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The differences between surgical 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 surgical nurse and a nurse clinician. Additionally, a nurse clinician has an average salary of $65,159, which is higher than the $64,025 average annual salary of a surgical nurse.
The top three skills for a surgical nurse include patients, BLS and acute care. The most important skills for a nurse clinician are patients, patient education, and CPR.
| Surgical Nurse | Nurse Clinician | |
| Yearly salary | $64,025 | $65,159 |
| Hourly rate | $30.78 | $31.33 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 638,444 | 596,073 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.
Surgical nurses and nurse clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgical Nurse | Nurse Clinician | |
| Average salary | $64,025 | $65,159 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $103,000 | Between $48,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | Thousand Oaks, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Healthpoint |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between a surgical nurse and a nurse clinician in terms of educational background:
| Surgical Nurse | Nurse Clinician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between surgical nurses' and nurse clinicians' demographics:
| Surgical Nurse | Nurse Clinician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8% | Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |