Health director vs nursing director

The differences between health directors 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 director and a nursing director. Additionally, a health director has an average salary of $89,244, which is higher than the $87,643 average annual salary of a nursing director.

The top three skills for a health director include patients, home health and oversight. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Health director vs nursing director overview

	Health Director	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$89,244	$87,643
Hourly rate	$42.91	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	81,038	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a health director do?

A Health Director is responsible for developing health programs for disease prevention and the promotion of good health practices. They must keep health records and ensure excellent health facility maintenance.

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 director vs nursing director salary

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

	Health Director	Nursing Director
Average salary	$89,244	$87,643
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $142,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Greenwich, CT	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	Amgen	Oculus
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between health director and nursing director education

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

	Health Director	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Health director vs nursing director demographics

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

	Health Director	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.1% White, 61.9% 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 director and nursing director duties and responsibilities

Health director example responsibilities.

Manage accreditation process with AAHC, JCAHO, Medicare, HIPAA, AOA, ACGME, RRC, and individual payers.
Manage the agency's daily operations to ensure CMS compliance.
Manage EHS activities for manufacturing plants, global sourcing centers, and customer sites.
Initiate sentinel system allowing company to proactively manage reimbursement reductions impose by state Medicaid programs.
Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
Conduct staff training regarding first aid, CPR, a.

Show more

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.

Show more

Health director vs nursing director skills

Common health director skills

Patients, 13%
Home Health, 9%
Oversight, 8%
Patient Care, 6%
Social Work, 5%
CPR, 4%

Common nursing director skills

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

Health Director vs. similar jobs

Health Director related careers

Health Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z