Post job

What does a nursing services manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

A Nurse Manager is responsible for creating a safe and healthy environment that offers support to the present health care team and contributes to patient engagement. Their responsibilities include: ensuring standards of care are maintained, supervising nursing staff within the given setting, making management and budget-related decisions, aligning functions with the organization's goals and visions coming up with the work schedule overseeing the patients' healthcare.

On this page

Nursing services manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real nursing services manager resumes:

  • Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.
  • Monitor inpatient charts for JCAHO standards.
  • Assume all responsibilities of directing complete payroll department.
  • Transfer patients to vehicles following procedures via ambulating assistance or via wheelchair.
  • Provide education to field personnel about payroll and tax information for personnel living overseas.
  • Implement emergency department fast track system reducing length of stay for patients with lower acuity illness/injury.
  • Establish strong relationships with physicians, nursing and other ally healthcare staff to generate quality respiratory services.
  • Developed/Implement oncology relate policies and procedures.
  • Initiate and calculate iv drip medications order by physician.
  • Developed/Implement oncology relate policies and procedures.

Nursing services manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 27% of Nursing Services Managers are proficient in Patients, Acute Care, and Surgery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Nursing Services Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 27%

    Implemented emergency department fast track system reducing length of stay for patients with lower acuity illness/injury.

  • Acute Care, 8%

    Provide supervision for Social Work/ Counseling staff on 2 acute care units and behavioral health emergency department.

  • Surgery, 6%

    Received battle injured US and Coalition troops into the operating room for life saving trauma surgery.

  • Quality Patient Care, 5%

    Implemented an upgraded endoscopy system to provide quality patient care for the department.

  • Patient Safety, 4%

    Monitored budget variances and prioritized capital purchasing needs in relation to patient safety and evidence based practice.

  • CPR, 4%

    Demonstrated CPR and obtained certification.

"patients," "acute care," and "surgery" are among the most common skills that nursing services managers use at work. You can find even more nursing services manager responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a nursing services manager to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Additionally, a nursing services manager resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "developed algorithms, comparison charts, swot analysis + in-house in-services to strengthen patient care processes. "

Communication skills. Many nursing services manager duties rely on communication skills. "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents.," so a nursing services manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways nursing services manager responsibilities rely on communication skills: "created operational material sheet to increase communication and awareness of iv nurse service's product offerings. "

Detail oriented. nursing services managers are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to nursing services manager responsibilities, because "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." A nursing services manager resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "direct and supervise staff with emphasis on goal oriented outcomes on state and federal regulations. "

Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for a nursing services manager to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what nursing services managers relies on this skill, since "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." How this skill relates to nursing services manager duties can be seen in an example from a nursing services manager resume snippet: "work and communicate very well with clients and their families.skills usedleadership, compassion, organization, team-work, reliability, honesty. "

Technical skills. While "technical skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to nursing services manager responsibilities. Much of what a nursing services manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of nursing services managers: "perform technical nursing procedures according to facility and state regulations after demonstration of competency. "

See the full list of nursing services manager skills

Choose from 10+ customizable nursing services manager resume templates

Build a professional nursing services manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your nursing services manager resume.
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume
Nursing Services Manager Resume

Compare different nursing services managers

Nursing services manager vs. Medical director

A medical director is responsible for handling the overall supervision of different medical departments, managing the coordination between medical teams to ensure smooth operations and achieve high-quality care services for the patients. Medical directors enforce strict guidelines and safety measures for everyone's adherence. They also implement medical care programs, recruit medical staff, inspect the adequacy of medical equipment, respond to patient's inquiries and concerns, and oversee the facilities' procedures. A medical director manages the budget of the department, allocating equal resources to address every need.

The annual salary of medical directors is $136,979 higher than the average salary of nursing services managers.Even though nursing services managers and medical directors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, surgery, and patient safety in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a nursing services manager are more likely to require skills like "acute care," "quality patient care," "cpr," and "infection control." On the other hand, a job as a medical director requires skills like "medical services," "utilization review," "appeals," and "internal medicine." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Medical directors tend to make the most money working in the insurance industry, where they earn an average salary of $242,668. In contrast, nursing services managers make the biggest average salary, $140,849, in the non profits industry.medical directors tend to reach similar levels of education than nursing services managers. In fact, medical directors are 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 27.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Nursing services manager vs. Assistant director of nursing

An assistant director of nursing is responsible for administering quality care services for patients, supervising nursing activities, and ensuring the patients' comfort under the supervision of the director of nursing. Assistant directors of nursing assist with nursing staff training, distributing shift schedules, developing comprehensive nursing care plans, handling expense reports, identifying areas of improvement with the staff performance, and securing patients' medical charts for reference. An assistant director of nursing must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling patients' medical needs.

Assistant director of nursing positions earn lower pay than nursing services manager roles. They earn a $10,664 lower salary than nursing services managers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both nursing services managers and assistant directors of nursing have skills such as "patients," "cpr," and "home health. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that nursing services manager responsibilities requires skills like "acute care," "surgery," "quality patient care," and "patient safety." But an assistant director of nursing might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "term care," "quality care," "resident care," and "customer service."

Assistant directors of nursing earn a lower average salary than nursing services managers. But assistant directors of nursing earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $85,610. Additionally, nursing services managers earn the highest salaries in the non profits with average pay of $140,849 annually.assistant directors of nursing earn lower levels of education than nursing services managers in general. They're 11.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 27.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Nursing services manager vs. Clinical director

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.

An average clinical director eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of nursing services managers. The difference in salaries amounts to clinical directors earning a $3,159 higher average salary than nursing services managers.Using the responsibilities included on nursing services managers and clinical directors resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "home health," and "rehabilitation.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from nursing services manager resumes include skills like "acute care," "surgery," "quality patient care," and "patient safety," whereas a clinical director is more likely to list skills in "physical therapy," "social work," "clinical services," and "autism. "

Clinical directors earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $79,166. Comparatively, nursing services managers have the highest earning potential in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $140,849.When it comes to education, clinical directors tend to earn higher degree levels compared to nursing services managers. In fact, they're 13.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 9.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Nursing services manager vs. Interim director

An interim director is responsible for supporting business operations, organizing training, as well as specific department programs for staff to maximize their productivity and improve optimal performance to meet project deliverables and achieve client satisfaction. Interim directors coordinate with the management and board executives on corporate decisions, implementing company guidelines and procedures, and identifying business opportunities to generate more revenues and profitability. They also analyze financial statements and business transactions, developing strategies to reduce expenses and minimize loss without sacrificing the organization's quality services.

Interim directors typically earn higher pay than nursing services managers. On average, interim directors earn a $10,804 higher salary per year.While both nursing services managers and interim directors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like acute care, surgery, and patient safety, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "patients," "quality patient care," "cpr," and "home health" are skills that commonly show up on nursing services manager resumes. On the other hand, interim directors use skills like healthcare, oversight, financial management, and bed facility on their resumes.interim directors enjoy the best pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $110,000. For comparison, nursing services managers earn the highest salary in the non profits industry.interim directors reach similar levels of education compared to nursing services managers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of nursing services manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse executive management jobs