nurse vs nurse clinician skills

Common public health nurse skills

Community Health, 10%
Patients, 9%
Health Education, 8%
CPR, 6%
Communicable Diseases, 5%
Home Health, 3%

Common nurse clinician skills

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

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Public Health Nurse
Public Health Nurse vs Nurse Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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