Surgical nurse vs office nurse

The differences between surgical nurses and office 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 surgical nurse and an office nurse. Additionally, a surgical nurse has an average salary of $64,025, which is higher than the $58,587 average annual salary of an office nurse.

The top three skills for a surgical nurse include patients, BLS and acute care. The most important skills for an office nurse are patients, vital signs, and patient education.

Surgical nurse vs office nurse overview

	Surgical Nurse	Office Nurse
Yearly salary	$64,025	$58,587
Hourly rate	$30.78	$28.17
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	638,444	278,856
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 39%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a surgical nurse do?

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.

What does an office nurse do?

Office Nurses are responsible for preparing patients for examinations, administering injections, treating wounds and incisions. Other duties include cleaning and sterilizing various instruments and equipment.

Surgical nurse vs office nurse salary

Surgical nurses and office nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Surgical Nurse	Office Nurse
Average salary	$64,025	$58,587
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $103,000	Between $39,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	Thousand Oaks, CA	Uniondale, NY
Highest paying state	Hawaii	New York
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Best paying industry	Professional	Health Care

Differences between surgical nurse and office nurse education

There are a few differences between a surgical nurse and an office nurse in terms of educational background:

	Surgical Nurse	Office Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 39%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Emory University

Surgical nurse vs office nurse demographics

Here are the differences between surgical nurses' and office nurses' demographics:

	Surgical Nurse	Office Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%	Male, 5.0% Female, 95.0%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between surgical nurse and office nurse duties and responsibilities

Surgical nurse example responsibilities.

Manage GI bleeds, asthmatics, bowel resections, fractures, patients with chest and feeding tubes.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Maintain BLS, NRP, ACLS
Prepare patients for procedures, initiate and maintain intravenous therapy, and obtain 12-lead EKG.
Establish care plans and perform care for ICU, CCU, cardiac, and neurological patients.
Serve as a BLS/ ACLS instructor.

Office nurse example responsibilities.

Case manage FMLA cases on a daily basis regarding FMLA abuse and employees with attendance issues.
Recognize and manage maternal complications: hemorrhage, preeclampsia, endometritis.
Monitor patients status that are on telemetry.
Facilitate ADL's and assist patients with functional mobility to increase comfort and quality of life.
Assist with patients, obtain EKG's, screen phone calls, and relay information to the physician.
Collect patient vital signs; monitor fetal heartbeats/rate/monitore fetal monitors for premature labor patients.

Surgical nurse vs office nurse skills

Common surgical nurse skills

Patients, 31%
BLS, 15%
Acute Care, 7%
Acls, 5%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Quality Care, 3%

Common office nurse skills

Patients, 30%
Vital Signs, 7%
Patient Education, 5%
EKG, 4%
Exam Rooms, 4%
In-Office Procedures, 4%

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Surgical Nurse
Surgical Nurse vs Office Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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