Post job

What does an associate director of nursing do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
On this page

Associate director of nursing responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate director of nursing resumes:

  • Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.
  • Coordinate departmental activities for successful JCAHO, CMS, and other state surveys.
  • Assist in obtaining, and maintenance of JCAHO accreditation.
  • Develop and implement nursing policies and procedures per JCAHO.
  • Participate in development and implementation of educational programs and materials for both patients and staff.
  • Collect and aggregates data of current patients for compliance with regulatory requirements and follow-up to ensure correction of identify problems.
  • Implement and chair interdisciplinary rehabilitation committee.
  • Implement and chair interdisciplinary rehabilitation committee.

Associate director of nursing skills and personality traits

We calculated that 25% of Associate Directors Of Nursing are proficient in Patients, Care Services, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Emotional stability, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Associate Directors Of Nursing that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 25%

    Collect and aggregates data of current patients for compliance with regulatory requirements and follow-up to ensure correction of identified problems.

  • Care Services, 14%

    364-bed skilled nursing facility providing long/short-term, rehabilitative and sub-acute care services.

  • Oversight, 9%

    Contained costs and fostered profitability while increasing quality of care through process improvements, including technical enhancements and sound financial oversight.

  • Critical Care, 8%

    Trained and hired 15 CCRN's (critical care certified nurse) to increase staff core competency level.

  • Home Health, 7%

    Home Health Case Manager - HIV Specialist

  • Professional Practice, 7%

    Oversee all personnel and budget matters and creating an environment that supports professional practice and employee engagement.

"patients," "care services," and "oversight" are among the most common skills that associate directors of nursing use at work. You can find even more associate director of nursing responsibilities below, including:

Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an associate director of nursing to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." Associate directors of nursing often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "treat patient with compassion and dignity. "

Emotional stability. Another essential skill to perform associate director of nursing duties is emotional stability. Associate directors of nursing responsibilities require that "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Associate directors of nursing also use emotional stability in their role according to a real resume snippet: "treated patients for pain and hemodynamic instability"

Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of associate directors of nursing is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday associate director of nursing duties, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "restructured narcotic count system, qa committees and job area checklists, preoperative anesthesia standing orders and guidelines, organizational chart. "

Physical stamina. For certain associate director of nursing responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical stamina." The day-to-day duties of an associate director of nursing rely on this skill, as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what associate directors of nursing do: "full time, manager office of 5 and 25 field nurses and 14 physical therapist for home health nursing. "

Detail oriented. A commonly-found skill in associate director of nursing job descriptions, "detail oriented" is essential to what associate directors of nursing do. Associate director of nursing responsibilities rely on this skill because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." You can also see how associate director of nursing duties rely on detail oriented in this resume example: "key advisor for creation of detailed pandemic plan covering medical response, communications, travel policies and infection control. "

Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on associate director of nursing job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in associate director of nursing duties, since "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day associate director of nursing responsibilities: "decreased re-hospitalization by 23% through better communication with mds and nps. "

All associate director of nursing skills

Choose from 10+ customizable associate director of nursing resume templates

Build a professional associate director of nursing resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your associate director of nursing resume.
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume
Associate Director Of Nursing Resume

Compare different associate directors of nursing

Associate director of nursing vs. Student/clinical rotation

Clinical rotation is the stage wherein medical students spend their last two years of study as medical team members. During this period, medical students learn to apply their knowledge from the classroom to real-life medical situations. They follow physicians and residents at teaching hospitals and gain relevant practical experience. During the training, they rotate through different medical specialties. They obtain a patient's history, complete physical examinations, and write progress notes. Also, they assist in medical surgeries and procedures with the guidance of physicians. Diagnosis and treatment of patients are two other medical activities that they actively involved in with attending residents' supervision.

If we compare the average associate director of nursing annual salary with that of a student/clinical rotation, we find that student/clinical rotations typically earn a $8,668 higher salary than associate directors of nursing make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between associate directors of nursing and student/clinical rotations are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, critical care, and primary care.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an associate director of nursing are more likely to require skills like "care services," "oversight," "home health," and "professional practice." On the other hand, a job as a student/clinical rotation requires skills like "vital signs," "iv," "direct patient care," and "clinical rotations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that student/clinical rotations earn slightly differ from associate directors of nursing. In particular, student/clinical rotations are 13.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an associate director of nursing. Additionally, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Associate director of nursing vs. Nurse

Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.

On average, nurses earn a $22,465 lower salary than associate directors of nursing a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Associate directors of nursing and nurses both require similar skills like "patients," "critical care," and "home health" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that associate director of nursing responsibilities requires skills like "care services," "oversight," "professional practice," and "quality patient care." But a nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cpr," "bls," "acute care," and "acls."

Nurses may earn a lower salary than associate directors of nursing, but nurses earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $63,263. On the other hand, associate directors of nursing receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $81,397.nurses earn lower levels of education than associate directors of nursing in general. They're 13.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Associate director of nursing vs. Nurse extern

The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.

On average scale, nurse externs bring in lower salaries than associate directors of nursing. In fact, they earn a $42,873 lower salary per year.By looking over several associate directors of nursing and nurse externs resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "critical care," and "quality patient care." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from associate director of nursing resumes include skills like "care services," "oversight," "home health," and "professional practice," whereas a nurse extern is more likely to list skills in "vital signs," "cpr," "direct patient care," and "patient care. "

Nurse externs earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,085. Comparatively, associate directors of nursing have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $81,397.Most nurse externs achieve a lower degree level compared to associate directors of nursing. For example, they're 15.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Associate director of nursing vs. Clinical research nurse

A clinical research nurse is responsible for conducting research studies on various health conditions, illness treatments, and healthcare methodologies, analyzing existing scientific research to make new reports. Clinical research nurses also communicate with other health professionals and health organizations for their insights and recommendations for a specific medical study, ensuring to report their findings to doctors and medical researchers for further validation and clinical trials. A clinical research nurse must have excellent knowledge of communication, both written and spoken, as well as expertise in the medical industry.

Clinical research nurses average a lower salary than the annual salary of associate directors of nursing. The difference is about $19,682 per year.According to resumes from associate directors of nursing and clinical research nurses, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "critical care," and "home health. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "care services," "oversight," "professional practice," and "quality patient care" are skills that commonly show up on associate director of nursing resumes. On the other hand, clinical research nurses use skills like bls, acute care, acls, and surgery on their resumes.The education industry tends to pay the highest salaries for clinical research nurses, with average annual pay of $61,917. Comparatively, the highest associate director of nursing annual salary comes from the health care industry.In general, clinical research nurses hold lower degree levels compared to associate directors of nursing. Clinical research nurses are 10.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of associate director of nursing

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs