Nurse administrator vs nurse practitioner

The differences between nurse administrators and nurse practitioners 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 practitioner. Additionally, a nurse practitioner has an average salary of $100,033, 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 practitioner are patients, diagnosis, and home health.

Nurse administrator vs nurse practitioner overview

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Practitioner
Yearly salary	$72,224	$100,033
Hourly rate	$34.72	$48.09
Growth rate	6%	40%
Number of jobs	619,218	27,912
Job satisfaction	-	2.67
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Master's Degree, 47%
Average age	44	43
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 practitioner do?

A nurse practitioner's role is diverse. It revolves around supervising nurses in a particular area and providing immediate care and treatment to patients through extensive knowledge and clinical experience. Among the duties of a nurse practitioner involves diagnosing and treating medical conditions, performing research and analysis through various tests, evaluating data and results, operating different kinds of medical equipment, and gathering samples from patients. Furthermore, a nurse practitioner must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among fellow health workers in a hospital or clinic.

Nurse administrator vs nurse practitioner salary

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Practitioner
Average salary	$72,224	$100,033
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $62,000 And $161,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Pace University
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse practitioner education

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

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

Nurse administrator vs nurse practitioner demographics

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

	Nurse Administrator	Nurse Practitioner
Average age	44	43
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	12%

Differences between nurse administrator and nurse practitioner 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 practitioner example responsibilities.

Manage care of chronic pediatric patients in PICU.
Assess, diagnose and medically manage patients with various GI diseases and dysfunctions
Manage medical illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid conditions and asthma and other medical conditions.
Manage pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of diabetes and provide prescriptions and education before discharge from the hospital.
Manage appropriate changes to individualize care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.
Document correctly the patients' information in electronic health record and observe HIPAA.

Nurse administrator vs nurse practitioner 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 practitioner skills

Patients, 29%
Diagnosis, 7%
Home Health, 5%
Diagnostic Tests, 5%
Acute Care, 3%
EMR, 3%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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