Nursing home administrator vs clinical director

The differences between nursing home administrators and clinical directors 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 home administrator and a clinical director. Additionally, a clinical director has an average salary of $96,497, which is higher than the $80,880 average annual salary of a nursing home administrator.

The top three skills for a nursing home administrator include nursing home, long-term care and healthcare. The most important skills for a clinical director are patients, patient care, and physical therapy.

Nursing home administrator vs clinical director overview

	Nursing Home Administrator	Clinical Director
Yearly salary	$80,880	$96,497
Hourly rate	$38.88	$46.39
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	137,786	83,232
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a nursing home administrator do?

A nursing home administrator is responsible for managing and running a nursing home facility and supervising staff. Your typical duties will include managing the budget and making critical decisions, overseeing the recruitment, training, and dismissal of staff members, conducting employee performance reviews, and communicating with prospective and existing residents and their families. Additionally, you are expected to advocate for nursing home residents, develop rules, procedures, and policies for the facility, and oversee residents' billings for services. As a nursing home administrator, you are also responsible for conducting safety training for all staff.

What does a clinical director do?

A clinical director is a managing professional who manages the work of healthcare providers to ensure quality patient care is achieved. Clinical directors are responsible for organizational tasks such as adjusting staff schedules, explaining insurance benefits to the patients, and managing financial reports. They can work either in small clinics with a smaller workforce or larger hospitals with multiple departments. Clinical directors may also assist in the hiring process of healthcare providers and should establish a positive work environment.

Nursing home administrator vs clinical director salary

Nursing home administrators and clinical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nursing Home Administrator	Clinical Director
Average salary	$80,880	$96,497
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $116,000	Between $63,000 And $145,000
Highest paying City	Wilmington, DE	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Oregon	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Senior Living Properties	Sutro Biopharma
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between nursing home administrator and clinical director education

There are a few differences between a nursing home administrator and a clinical director in terms of educational background:

	Nursing Home Administrator	Clinical Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Nursing home administrator vs clinical director demographics

Here are the differences between nursing home administrators' and clinical directors' demographics:

	Nursing Home Administrator	Clinical Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between nursing home administrator and clinical director duties and responsibilities

Nursing home administrator example responsibilities.

Manage the day to day operations of a LTC facility.
Achieve and maintain a 5 star quality facility as per CMS guidelines.
Lead a team in developing and implementing a new EMR system for patient registration.
Lead quality improvement initiatives and practices in change concepts and measurement strategies for improve health outcomes for long term care patients
Manage global security in WebSphere using LDAP authentication.
Manage billing procedures and negotiate third-party contracts including a federal Medicare and state Medicaid contracts.

Clinical director example responsibilities.

Develop distinctive ambulatory strategies to achieve and sustain competitive healthcare advantage.
Manage and assist with data collection and input for MDS.
Manage quality of documentation through education and electronic review of clinical processes utilizing HCHB EMR.
Manage front office, marketing, and communication -demonstrated/supervise exercises for patients -Developed instructional packets for home exercise programs
Manage projects and ambulatory system initiatives, and collaborate with system leadership teams to ensure EMR alignment with all regulatory requirements.
Experience in GCP, FDA audits, and regulatory guidance review and implementation.

Nursing home administrator vs clinical director skills

Common nursing home administrator skills

Nursing Home, 14%
Long-Term Care, 8%
Healthcare, 8%
Patients, 7%
NHA, 7%
Rehabilitation, 5%

Common clinical director skills

Patients, 18%
Patient Care, 11%
Physical Therapy, 5%
Social Work, 4%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Clinical Services, 3%

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Nursing Home Administrator
Nursing Home Administrator vs Clinical Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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