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School nurse vs pediatric nurse

The differences between school nurses and pediatric 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 school nurse and a pediatric nurse. Additionally, a pediatric nurse has an average salary of $72,945, which is higher than the $54,998 average annual salary of a school nurse.

The top three skills for a school nurse include CPR, school health and health education. The most important skills for a pediatric nurse are patients, home health, and BLS.

School nurse vs pediatric nurse overview

School NursePediatric Nurse
Yearly salary$54,998$72,945
Hourly rate$26.44$35.07
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs282,124614,706
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a school nurse do?

A school nurse is in charge of advocating and providing healthcare services to students, faculty, and staff daily. Their responsibilities revolve around providing necessary treatments to someone in need, developing programs that promote students' health, and administering proper medication. When a school nurse must reach out to parents to inform them of their children's visits or any emergencies, it must be documented. Furthermore, a school nurse must appropriately store all equipment and medication in adherence to the school's safety and health standards.

What does a pediatric nurse do?

A pediatric nurse is a registered nurse who offers medical and health care for children in hospitals and clinics. Pediatric nurses educate caregivers and parents on the effective methods of child health protection. They take care of children's health from birth to adolescence. They are experts in child care while they are working with their respective families to address their problems, fears, concerns, and other options. The necessary skills for this job include child development knowledge and communication skills.

School nurse vs pediatric nurse salary

School nurses and pediatric nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

School NursePediatric Nurse
Average salary$54,998$72,945
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $77,000Between $45,000 And $117,000
Highest paying CityProvidence, RILos Angeles, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyPreston High SchoolUniversity of California, Berkeley
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between school nurse and pediatric nurse education

There are a few differences between a school nurse and a pediatric nurse in terms of educational background:

School NursePediatric Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

School nurse vs pediatric nurse demographics

Here are the differences between school nurses' and pediatric nurses' demographics:

School NursePediatric Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 6.3% Female, 93.7%Male, 7.7% Female, 92.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between school nurse and pediatric nurse duties and responsibilities

School nurse example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage care plans for students with chronic health conditions (such as diabetes, food allergies and depression).
  • Evaluate and manage post-exposure of blood-borne pathogens.
  • Administer medications, evaluate prescription needs and facilitate prescription management, chemotherapy teaching, assess and manage chemotherapy side effects.
  • Perform employee physical exams including hearing and spirometry as required.
  • Provide patient care for PCI patients, mechanically-ventilate patients and an overall variety of critically ill patients.
  • Perform drug testing, physicals, PFT and xrays.
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Pediatric nurse example responsibilities.

  • Provide continuous telemetry monitoring and managing multiple patients with multiple high-risk medical conditions, utilizing interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
  • Coordinate care for acute and chronic pediatric oncology patients with an emphasis on family centered care and patient education.
  • Certify in ACLS and BLS.
  • Provide excellent patient care to children, showing compassion and nurturing while in office.
  • Function as a staff nurse in a twelve bed ICU caring for patients with various illnesses.
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School nurse vs pediatric nurse skills

Common school nurse skills
  • CPR, 13%
  • School Health, 10%
  • Health Education, 6%
  • Health Problems, 5%
  • Health Services, 5%
  • Emergency Care, 4%
Common pediatric nurse skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Home Health, 14%
  • BLS, 12%
  • Acute Care, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Acls, 3%

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