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The differences between health unit supervisors 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 unit supervisor and a nursing director. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, which is higher than the $74,174 average annual salary of a health unit supervisor.
The top three skills for a health unit supervisor include patients, social work and patient care. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.
| Health Unit Supervisor | Nursing Director | |
| Yearly salary | $74,174 | $87,643 |
| Hourly rate | $35.66 | $42.14 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 70,139 | 76,956 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Associate Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A health unit supervisor handles both the administrative and executive tasks in a health care unit. They coordinate all that takes place in one or more patient care units in health care facilities. The unit supervisor plans and oversees administrative operations. They also supervise other personnel or staff in the unit or ward. They may also be responsible for the generation of schedules for teams in the unit. They will be required to communicate with other members of the administrative team.
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 unit supervisors and nursing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Unit Supervisor | Nursing Director | |
| Average salary | $74,174 | $87,643 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $108,000 | Between $64,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | California |
| Best paying company | Tesla | Oculus |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a health unit supervisor and a nursing director in terms of educational background:
| Health Unit Supervisor | Nursing Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Associate Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between health unit supervisors' and nursing directors' demographics:
| Health Unit Supervisor | Nursing Director | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9% | Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.4% 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% |