Assistant director of nursing vs clinical director

The differences between assistant directors of nursing and clinical directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an assistant director of nursing and a clinical director. Additionally, a clinical director has an average salary of $96,497, which is higher than the $82,674 average annual salary of an assistant director of nursing.

The top three skills for an assistant director of nursing include patients, term care and CPR. The most important skills for a clinical director are patients, patient care, and physical therapy.

Assistant director of nursing vs clinical director overview

	Assistant Director Of Nursing	Clinical Director
Yearly salary	$82,674	$96,497
Hourly rate	$39.75	$46.39
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	118,347	83,232
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does an assistant director of nursing do?

An assistant director of nursing is responsible for administering quality care services for patients, supervising nursing activities, and ensuring the patients' comfort under the supervision of the director of nursing. Assistant directors of nursing assist with nursing staff training, distributing shift schedules, developing comprehensive nursing care plans, handling expense reports, identifying areas of improvement with the staff performance, and securing patients' medical charts for reference. An assistant director of nursing must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling patients' medical needs.

What does a clinical director do?

A clinical director is a managing professional who manages the work of healthcare providers to ensure quality patient care is achieved. Clinical directors are responsible for organizational tasks such as adjusting staff schedules, explaining insurance benefits to the patients, and managing financial reports. They can work either in small clinics with a smaller workforce or larger hospitals with multiple departments. Clinical directors may also assist in the hiring process of healthcare providers and should establish a positive work environment.

Assistant director of nursing vs clinical director salary

Assistant directors of nursing and clinical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Assistant Director Of Nursing	Clinical Director
Average salary	$82,674	$96,497
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $111,000	Between $63,000 And $145,000
Highest paying City	Fairfield, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Waters	Sutro Biopharma
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between assistant director of nursing and clinical director education

There are a few differences between an assistant director of nursing and a clinical director in terms of educational background:

	Assistant Director Of Nursing	Clinical Director
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Assistant director of nursing vs clinical director demographics

Here are the differences between assistant directors of nursing' and clinical directors' demographics:

	Assistant Director Of Nursing	Clinical Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 11.5% Female, 88.5%	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.6% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between assistant director of nursing and clinical director duties and responsibilities

Assistant director of nursing example responsibilities.

Manage care for all residents, ICF and SNF.
Evaluate operational performance consistently achieving excellent JCAHO accreditation.
Assist with managing daily facility operations, including patient care, staff supervision and logistical oversight.
Work to ensure regulatory compliance by conduction mock surveys, interviewing patients and randomly assessing medical records.
Complete newly-required HCFA MDS, and coordinated/chair all interdisciplinary care plan meetings to maintain HCFA regulatory compliance.
Administer BLS training for license staff.

Clinical director example responsibilities.

Develop distinctive ambulatory strategies to achieve and sustain competitive healthcare advantage.
Manage and assist with data collection and input for MDS.
Manage quality of documentation through education and electronic review of clinical processes utilizing HCHB EMR.
Manage front office, marketing, and communication -demonstrated/supervise exercises for patients -Developed instructional packets for home exercise programs
Manage projects and ambulatory system initiatives, and collaborate with system leadership teams to ensure EMR alignment with all regulatory requirements.
Experience in GCP, FDA audits, and regulatory guidance review and implementation.

Assistant director of nursing vs clinical director skills

Common assistant director of nursing skills

Patients, 17%
Term Care, 11%
CPR, 8%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Quality Care, 5%
Resident Care, 5%

Common clinical director skills

Patients, 18%
Patient Care, 11%
Physical Therapy, 5%
Social Work, 4%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Clinical Services, 3%

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Assistant Director Of Nursing
Assistant Director Of Nursing vs Clinical Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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