Nurse administrator vs nurse coordinator

The differences between nurse administrators and nurse coordinators 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 coordinator. Additionally, a nurse coordinator has an average salary of $79,040, which is higher than the $72,224 average annual salary of a nurse administrator.

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

Nurse administrator vs nurse coordinator overview

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Coordinator
Yearly salary	$72,224	$79,040
Hourly rate	$34.72	$38.00
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	619,218	428,775
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
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 coordinator do?

A nurse coordinator is primarily in charge of overseeing all nurses and their activities in a hospital or clinic. Their responsibilities include managing and rotating schedules, assessing nurse performance, organizing nursing programs, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They may also assist patients and answer inquiries, studying their conditions to develop specific care plans to suit their needs. Furthermore, as a nurse coordinator, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the facility's policies and regulations.

Nurse administrator vs nurse coordinator salary

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Coordinator
Average salary	$72,224	$79,040
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $61,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Tenet Healthcare
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse coordinator education

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Nurse administrator vs nurse coordinator demographics

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Coordinator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 9.5% Female, 90.5%
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, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse coordinator 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 coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Assume administrative oversight of medical, pediatric and chemical dependency rehabilitation units during leaves of absence or vacancy.
Communicate with patients regarding test results and plan after participating in review of diagnostic testing results with attending physician.
Organize and schedule patients for multiple testing procedures and responsible for extensive patient teaching regarding all aspects of fertility and infertility.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Contribute to the telemetry and radiology departments

Nurse administrator vs nurse coordinator 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 coordinator skills

Patients, 27%
CPR, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Data Collection, 3%
Direct Patient Care, 3%
Quality Care, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Nurse Administrator
Nurse Administrator vs Nurse Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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