Nurse administrator vs psychiatric nurse

The differences between nurse administrators and psychiatric nurses 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 psychiatric nurse. Additionally, a nurse administrator has an average salary of $72,224, which is higher than the $64,922 average annual salary of a psychiatric nurse.

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

Nurse administrator vs psychiatric nurse overview

	Nurse Administrator	Psychiatric Nurse
Yearly salary	$72,224	$64,922
Hourly rate	$34.72	$31.21
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	619,218	608,055
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
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 psychiatric nurse do?

A Psychiatric Nurses role is to supervise the medication and treatment of patients diagnosed with mental disabilities, illnesses, or distresses. They have an essential role in the administration of psychiatric treatment and care.

Nurse administrator vs psychiatric nurse salary

Nurse administrators and psychiatric nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nurse Administrator	Psychiatric Nurse
Average salary	$72,224	$64,922
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $107,000	Between $42,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Highland General Hospital
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between nurse administrator and psychiatric nurse education

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

	Nurse Administrator	Psychiatric Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Nurse administrator vs psychiatric nurse demographics

Here are the differences between nurse administrators' and psychiatric nurses' demographics:

	Nurse Administrator	Psychiatric Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between nurse administrator and psychiatric nurse 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.

Psychiatric nurse example responsibilities.

Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
Staff register nurse, acute medical rehabilitation unit.
Perform emergency triage differentiating psychiatric versus medical conditions.
Perform triage assessment, psychiatric evaluations, medication administration, psychotherapy and case management.
Provide comprehensive medical-psychiatric care to patients via assessment, planning, evaluation and supervision of therapeutic interactions.
Provide therapeutic communication and psychiatric rehabilitation with residents to assist with their recovery to return to the community.

Nurse administrator vs psychiatric nurse skills

Common nurse administrator skills

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

Common psychiatric nurse skills

Patients, 25%
Mental Illness, 11%
CPR, 7%
Therapeutic Interventions, 5%
Psychiatric Care, 4%
IV, 4%

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Nurse Administrator
Nurse Administrator vs Psychiatric Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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