Relief charge nurse vs head nurse

The differences between relief charge 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 relief charge nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $73,571 average annual salary of a relief charge nurse.

The top three skills for a relief charge nurse include patients, BLS and direct patient care. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Relief charge nurse vs head nurse overview

	Relief Charge Nurse	Head Nurse
Yearly salary	$73,571	$80,173
Hourly rate	$35.37	$38.54
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	624,888	649,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Relief charge nurse vs head nurse salary

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

	Relief Charge Nurse	Head Nurse
Average salary	$73,571	$80,173
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $116,000	Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between relief charge nurse and head nurse education

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

	Relief Charge Nurse	Head Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Relief charge nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between relief charge nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

	Relief Charge Nurse	Head Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 65.0% 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 Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between relief charge nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Relief charge nurse example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Re-Cover patients in PACU, observing level of consciousness, management of pain and maintaining safety of patient.
Provide urgent/emergent/trauma nursing services in an urban setting; relief charge nurse, trauma triage; MICN; TNCC; CEN.
Provide comprehensive nursing care to a population of adult patients exhibiting complex medical and surgical issues requiring ongoing telemetry monitoring.
Float to CCU and over flow unit.
Recieve ACLS certification although not require on unit.

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.

Relief charge nurse vs head nurse skills

Common relief charge nurse skills

Patients, 32%
BLS, 7%
Direct Patient Care, 6%
IV, 3%
Quality Patient Care, 3%
Emergency Room, 3%

Common head nurse skills

Patients, 31%
BLS, 9%
Compassion, 6%
Acute Care, 6%
Acls, 4%
CPR, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Relief Charge Nurse
Relief Charge Nurse vs Head Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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