Health care manager vs nursing director

The differences between health care managers and nursing directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a health care manager and a nursing director. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, which is higher than the $60,931 average annual salary of a health care manager.

The top three skills for a health care manager include social work, behavioral health and substance abuse. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Health care manager vs nursing director overview

	Health Care Manager	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$60,931	$87,643
Hourly rate	$29.29	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	153,821	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a health care manager do?

A health care manager is in charge of overseeing the workflow and the workforce in a medical facility. Their responsibilities revolve around planning and organizing services, delegating tasks, managing schedules and budgets, and devising strategies for optimal operations. They must also coordinate with different health care workers within the facility, participate in hiring and training staff, set goals and guidelines, and maintain hospital records. Furthermore, a health care manager must implement the hospital's policies and regulations, even create new ones as needed.

What does a nursing director do?

A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.

Health care manager vs nursing director salary

Health care managers and nursing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Care Manager	Nursing Director
Average salary	$60,931	$87,643
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $93,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Linden, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	Accenture	Oculus
Best paying industry	Utilities	Health Care

Differences between health care manager and nursing director education

There are a few differences between a health care manager and a nursing director in terms of educational background:

	Health Care Manager	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Health care manager vs nursing director demographics

Here are the differences between health care managers' and nursing directors' demographics:

	Health Care Manager	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between health care manager and nursing director duties and responsibilities

Health care manager example responsibilities.

Manage network participation, care with specialty networks, DME providers and transfers to appropriate levels of care.
Manage patient care expenditures including but not limit to labor, pharmacy, DME, medical supplies and mileage.
Provide oversight of the case management and utilization management staff for the Medicaid population
Supervise and conduct employee seminars and training in employee health issues, infection control and CPR.
Support sales team in designing population health solutions present in proposals and client facing PowerPoint presentations.
Assist members with benefits, PCP referrals and inquires.

Nursing director example responsibilities.

Manage FTE'S of the units.
Manage FTE numbers by following staffing grids.
Lead in the implementation of whole house telemetry.
Manage and provide inpatient nursing care for all aspects of general surgery.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of nursing and ancillary services for successful operation of the SNF.
Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.

Health care manager vs nursing director skills

Common health care manager skills

Social Work, 28%
Behavioral Health, 10%
Substance Abuse, 8%
Community Resources, 8%
Patients, 5%
Utilization Management, 4%

Common nursing director skills

Patients, 16%
Term Care, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Infection Control, 5%

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Health Care Manager
Health Care Manager vs Nursing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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