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The differences between surgery technicians and surgical nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a surgery technician, becoming a surgical nurse takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a surgical nurse has an average salary of $64,025, which is higher than the $41,646 average annual salary of a surgery technician.
The top three skills for a surgery technician include patients, patient care and surgical procedures. The most important skills for a surgical nurse are patients, BLS, and acute care.
| Surgery Technician | Surgical Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $41,646 | $64,025 |
| Hourly rate | $20.02 | $30.78 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 83,376 | 638,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 32 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A surgery technician plays a vital role in the success of medical surgeries. They are primarily in charge of performing essential support tasks such as sanitizing and preparing operating rooms, setting-up equipment, sterilizing instruments, and ensuring that supplies are accurate and adequate. They also prepare patients before surgeries, assist surgeons by handing out supplies or tools, and participate in transporting the patients from one room to another. Moreover, they must maintain an active communication line with nurses and surgeons, coordinating every step of the way.
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.
Surgery technicians and surgical nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgery Technician | Surgical Nurse | |
| Average salary | $41,646 | $64,025 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $55,000 | Between $39,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Thousand Oaks, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a surgery technician and a surgical nurse in terms of educational background:
| Surgery Technician | Surgical Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Nursing |
| Most common college | Emory University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between surgery technicians' and surgical nurses' demographics:
| Surgery Technician | Surgical Nurse | |
| Average age | 32 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% | Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |