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Nursing director vs chief nursing officer

The differences between nursing directors and chief nursing officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a nursing director and a chief nursing officer. Additionally, a chief nursing officer has an average salary of $104,466, which is higher than the $87,643 average annual salary of a nursing director.

The top three skills for a nursing director include patients, term care and home health. The most important skills for a chief nursing officer are patients, CNO, and rehabilitation.

Nursing director vs chief nursing officer overview

Nursing DirectorChief Nursing Officer
Yearly salary$87,643$104,466
Hourly rate$42.14$50.22
Growth rate28%28%
Number of jobs76,956107,336
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4747
Years of experience66

What does a nursing director do?

A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.

What does a chief nursing officer do?

A Chief Nursing Officer supervises nurses and nurse managers, recommends strategies to improve services, and establishes goals for a healthcare facility. They ensure that operations comply with established standards and regulations, as well as prepare and supervise business reports, including annual budgets.

Nursing director vs chief nursing officer salary

Nursing directors and chief nursing officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nursing DirectorChief Nursing Officer
Average salary$87,643$104,466
Salary rangeBetween $64,000 And $118,000Between $71,000 And $151,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Jose, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaOregon
Best paying companyOculusMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between nursing director and chief nursing officer education

There are a few differences between a nursing director and a chief nursing officer in terms of educational background:

Nursing DirectorChief Nursing Officer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborUniversity of Pennsylvania

Nursing director vs chief nursing officer demographics

Here are the differences between nursing directors' and chief nursing officers' demographics:

Nursing DirectorChief Nursing Officer
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 11.6% Female, 88.4%Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between nursing director and chief nursing officer duties and responsibilities

Nursing director example responsibilities.

  • Manage FTE'S of the units.
  • Manage FTE numbers by following staffing grids.
  • Lead in the implementation of whole house telemetry.
  • Manage and provide inpatient nursing care for all aspects of general surgery.
  • Manage and coordinate all aspects of nursing and ancillary services for successful operation of the SNF.
  • Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.
  • Show more

Chief nursing officer example responsibilities.

  • Achieve regional goals including POS cash collections, registration accuracy, and denials.
  • Lead the spread of this work on transforming care through evidenced-base healthcare teamwork strategies and tactics.
  • Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.
  • Incorporate evidence-based care into practice environment to ensure high quality care for patients and their families.
  • Restructure and redevelopment of the outpatient wind care program through temporary oversight toward operation of a successful program.
  • Provide direct supervision and teaching of RN, LVN, and HHA staff.
  • Show more

Nursing director vs chief nursing officer skills

Common nursing director skills
  • Patients, 16%
  • Term Care, 8%
  • Home Health, 7%
  • Resident Care, 6%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
  • Infection Control, 5%
Common chief nursing officer skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • CNO, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Patient Safety, 5%
  • Performance Improvement, 5%
  • Quality Care, 4%

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