Trauma nurse vs surgical nurse

The differences between trauma nurses and surgical 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 trauma nurse and a surgical nurse. Additionally, a trauma nurse has an average salary of $80,928, which is higher than the $64,025 average annual salary of a surgical nurse.

The top three skills for a trauma nurse include patients, BLS and acls. The most important skills for a surgical nurse are patients, BLS, and acute care.

Trauma nurse vs surgical nurse overview

	Trauma Nurse	Surgical Nurse
Yearly salary	$80,928	$64,025
Hourly rate	$38.91	$30.78
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	580,560	638,444
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Trauma nurse vs surgical nurse salary

Trauma nurses and surgical nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Trauma Nurse	Surgical Nurse
Average salary	$80,928	$64,025
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $128,000	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

Differences between trauma nurse and surgical nurse education

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

	Trauma Nurse	Surgical Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Trauma nurse vs surgical nurse demographics

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

	Trauma Nurse	Surgical Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5%	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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%

Differences between trauma nurse and surgical nurse duties and responsibilities

Trauma nurse example responsibilities.

Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
PAL's instructor, TNCC, ENPC and ACLS obtain.
Provide both BLS and ACLS emergency care to sick and injure
Respond to various traumas and emergency situations and triage numerous phone calls.
Document clinical findings in medical records and perform triage survey on new patients.
Provide continuity of care for all trauma patients from resuscitation through outpatient follow up.

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.

Trauma nurse vs surgical nurse skills

Common trauma nurse skills

Patients, 25%
BLS, 14%
Acls, 9%
Critical Care, 3%
ICU, 3%
Triage, 3%

Common surgical nurse skills

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

Trauma Nurse vs. similar jobs

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Trauma Nurse
Trauma Nurse vs Surgical Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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