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Staff nurse vs nurse practitioner

The differences between staff nurses and nurse practitioners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a staff nurse and a nurse practitioner. Additionally, a nurse practitioner has an average salary of $100,033, which is higher than the $68,342 average annual salary of a staff nurse.

The top three skills for a staff nurse include patients, BLS and CPR. The most important skills for a nurse practitioner are patients, diagnosis, and home health.

Staff nurse vs nurse practitioner overview

Staff NurseNurse Practitioner
Yearly salary$68,342$100,033
Hourly rate$32.86$48.09
Growth rate6%40%
Number of jobs699,63627,912
Job satisfaction-2.67
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Master's Degree, 47%
Average age4443
Years of experience22

What does a staff nurse do?

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

What does a nurse practitioner do?

A nurse practitioner's role is diverse. It revolves around supervising nurses in a particular area and providing immediate care and treatment to patients through extensive knowledge and clinical experience. Among the duties of a nurse practitioner involves diagnosing and treating medical conditions, performing research and analysis through various tests, evaluating data and results, operating different kinds of medical equipment, and gathering samples from patients. Furthermore, a nurse practitioner must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among fellow health workers in a hospital or clinic.

Staff nurse vs nurse practitioner salary

Staff nurses and nurse practitioners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Staff NurseNurse Practitioner
Average salary$68,342$100,033
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $109,000Between $62,000 And $161,000
Highest paying CityBurlingame, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyWashington Hospital Healthcare SystemPace University
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between staff nurse and nurse practitioner education

There are a few differences between a staff nurse and a nurse practitioner in terms of educational background:

Staff NurseNurse Practitioner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Master's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Staff nurse vs nurse practitioner demographics

Here are the differences between staff nurses' and nurse practitioners' demographics:

Staff NurseNurse Practitioner
Average age4443
Gender ratioMale, 12.3% Female, 87.7%Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%12%

Differences between staff nurse and nurse practitioner duties and responsibilities

Staff nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage and further help stabilize elective and urgent care surgical patients in their post-operative/post PACU admission to the floor.
  • Accomplish extensive critical care course with EKG interpretation and yearly critical care medication exam.
  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Participate in discharge planning including teaching family members and patients wind care and medication administration process after discharge.
  • Provide direct nursing care to patients in a variety of settings with an emphasis in critical care and PACU settings.
  • Prepare patients for surgery and endoscopy procedures including initiating intravenous lines, physical assessments and administering medications.
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Nurse practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Manage care of chronic pediatric patients in PICU.
  • Assess, diagnose and medically manage patients with various GI diseases and dysfunctions
  • Manage medical illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid conditions and asthma and other medical conditions.
  • Manage pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of diabetes and provide prescriptions and education before discharge from the hospital.
  • Manage appropriate changes to individualize care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.
  • Document correctly the patients' information in electronic health record and observe HIPAA.
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Staff nurse vs nurse practitioner skills

Common staff nurse skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • BLS, 9%
  • CPR, 6%
  • Acls, 5%
  • Acute Care, 4%
  • Direct Patient Care, 3%
Common nurse practitioner skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Diagnosis, 7%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • Diagnostic Tests, 5%
  • Acute Care, 3%
  • EMR, 3%

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