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The differences between surgical nurses and triage 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 a triage nurse. Additionally, a triage nurse has an average salary of $64,592, 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 triage nurse are patients, home health, and patient education.
| Surgical Nurse | Triage Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $64,025 | $64,592 |
| Hourly rate | $30.78 | $31.05 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 638,444 | 345,410 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| 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 triage nurse provides patient care and overall nursing duties alongside the resident doctor in a clinic or hospital. It is the task of a triage nurse to oversee the condition of each patient and to report immediately to a doctor when emergencies occur. Added tasks of a triage nurse are monitoring and administering doctor prescriptions, and providing a caring environment for patients and their relatives through constant communication. The triage nurse is an essential part of a healthcare facility and is in-demand in many places around the world.
Surgical nurses and triage nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgical Nurse | Triage Nurse | |
| Average salary | $64,025 | $64,592 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $103,000 | Between $43,000 And $95,000 |
| 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 surgical nurse and a triage nurse in terms of educational background:
| Surgical Nurse | Triage Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between surgical nurses' and triage nurses' demographics:
| Surgical Nurse | Triage Nurse | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8% | Male, 9.1% Female, 90.9% |
| 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, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |