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School nurse vs surgical nurse

The differences between school nurses and surgical 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 surgical nurse. Additionally, a surgical nurse has an average salary of $64,025, 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 surgical nurse are patients, BLS, and acute care.

School nurse vs surgical nurse overview

School NurseSurgical Nurse
Yearly salary$54,998$64,025
Hourly rate$26.44$30.78
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs282,124638,444
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
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 surgical nurse do?

Generally, a surgical nurse provides patient care before, during, and after surgery. Surgical nurses assist the surgeons and anesthetists whenever necessary. They prepare patients for their surgery and serve the actual procedure. It is part of their job to mark incision sites and sterilize them. They give preoperative instructions, prepare the operating room, and administer medication. The roles they play include being circulating and scrub nurses. Also, they intervene whenever complications occur.

School nurse vs surgical nurse salary

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

School NurseSurgical Nurse
Average salary$54,998$64,025
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $77,000Between $39,000 And $103,000
Highest paying CityProvidence, RIThousand Oaks, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandHawaii
Best paying companyPreston High SchoolUniversity of California, Berkeley
Best paying industryHealth CareProfessional

Differences between school nurse and surgical nurse education

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

School NurseSurgical Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

School nurse vs surgical nurse demographics

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

School NurseSurgical Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 6.3% Female, 93.7%Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%
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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between school nurse and surgical 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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Surgical nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage GI bleeds, asthmatics, bowel resections, fractures, patients with chest and feeding tubes.
  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Maintain BLS, NRP, ACLS
  • Prepare patients for procedures, initiate and maintain intravenous therapy, and obtain 12-lead EKG.
  • Establish care plans and perform care for ICU, CCU, cardiac, and neurological patients.
  • Serve as a BLS/ ACLS instructor.
  • Show more

School nurse vs surgical nurse skills

Common school nurse skills
  • CPR, 13%
  • School Health, 10%
  • Health Education, 6%
  • Health Problems, 5%
  • Health Services, 5%
  • Emergency Care, 4%
Common surgical nurse skills
  • Patients, 31%
  • BLS, 15%
  • Acute Care, 7%
  • Acls, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 4%
  • Quality Care, 3%

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