Unit supervisor vs unit manager

The differences between unit supervisors and unit managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a unit supervisor and a unit manager. Additionally, a unit manager has an average salary of $60,561, which is higher than the $48,749 average annual salary of a unit supervisor.

The top three skills for a unit supervisor include patients, corrective action and social work. The most important skills for a unit manager are quality care, patients, and federal regulations.

Unit supervisor vs unit manager overview

	Unit Supervisor	Unit Manager
Yearly salary	$48,749	$60,561
Hourly rate	$23.44	$29.12
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	37,120	366,932
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a unit supervisor do?

A unit supervisor oversees and supervises employees, ensuring that work operations adhere to standards, guidelines, timelines, and budget. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their industry or company of employment, they are typically in charge of conducting regular inspections and assessments, setting objectives and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among staff, and producing progress reports, submitting them to higher-ranking managers. Moreover, aside from leading teams to reach goals, a unit supervisor also trains new members of the workforce, provides technical support to staff, and resolves issues and concerns to maintain smooth operations.

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.

Unit supervisor vs unit manager salary

Unit supervisors and unit managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Unit Supervisor	Unit Manager
Average salary	$48,749	$60,561
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $78,000	Between $38,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	New Jersey
Best paying company	Berkshire Hathaway	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Finance

Differences between unit supervisor and unit manager education

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

	Unit Supervisor	Unit Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of Pennsylvania

Unit supervisor vs unit manager demographics

Here are the differences between unit supervisors' and unit managers' demographics:

	Unit Supervisor	Unit Manager
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4%	Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	8%	10%

Differences between unit supervisor and unit manager duties and responsibilities

Unit supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
Document patient information and recording information correctly, as well as ensuring other workers are following OSHA and HIPAA requirements.
Attend weekly QA collaboration meetings and actively participate in discussions.
Utilize Kaizen activities to drive continuous process and quality improvements.
Submit MDS assessments to CMS timely and organize documentation for timely filing.
Evaluate admissions for Medicare/ Medicaid eligibility; prepare MDS and PPS documentation.

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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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Unit supervisor vs unit manager skills

Common unit supervisor skills

Patients, 11%
Corrective Action, 10%
Social Work, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Conflict Resolution, 6%
Direct Supervision, 6%

Common unit manager skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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