Triage register nurse vs staff nurse

The differences between triage register nurses and staff 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 triage register nurse and a staff nurse. Additionally, a staff nurse has an average salary of $68,342, which is higher than the $67,813 average annual salary of a triage register nurse.

The top three skills for a triage register nurse include patients, home health and triage rn. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Triage register nurse vs staff nurse overview

	Triage Register Nurse	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$67,813	$68,342
Hourly rate	$32.60	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	458,151	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a triage register nurse do?

A triage register nurse works at a hospital's emergency room where they are in charge of providing immediate care and assistance to patients who are usually in life-threatening conditions. Part of their job is to assess the patients' needs and symptoms, regularly check on the patients who are in the waiting areas, assist patients towards corresponding facilities, and sort priority groups according to guidelines. There are also instances when a triage nurse must initiate urgent treatment or receive calls, maintaining an active communication line with fellow nurses and staff for an efficient workflow.

What does a staff nurse do?

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

Triage register nurse vs staff nurse salary

Triage register nurses and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Triage Register Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$67,813	$68,342
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $101,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between triage register nurse and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a triage register nurse and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Triage Register Nurse	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Triage register nurse vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between triage register nurses' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Triage Register Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 6.7% Female, 93.3%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between triage register nurse and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Triage register nurse example responsibilities.

Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
Leverage a comprehensive network of community resources to provide patients with referrals to external service providers.
Assist in maintaining and updating OSHA and MSDS information logs.
Ensure regulatory compliance to JCAHO standards, HCFA and OSHA compliance; validate by surveys.
Train to perform venipuncture for necessary blood tests
Order and obtain blood laboratory specimens through venipuncture.

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Staff nurse example responsibilities.

Manage and further help stabilize elective and urgent care surgical patients in their post-operative/post PACU admission to the floor.
Accomplish extensive critical care course with EKG interpretation and yearly critical care medication exam.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Participate in discharge planning including teaching family members and patients wind care and medication administration process after discharge.
Provide direct nursing care to patients in a variety of settings with an emphasis in critical care and PACU settings.
Prepare patients for surgery and endoscopy procedures including initiating intravenous lines, physical assessments and administering medications.

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Triage register nurse vs staff nurse skills

Common triage register nurse skills

Patients, 31%
Home Health, 8%
Triage RN, 5%
Patient Education, 4%
Telephone Triage, 3%
Primary Care, 3%

Common staff nurse skills

Patients, 28%
BLS, 9%
CPR, 6%
Acls, 5%
Acute Care, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Triage Register Nurse
Triage Register Nurse vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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