Practice administrator vs nursing director

The differences between practice administrators 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 practice administrator and a nursing director. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, which is higher than the $78,493 average annual salary of a practice administrator.

The top three skills for a practice administrator include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Practice administrator vs nursing director overview

	Practice Administrator	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$78,493	$87,643
Hourly rate	$37.74	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	75,986	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a practice administrator do?

A Practice Administrator is responsible for the daily activities of a medical facility. They prepare prescriptions for patients, provide leadership in developing and implementing business plans, and oversee the billing and collection processes of departments.

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.

Practice administrator vs nursing director salary

Practice administrators and nursing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Practice Administrator	Nursing Director
Average salary	$78,493	$87,643
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $109,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Osa	Oculus
Best paying industry	Professional	Health Care

Differences between practice administrator and nursing director education

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

	Practice Administrator	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Practice administrator vs nursing director demographics

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

	Practice Administrator	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 60.8% 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 practice administrator and nursing director duties and responsibilities

Practice administrator example responsibilities.

Lead the hospital through a successful CMS validation survey.
Manage multiple SharePoint sites by adding and editing accurate data for each team within the department.
Deploy, configure, and manage enterprise systems; monitoring, windows, linux, aws, vmware.
Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable activities using QuickBooks and online banking applications.
Compose monthly productivity reports, manage payroll; develop and implement policies & procedures.
Manage the overall operations of a large pediatric practice that provide services to a predominantly Medicaid population

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.

Practice administrator vs nursing director skills

Common practice administrator skills

Patients, 14%
Patient Care, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Practice Management, 4%
Oversight, 4%

Common nursing director skills

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

Practice Administrator vs. similar jobs

Practice Administrator related careers

Practice Administrator related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Practice Administrator
Practice Administrator vs Nursing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs