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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 | Chief Nursing Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,643 | $104,466 |
| Hourly rate | $42.14 | $50.22 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 76,956 | 107,336 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
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 directors and chief nursing officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nursing Director | Chief Nursing Officer | |
| Average salary | $87,643 | $104,466 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $118,000 | Between $71,000 And $151,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Oculus | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a nursing director and a chief nursing officer in terms of educational background:
| Nursing Director | Chief Nursing Officer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between nursing directors' and chief nursing officers' demographics:
| Nursing Director | Chief Nursing Officer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4% | Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 12% | 12% |