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Scrub nurse vs medical surgical staff nurse

The differences between scrub nurses and medical surgical staff 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 scrub nurse and a medical surgical staff nurse. Additionally, a medical surgical staff nurse has an average salary of $67,649, which is higher than the $66,672 average annual salary of a scrub nurse.

The top three skills for a scrub nurse include patients, surgery site and direct patient care. The most important skills for a medical surgical staff nurse are patients, CPR, and acute care.

Scrub nurse vs medical surgical staff nurse overview

Scrub NurseMedical Surgical Staff Nurse
Yearly salary$66,672$67,649
Hourly rate$32.05$32.52
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs635,835720,628
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

Scrub nurse vs medical surgical staff nurse salary

Scrub nurses and medical surgical staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Scrub NurseMedical Surgical Staff Nurse
Average salary$66,672$67,649
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $103,000Between $39,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between scrub nurse and medical surgical staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a scrub nurse and a medical surgical staff nurse in terms of educational background:

Scrub NurseMedical Surgical Staff Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Scrub nurse vs medical surgical staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between scrub nurses' and medical surgical staff nurses' demographics:

Scrub NurseMedical Surgical Staff Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 15.4% Female, 84.6%Male, 9.6% Female, 90.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between scrub nurse and medical surgical staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Scrub nurse example responsibilities.

  • Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
  • Assist scrub nurse in the setup, arrangement and count of surgical equipment and sponges.
  • Maintain and accurately document proper counting of instruments, sponges and needles as per policy.
  • Include teaching at community outreach seminars and optometry seminars for patients and physicians
  • Provide teaching to patients and families regarding health care preparation in ambulatory/outpatient care.
  • Perform and participate in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
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Medical surgical staff nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Provide comprehensive nursing care to a variety of in-patient medical, surgical and telemetry patients.
  • Coordinate and provide direct patient care for cardiac/telemetry, surgical, orthopedic, respiratory, geriatric and pain management patients.
  • Obtain CPR certification for the first time.
  • Assist with patients that have acute active GI bleeding.
  • Administer rapid response and cardiac arrest care as a part of resuscitation team.
  • Show more

Scrub nurse vs medical surgical staff nurse skills

Common scrub nurse skills
  • Patients, 23%
  • Surgery Site, 11%
  • Direct Patient Care, 6%
  • Surgical Procedures, 6%
  • GYN, 5%
  • Ortho, 5%
Common medical surgical staff nurse skills
  • Patients, 34%
  • CPR, 10%
  • Acute Care, 7%
  • Acls, 5%
  • Direct Patient Care, 4%
  • Telemetry, 4%

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