Nurse manager vs head nurse

The differences between nurse managers and head nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a nurse manager, becoming a head nurse takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a nurse manager has an average salary of $83,684, which is higher than the $80,173 average annual salary of a head nurse.

The top three skills for a nurse manager include patients, home health and CPR. The most important skills for a head nurse are patients, BLS, and compassion.

Nurse manager vs head nurse overview

	Nurse Manager	Head Nurse
Yearly salary	$83,684	$80,173
Hourly rate	$40.23	$38.54
Growth rate	28%	6%
Number of jobs	380,264	649,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	6	2

Nurse manager vs head nurse salary

Nurse managers and head nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nurse Manager	Head Nurse
Average salary	$83,684	$80,173
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $115,000	Between $48,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	Las Vegas, NV	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Nevada	California
Best paying company	BD	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between nurse manager and head nurse education

There are a few differences between a nurse manager and a head nurse in terms of educational background:

	Nurse Manager	Head Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Duke University

Nurse manager vs head nurse demographics

Here are the differences between nurse managers' and head nurses' demographics:

	Nurse Manager	Head Nurse
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	9%

Differences between nurse manager and head nurse duties and responsibilities

Nurse manager example responsibilities.

Case manage workers compensation cases, administer drug testing, surveillance testing, minor 1st aid and CPR instruction.
Assess and manage various allergic and life threatening reactions of chemotherapy medications.
Manage staff of medical personnel providing care for telemetry, geriatric and general medicine patients.
Involve in utilization review and chart audits for all appropriate documentation for medicaid, Medicare and manage care organizations.
Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
Maintain current ACLS and BLS certifications.

Head nurse example responsibilities.

Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Receive intensive training for critical care skill development upon transferring to the medical ICU.
Perform advanced nursing care to acute/chronic medical/surgical, cardiac, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic and oncology/ hematology patients.
Certify staff in CPR and blood glucose monitoring.
Develop and implement an intensive care class for the staff; implement ACLS class for all staff.
Develop process improvement plan with bundles for sedation and ventilation.

Nurse manager vs head nurse skills

Common nurse manager skills

Patients, 22%
Home Health, 8%
CPR, 4%
Customer Service, 4%
Performance Improvement, 3%
Surgery, 3%

Common head nurse skills

Patients, 31%
BLS, 9%
Compassion, 6%
Acute Care, 6%
Acls, 4%
CPR, 3%