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Surgical Nursing

Types of Degrees Surgical Nursing Majors Are Earning

Those studying Surgical Nursing have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	5
Master’s Degree	150

What Surgical Nursing Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Surgical Nursing build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Surgical Nursing graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Surgical Nursing emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Surgical Nursing program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Surgical Nursing careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Surgical Nursing graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Surgical Nursing professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Surgical Nursing graduates include:

• Pediatric Oncology Nurse
• Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse)
• Staff Nurse
• Nurse
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Charge Nurse
• PACU RN (Post Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse)
• County Nurse
• Central Supply Nurse
• Visiting Nurse
• Maternity Nurse
• Registered Public Health Nurse
• Med-Surg Telemetry RN (Medical Surgical Telemetry Registered Nurse)
• Oncology RN (Oncology Registered Nurse)
• Consulting Nurse

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Surgical Nursing graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	44.5%
Bachelor’s degree	24.3%
Doctoral degree	10.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.9%
Postsecondary certificate	7.8%
First professional degree	1.4%
Post-doctoral training	1.4%
Post-master’s certificate	1.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Surgical Nursing?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 86.3% of Surgical Nursing degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	164	86.3%
Men	26	13.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Surgical Nursing graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	112	58.9%
Asian	22	11.6%
Hispanic or Latino	26	13.7%
Black or African American	17	8.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.5%
Two or More Races	8	4.2%
Race Unknown	2	1.1%
International Students	2	1.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Surgical Nursing Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Surgical Nursing graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Surgical Nursing Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Surgical Nursing graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	51.38
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	51.3803
Clinical Nurse Leader	51.3820
Clinical Nurse Specialist	51.3813
Critical Care Nursing	51.3814
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	51.3816
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	51.3805
Forensic Nursing	51.3824
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	51.3821
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing	51.3806
Nurse Anesthetist	51.3804
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery	51.3807

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.