Nurse administrator vs nurse educator

The differences between nurse administrators and nurse educators 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 educator. Additionally, a nurse administrator has an average salary of $72,224, which is higher than the $67,983 average annual salary of a nurse educator.

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

Nurse administrator vs nurse educator overview

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Educator
Yearly salary	$72,224	$67,983
Hourly rate	$34.72	$32.68
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	619,218	537,803
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
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 educator do?

A nurse educator is responsible for teaching aspiring professional nurses, designing courses according to the curriculum, and organizing activities to practice and enhance the students' knowledge. Nurse educators manage clinical activities and observe the students' performance in actual training. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, as well as its practices, to respond to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately. A nurse educator identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develop comprehensive lesson plans, and strategizing various nursing programs.

Nurse administrator vs nurse educator salary

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Educator
Average salary	$72,224	$67,983
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $47,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	GradyHealth
Best paying industry	Government	Pharmaceutical

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse educator education

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Educator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Nurse administrator vs nurse educator demographics

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Educator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 10.7% Female, 89.3%
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, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse educator 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 educator example responsibilities.

Achieve instructor level for both BLS and ACLS, supporting needs of nursing staff to maintain competency.
Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, administering medications, performing procedures, and managing emergencies.
Provide nursing education and clinical expertise to novice nurses entering ICU setting.
Assist with maintaining staff certification in ACLS and BLS, advocate keeping current with unit specific certifications.
Involve in program development for the cardiology and cardiovascular surgery departments.
Develop standardized patient care plans for medical diagnoses and oncology patients for use with the hospital computerize documentation system.

Nurse administrator vs nurse educator 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 educator skills

Patients, 19%
BLS, 8%
BSN, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
CPR, 5%
Educational Programs, 5%

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Nurse Administrator
Nurse Administrator vs Nurse Educator

Updated January 8, 2025

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