Nurse administrator vs health care administrator

The differences between nurse administrators and health care administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a nurse administrator, becoming a health care administrator takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a nurse administrator has an average salary of $72,224, which is higher than the $68,187 average annual salary of a health care administrator.

The top three skills for a nurse administrator include patients, acute care and direct patient care. The most important skills for a health care administrator are patients, patient care, and health care services.

Nurse administrator vs health care administrator overview

	Nurse Administrator	Health Care Administrator
Yearly salary	$72,224	$68,187
Hourly rate	$34.72	$32.78
Growth rate	6%	11%
Number of jobs	619,218	161,949
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	44	45
Years of experience	2	12

What does a nurse administrator do?

Nurse Administrators are responsible for the coordination of all operational and administrative tasks relating to the nursing team. They are responsible for the retention, hiring, and firing of nursing staff, creating budgets, authorizing spending, ensuring regulatory guidelines compliance, implementing staff mentorship sessions, and accomplishing patient satisfaction, safety, cost savings, and efficiency objectives. Other duties include preparing reports, attending meetings, supervising fundraising projects, and forming partnerships with the academic and medical community.

What does a health care administrator do?

A health care administrator is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily administrative operations of medical and health care facilities. They are responsible for setting objectives, establishing guidelines and employee schedules, maintaining accurate records, gathering and analyzing data, developing strategies to optimize operations, and coordinating with nurses, physicians, patients, and other health care experts. Moreover, as a health care administrator, it is essential to address and resolve issues and concerns, implement the facility's policies and regulations, and ensure that procedures comply with health care laws and standards.

Nurse administrator vs health care administrator salary

Nurse administrators and health care administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nurse Administrator	Health Care Administrator
Average salary	$72,224	$68,187
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $48,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	California	Nevada
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	One Brooklyn Health
Best paying industry	Government	Professional

Differences between nurse administrator and health care administrator education

There are a few differences between a nurse administrator and a health care administrator in terms of educational background:

	Nurse Administrator	Health Care Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Nurse administrator vs health care administrator demographics

Here are the differences between nurse administrators' and health care administrators' demographics:

	Nurse Administrator	Health Care Administrator
Average age	44	45
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between nurse administrator and health care administrator duties and responsibilities

Nurse administrator example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Instruct employees in first aid, safety, CPR, growth and development of children and nutrition.
Care planning and coordinating with the MDS team on restraints, psychoactive medications, infections, falls and restraints.
Make referrals for medical treatment: and follow-up with psychiatric rehabilitation programs, treating physicians, pharmacies and other treatment collaterals.
Make referrals for medical treatment and follow-up with psychiatric rehabilitation programs.
Administer intravenous medications for conscious sedation and monitor patients during in office procedures per protocol.

Health care administrator example responsibilities.

Research and resolve recipients complaints relate to Medicaid service limitations, accessibility of MediPass manage services and provider treatment of recipients.
Interview prospective adopters and communicate the pet's needs.
Design training for EMR implementation for staff and medical providers.
Oversee pet care technician staff and report issues to management.
Utilize electronic medical records (EMR) technology for military members.
Supervise the maintenance and safeguarding of medical records and compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Nurse administrator vs health care administrator skills

Common nurse administrator skills

Patients, 33%
Acute Care, 9%
Direct Patient Care, 6%
Infection Control, 4%
Rehabilitation, 3%
Quality Patient Care, 3%

Common health care administrator skills

Patients, 26%
Patient Care, 9%
Health Care Services, 6%
Home Health, 6%
Mental Health, 6%
Vital Signs, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Nurse Administrator
Nurse Administrator vs Health Care Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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