Nurse administrator vs nurse clinician

The differences between nurse administrators and nurse clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a nurse administrator and a nurse clinician. Additionally, a nurse administrator has an average salary of $72,224, which is higher than the $65,159 average annual salary of a nurse clinician.

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

Nurse administrator vs nurse clinician overview

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Clinician
Yearly salary	$72,224	$65,159
Hourly rate	$34.72	$31.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	619,218	596,073
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

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 nurse clinician do?

A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.

Nurse administrator vs nurse clinician salary

Nurse administrators and nurse clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Clinician
Average salary	$72,224	$65,159
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $48,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Healthpoint
Best paying industry	Government	Education

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse clinician education

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Nurse administrator vs nurse clinician demographics

Here are the differences between nurse administrators' and nurse clinicians' demographics:

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Clinician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 10.9% Female, 89.1%
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, 12.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.6% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse clinician 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.

Nurse clinician example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Provide high level nursing care for ER step down and ICU patients prior to transfer to critical care units.
Instruct ACLS and BLS classes.
Specialize care for telemetry and orthopedic patients.
Provide specialized nursing care to ICU medical cardiac patient populations.
Provide education regarding care of surgical patients as part of orientation to orienting telemetry nurses.

Nurse administrator vs nurse clinician skills

Common nurse administrator skills

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

Common nurse clinician skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Education, 5%
CPR, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%
Patient Outcomes, 3%
Educational Programs, 3%

Nurse Administrator vs. similar jobs

Nurse Administrator related careers

Nurse Administrator related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Nurse Administrator
Nurse Administrator vs Nurse Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs