Patient care manager vs nursing director

The differences between patient care managers and nursing 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 patient care manager and a nursing director. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, 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 a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Patient care manager vs nursing director overview

	Patient Care Manager	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$65,369	$87,643
Hourly rate	$31.43	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	123,652	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 44%
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 a nursing director do?

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.

Patient care manager vs nursing director salary

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

	Patient Care Manager	Nursing Director
Average salary	$65,369	$87,643
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $117,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Accenture	Oculus
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient care manager and nursing director education

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

	Patient Care Manager	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Patient care manager vs nursing director demographics

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

	Patient Care Manager	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
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, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between patient care manager and nursing director 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.

Nursing director example responsibilities.

Manage FTE'S of the units.
Manage FTE numbers by following staffing grids.
Lead in the implementation of whole house telemetry.
Manage and provide inpatient nursing care for all aspects of general surgery.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of nursing and ancillary services for successful operation of the SNF.
Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.

Patient care manager vs nursing director skills

Common patient care manager skills

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

Common nursing director skills

Patients, 16%
Term Care, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Infection Control, 5%

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Patient Care Manager
Patient Care Manager vs Nursing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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