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Visiting nurse vs traveling nurse

The differences between visiting nurses and traveling 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 traveling nurse. Additionally, a traveling nurse has an average salary of $83,961, 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 traveling nurse are patients, acute care, and healthcare.

Visiting nurse vs traveling nurse overview

Visiting NurseTraveling Nurse
Yearly salary$66,671$83,961
Hourly rate$32.05$40.37
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs387,797585,515
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a visiting nurse do?

A visiting nurse is responsible for providing quality health care services for the patients in health care institutions, community centers, or private household setting. Visiting nurses assist the patients in their daily activities, administer medications, update their medical charts, and inform the family and attending physicians for the health progress reports. They also support in doing medical procedures, such as taking temperatures and vital signs, collecting specimens for laboratory examinations, and guide the patients on their therapy sessions.

What does a traveling nurse do?

Often employed under a staffing agency, a travel nurse primarily works short-term on different limited-staffed hospitals in cities all over a country, and even abroad on rare occasions. They are mainly responsible for providing treatment and immediate care to patients, administering medicine, assisting in various tasks, preparing meals, and other functions that the supervising colleague delegates. Furthermore, as a travel nurse, one must quickly familiarize the surroundings and colleagues to work efficiently, all while upholding their oath as health care workers.

Visiting nurse vs traveling nurse salary

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

Visiting NurseTraveling Nurse
Average salary$66,671$83,961
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $95,000Between $53,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City-Detroit, MI
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-Maxim Healthcare Group
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between visiting nurse and traveling nurse education

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

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

Visiting nurse vs traveling nurse demographics

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

Visiting NurseTraveling Nurse
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 15.5% Female, 84.5%Male, 15.9% Female, 84.1%
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, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between visiting nurse and traveling 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.
  • Show more

Traveling nurse example responsibilities.

  • Manage critically ill patient as a result of trauma, including vent management, ICP monitoring, and CRRT.
  • Manage and further help stabilize elective and/or urgent surgical patient in their post-operative, post PACU admission to the floor.
  • Manage bedside care per MD orders, administering medications, ensuring patient safety, assisting in ADL care, etc.
  • Monitor chemotherapy and administration of oral chemo medication, obtain laboratory specimens to manage client status via central lines.
  • Travel nurse who provide care to patients in SICU, MICU, CCU, and CVICU.
  • Work in both MICU and SICU
  • Show more

Visiting nurse vs traveling nurse skills

Common visiting nurse skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Home Health, 23%
  • Acute Care, 5%
  • HomeCare, 4%
  • Wound Care, 3%
  • Per Diem, 3%
Common traveling nurse skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Acute Care, 10%
  • Healthcare, 9%
  • Acls, 6%
  • Surgery, 6%
  • Telemetry, 4%

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