Registered nurse managers are the frontliners of all the nursing staff and supervise them. Besides guiding nurses, these natural-born leaders try to adopt new practices and creative ideas to improve the organization or facility. They are the primary bridge between upper-level management and lower-level staff.

They don't just have a single role to play; they have to deliver the best patient care and collaborate with physicians and other medical specialists to treat patients' well-being. Plus, they make budgetary and management decisions, set work schedules, and coordinate meetings. They have double duties to perform, one of the patients and another of the nursing staff.

It is a highly paid job that enables you to make $32.00 per hour, making exactly $66,554 in one year. With a growth rate of 12%, it demands 40 working hours every week. So, if you want to choose a registered nurse manager as a profession, get a bachelor's or an associate degree in nursing. You should also try to develop some leading, health, and patient care skills.

What Does a Registered Nurse Manager Do

There are certain skills that many registered nurse managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed compassion, emotional stability and organizational skills.

Learn more about what a Registered Nurse Manager does

How To Become a Registered Nurse Manager

If you're interested in becoming a registered nurse manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 38.4% of registered nurse managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.1% of registered nurse managers have master's degrees. Even though some registered nurse managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Registered Nurse Manager Job Description

Nurse managers are licensed healthcare professionals who are in charge of overseeing the nursing department, or at least a group of nurses, in a healthcare facility. They may be assigned to a specific area or nursing department where they will handle administrative activities such as budget management and manpower scheduling, aside from their nursing duties.

Learn more about Registered Nurse Manager Job Description

Registered Nurse Manager Career Paths

Average Salary for a Registered Nurse Manager

Registered Nurse Managers in America make an average salary of $74,459 per year or $36 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $101,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $54,000 per year.
Average Registered Nurse Manager Salary
$74,459 Yearly
$35.80 hourly

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Roles and Types of Registered Nurse Manager

There are several types of registered nurse manager, including:

Registered Nurse Case Manager

Role:

Registered nurse case managers work in hospitals and clinics. They are responsible for overseeing the work of nurses at the facility. They plan and supervise the implementation of appropriate care for patients and assist in exams and evaluations of the patients' conditions.

This is not an entry-level position. RN case managers typically have years of experience on the job as nurses, in addition to holding a nursing degree. Due to the complex set of responsibilities and tough patient care decisions that come with it, this position can be quite overwhelming. If you are really good at your job as an RN case manager, you will get the privilege to do everyone else's work, too.

As opposed to the rotating shifts of nurses, though, RN case managers usually work regular hours in 8-hour shifts. Their average annual salary is around $64,000, potentially reaching as much as $83,370, if you have the highest qualifications and most relevant experience.

  • Average Salary: $72,815
  • Degree: Associate Degree

Registered Nurse Supervisor

Role:

Everyone knows how important registered nurses are. But the better-kept secret is registered nurse supervisors. If you think registered nurses are life-savers and hard-workers, you clearly have not met a registered nurse supervisor.

These supervisors have all the same responsibilities as a registered nurse, and then some. They're compassionate toward patients and provide support for them and their families. But registered nurse supervisors are also organized. They have to be in order to assign shifts to the nursing staff.

Between comforting patients, leading your staff through crisis and managing budgets, you won't have a lot of time left over for yourself. RN supervisors work crazy hours so be prepared for that. Luckily, RN supervisors are needed throughout the entire country so you shouldn't have a tough time finding a job.

  • Average Salary: $74,174
  • Degree: Associate Degree

Nurse Manager

Role:

Nurse managers function as a link between patient care and hospital administration. With both clinical expertise and leadership skills, they are responsible for supervising nursing staff in healthcare establishments, creating work schedules, and coordinating bedside care. They make decisions regarding the budget as well, promote or hire personnel, and perform other managerial duties.

Nurse managers are energetic and mission-driven professionals who have a huge capacity for empathy not only for patients but for staff members as well, while being able to keep clear emotional boundaries. Balancing on this thin line, they walk at least 5 miles every day, taking their almost two-millennia-old profession to the next level.

Demand for competent nurse managers is on the rise, as around 500,000 registered nurses are predicted to retire over the next ten years. As a nurse manager, you will make $79,725 per year on average, with salaries reaching up to $108,478 in higher paced intensive care units.

  • Average Salary: $83,684
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Registered Nurse Manager Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active registered nurse manager jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where registered nurse managers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Registered Nurse Manager Jobs By State

Registered Nurse Manager Education

Registered Nurse Manager Majors

84.5 %

Registered Nurse Manager Degrees

Associate

47.8 %

Bachelors

38.4 %

Masters

7.1 %

Top Colleges for Registered Nurse Managers

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

5. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

7. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

10. Chamberlain College of Nursing - Arlington

Arlington, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$19,375

Enrollment

506

Top Skills For a Registered Nurse Manager

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.1% of registered nurse managers listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as compassion and emotional stability are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Registered Nurse Manager Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Registered Nurse Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Registered Nurse Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Registered Nurse Manager diversity

Registered Nurse Manager Gender Distribution

Female
Female
90%
Male
Male
10%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among registered nurse managers, 89.7% of them are women, while 10.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among registered nurse managers is White, which makes up 66.0% of all registered nurse managers.

  • The most common foreign language among registered nurse managers is Spanish at 67.0%.

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Best States For a Registered Nurse Manager

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a registered nurse manager. The best states for people in this position are California, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Nevada. Registered nurse managers make the most in California with an average salary of $115,446. Whereas in Rhode Island and Hawaii, they would average $113,314 and $103,727, respectively. While registered nurse managers would only make an average of $95,013 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maine

Total Registered Nurse Manager Jobs: 1,537
Highest 10% Earn:
$122,000
Location Quotient:
1.52

2. New York

Total Registered Nurse Manager Jobs: 10,122
Highest 10% Earn:
$126,000
Location Quotient:
1.03

3. New Jersey

Total Registered Nurse Manager Jobs: 5,724
Highest 10% Earn:
$126,000
Location Quotient:
0.95
Full List Of Best States For Registered Nurse Managers

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Top Registered Nurse Manager Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ registered nurse managers and discovered their number of registered nurse manager opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Humana was the best, especially with an average salary of $81,017. Amedisys follows up with an average salary of $75,808, and then comes Banner Health with an average of $76,552. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a registered nurse manager. The employers include CVS Health, Aetna, and Humana

Most Common Employers For Registered Nurse Manager

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Aetna$98,872$47.5316
2Aya Healthcare$86,744$41.7017
3The Arora Group$83,472$40.1326
4Kaiser Permanente$82,505$39.6725
5Humana$81,017$38.95130
6Texas Health Resources$79,929$38.4319
7Kindred at Home$78,677$37.8322
8UCHealth$78,425$37.7015
9Banner Commercial$77,654$37.3325
10Veterans Health Administration$77,631$37.3217