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Visiting nurse vs head nurse

The differences between visiting nurses and head 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 visiting nurse and a head nurse. Additionally, a head nurse has an average salary of $80,173, which is higher than the $66,671 average annual salary of a visiting nurse.

The top three skills for a visiting nurse include patients, home health and acute care. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Visiting nurse vs head nurse overview

Visiting NurseHead Nurse
Yearly salary$66,671$80,173
Hourly rate$32.05$38.54
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs387,797649,127
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

Visiting nurse vs head nurse salary

Visiting nurses and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

Visiting NurseHead Nurse
Average salary$66,671$80,173
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $95,000Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City-Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-AstraZeneca
Best paying industry-Education

Differences between visiting nurse and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a visiting nurse and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

Visiting NurseHead Nurse
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Visiting nurse vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between visiting nurses' and head nurses' demographics:

Visiting NurseHead Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 15.5% Female, 84.5%Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between visiting nurse and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Visiting nurse example responsibilities.

  • Provide care and manage gastrostomy, colostomy, and tracheostomy.
  • Consult and teach HHA the best ways of achieving goals direct to improvement of functional status of patient and safety.
  • Assist with obtaining proper DME and permanent services which permit patients to safely manage their medical treatment from their own home.
  • Case management of Medicare and manage care patients, including coordination of services, obtaining insurance authorization, interdisciplinary communication.
  • Complete CPI training to physically restrain patients.
  • Assess clients for eligibility for preventive TB therapy and administer tuberculosis medication.
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Head nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Receive intensive training for critical care skill development upon transferring to the medical ICU.
  • Perform advanced nursing care to acute/chronic medical/surgical, cardiac, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic and oncology/ hematology patients.
  • Certify staff in CPR and blood glucose monitoring.
  • Develop and implement an intensive care class for the staff; implement ACLS class for all staff.
  • Develop process improvement plan with bundles for sedation and ventilation.
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Visiting nurse vs head nurse skills

Common visiting nurse skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Home Health, 23%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • HomeCare, 4%
  • Wound Care, 3%
  • Per Diem, 3%
Common head nurse skills
  • Patients, 31%
  • BLS, 9%
  • Compassion, 6%
  • Acute Care, 6%
  • Acls, 4%
  • CPR, 3%

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