Scrub nurse vs nurse clinician

The differences between scrub 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 scrub nurse and a nurse clinician. Additionally, a scrub nurse has an average salary of $66,672, which is higher than the $65,159 average annual salary of a nurse clinician.

The top three skills for a scrub nurse include patients, surgery site and direct patient care. The most important skills for a nurse clinician are patients, patient education, and CPR.

Scrub nurse vs nurse clinician overview

	Scrub Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Yearly salary	$66,672	$65,159
Hourly rate	$32.05	$31.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	635,835	596,073
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Scrub nurse vs nurse clinician salary

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

	Scrub Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average salary	$66,672	$65,159
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $103,000	Between $48,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Healthpoint
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between scrub nurse and nurse clinician education

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

	Scrub Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Scrub nurse vs nurse clinician demographics

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

	Scrub Nurse	Nurse Clinician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%	Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
Race ratio	Black 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, 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 scrub nurse and nurse clinician 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.

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.

Scrub nurse vs nurse clinician skills

Common scrub nurse skills

Patients, 23%
Surgery Site, 11%
Direct Patient Care, 6%
Surgical Procedures, 6%
GYN, 5%
Ortho, 5%

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
Scrub Nurse
Scrub Nurse vs Nurse Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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