Unit manager vs staff nurse

The differences between unit managers and staff nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a unit manager, becoming a staff nurse takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a staff nurse has an average salary of $68,342, which is higher than the $60,561 average annual salary of a unit manager.

The top three skills for a unit manager include quality care, patients and federal regulations. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Unit manager vs staff nurse overview

	Unit Manager	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$60,561	$68,342
Hourly rate	$29.12	$32.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	366,932	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	2

What does a unit manager do?

Unit managers are responsible for managing the nursing unit. They primarily supervise the daily care of patients and ensure quality patient care. Usually, they perform tasks like evaluating staff performance, conducting orientation for new staff, and training new members. Also, they manage schedules, minimize expenditures, and enforce health as well as safety regulations. Unit managers are registered nursing professionals with an undergraduate or graduate degree. They are honest, adaptable, and analytical professionals with strong management and leadership skills and relevant experience in nursing and patient assessment.

What does a staff nurse do?

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

Unit manager vs staff nurse salary

Unit managers and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Unit Manager	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$60,561	$68,342
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $96,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	Microsoft	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between unit manager and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between a unit manager and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Unit Manager	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Unit manager vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between unit managers' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Unit Manager	Staff Nurse
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between unit manager and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Unit manager example responsibilities.

Develop corporate culture utilizing skills attain through ERP and TQM management training.
Set and achieve goal of entire staff certification in ACLS and EKG interpretation.
Manage departmental resources, staffing plans, KPIs, strategic initiatives, and budget.
Enhance scheduling visibility to reduce age work-in-progress (WIP) and achieve EBIT goal.
Lead and manage the delivery of patient-care to a 50 patient unit in a LTC facility.
Achieve all major milestones in preparation for major ERP system upgrade and cultural change for organization.

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Staff nurse example responsibilities.

Manage and further help stabilize elective and urgent care surgical patients in their post-operative/post PACU admission to the floor.
Accomplish extensive critical care course with EKG interpretation and yearly critical care medication exam.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Participate in discharge planning including teaching family members and patients wind care and medication administration process after discharge.
Provide direct nursing care to patients in a variety of settings with an emphasis in critical care and PACU settings.
Prepare patients for surgery and endoscopy procedures including initiating intravenous lines, physical assessments and administering medications.

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Unit manager vs staff nurse skills

Common unit manager skills

Quality Care, 17%
Patients, 10%
Federal Regulations, 8%
Resident Care, 8%
Customer Service, 6%
Compassion, 4%

Common staff nurse skills

Patients, 28%
BLS, 9%
CPR, 6%
Acls, 5%
Acute Care, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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