Patient care manager vs assistant director of nursing

The differences between patient care managers and assistant directors of nursing can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a patient care manager and an assistant director of nursing. Additionally, an assistant director of nursing has an average salary of $82,674, which is higher than the $65,369 average annual salary of a patient care manager.

The top three skills for a patient care manager include home health, patients and quality care. The most important skills for an assistant director of nursing are patients, term care, and CPR.

Patient care manager vs assistant director of nursing overview

	Patient Care Manager	Assistant Director Of Nursing
Yearly salary	$65,369	$82,674
Hourly rate	$31.43	$39.75
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	123,652	118,347
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 47%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a patient care manager do?

Patient care managers are executives who are in charge of supervising a clinical team. The managers take responsibility for directing patient care within an organization. Also called health care managers, they protect every patient's safety and health in a clinical setting. They interact with the healthcare team members to maintain open communication. It is also part of their duties to supervise the daily operations in the clinical care units. Managing clinical budgets and maintaining quality health services are also their responsibilities.

What does an assistant director of nursing do?

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.

Patient care manager vs assistant director of nursing salary

Patient care managers and assistant directors of nursing have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Care Manager	Assistant Director Of Nursing
Average salary	$65,369	$82,674
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $117,000	Between $61,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Accenture	Waters
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between patient care manager and assistant director of nursing education

There are a few differences between a patient care manager and an assistant director of nursing in terms of educational background:

	Patient Care Manager	Assistant Director Of Nursing
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 47%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Patient care manager vs assistant director of nursing demographics

Here are the differences between patient care managers' and assistant directors of nursing' demographics:

	Patient Care Manager	Assistant Director Of Nursing
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%	Male, 11.5% Female, 88.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.6% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between patient care manager and assistant director of nursing duties and responsibilities

Patient care manager example responsibilities.

Manage complicated cases involving serious injuries, medical evacuations, cruise ship disembarkation, and repatriation of remains with compassion.
Direct oversight of all case management and education relate to chronic disease and primary care management.
Utilize resources such as financial and pharmacy assistance for uninsure patients to receive professional medical care upon discharge.
Prevent unnecessary hospital admissions using keen assessment skills and redirecting to PCP's office when appropriate.
Ensure compliance both with HIPAA and CMS, to include all audits and enrollments via Medicare.
Plant and maintain flower beds such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, and pruning.

Assistant director of nursing example responsibilities.

Manage care for all residents, ICF and SNF.
Evaluate operational performance consistently achieving excellent JCAHO accreditation.
Assist with managing daily facility operations, including patient care, staff supervision and logistical oversight.
Work to ensure regulatory compliance by conduction mock surveys, interviewing patients and randomly assessing medical records.
Complete newly-required HCFA MDS, and coordinated/chair all interdisciplinary care plan meetings to maintain HCFA regulatory compliance.
Administer BLS training for license staff.

Patient care manager vs assistant director of nursing skills

Common patient care manager skills

Home Health, 15%
Patients, 12%
Quality Care, 8%
Social Work, 7%
Community Resources, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

Common assistant director of nursing skills

Patients, 17%
Term Care, 11%
CPR, 8%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Quality Care, 5%
Resident Care, 5%

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Patient Care Manager vs Assistant Director Of Nursing

Updated January 8, 2025

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