Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between nursing directors and nurse managers 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 nurse manager. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, which is higher than the $83,684 average annual salary of a nurse manager.
The top three skills for a nursing director include patients, term care and home health. The most important skills for a nurse manager are patients, home health, and CPR.
| Nursing Director | Nurse Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $87,643 | $83,684 |
| Hourly rate | $42.14 | $40.23 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 76,956 | 380,264 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| 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.
The primary role of nurse managers is to supervise the nursing staff in a clinical or hospital setting. They are the ones who are in charge of patient care, setting work schedules, and making budgetary and management decisions. They are also responsible for making personnel decisions, coordinating meetings, and creating safe environments that promote patient engagement and aid the healthcare team's work. Their role is vital in promoting a culture in which team members contribute to professional growth and patient outcomes.
Nursing directors and nurse managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nursing Director | Nurse Manager | |
| Average salary | $87,643 | $83,684 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $118,000 | Between $60,000 And $115,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Las Vegas, NV |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Oculus | BD |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a nursing director and a nurse manager in terms of educational background:
| Nursing Director | Nurse Manager | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between nursing directors' and nurse managers' demographics:
| Nursing Director | Nurse Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4% | Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5% |
| 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, 12.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |