Student/clinical rotation vs staff nurse

The differences between student/clinical rotations and 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 student/clinical rotation and a staff nurse. Additionally, a student/clinical rotation has an average salary of $88,697, which is higher than the $68,342 average annual salary of a staff nurse.

The top three skills for a student/clinical rotation include patients, vital signs and medication administration. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Student/clinical rotation vs staff nurse overview

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$88,697	$68,342
Hourly rate	$42.64	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	87,950	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a student/clinical rotation do?

Clinical rotation is the stage wherein medical students spend their last two years of study as medical team members. During this period, medical students learn to apply their knowledge from the classroom to real-life medical situations. They follow physicians and residents at teaching hospitals and gain relevant practical experience. During the training, they rotate through different medical specialties. They obtain a patient's history, complete physical examinations, and write progress notes. Also, they assist in medical surgeries and procedures with the guidance of physicians. Diagnosis and treatment of patients are two other medical activities that they actively involved in with attending residents' supervision.

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.

Student/clinical rotation vs staff nurse salary

Student/clinical rotations and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$88,697	$68,342
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $220,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	-	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between student/clinical rotation and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a student/clinical rotation and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Student/clinical rotation vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between student/clinical rotations' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Staff Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 21.9% Female, 78.1%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 11.8% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black 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%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between student/clinical rotation and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Student/clinical rotation example responsibilities.

Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, administering medications, performing procedures and managing emergencies
Perform physical assessments; 12 lead EKG; analyze cardiac strips; blood glucose monitoring via AccuCheck.
Assist with patient control analgesia pump, collaborate with nurse and rapid response team to have patients transfer to ICU.
Experience include various floors with multiple teams including cardiopulmonary, oncology, trauma, ICU, orthopedics, and pediatrics.
Provide catheter care and a variety of injections for patients with autoimmune metabolic illnesses and urinary dysfunction.
Travele to multiple ICU/ CCU.

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.

Student/clinical rotation vs staff nurse skills

Common student/clinical rotation skills

Patients, 28%
Vital Signs, 6%
Medication Administration, 5%
IV, 5%
Direct Patient Care, 5%
Clinical Rotations, 4%

Common staff nurse skills

Patients, 28%
BLS, 9%
CPR, 6%
Acls, 5%
Acute Care, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

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Student/Clinical Rotation
Student/Clinical Rotation vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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