How to become a successful nurse manager

For nurses wanting to take their career to the next level, becoming a nurse manager is a top option to explore.

Jobs in this field are in high demand. They offer interesting and varied work, with salaries reaching six figures. You can enjoy flexible working conditions and find many roles, both specialised and generalist, in hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Nurse managers also benefit from strong career progression opportunities, with access to professional development, structured training and clear pathways for advancement within the healthcare sector.

Let’s take a closer look at this very achievable career path for those already qualified and working in nursing.

Understanding the role of a nurse manager

Nurse managers hold a crucial role within the healthcare system, acting as the backbone of health service units and sub-units across hospitals, aged care, and community health care facilities.

Their primary responsibility is to supervise nursing staff and ensure the delivery of safe, cost-effective nursing care to patients. This involves not only overseeing day-to-day operations but also managing financial resources to maintain the provision of high-quality, effective nursing care.

In aged care and community health settings, nurse managers are instrumental in coordinating care and community health initiatives, ensuring that both nursing and support staff are equipped to meet the unique needs of their patient populations.

They are responsible for upholding clinical standards and fostering the professional development of nurses, ensuring that all team members are up to date with the latest best practices and standards in nursing care.

By monitoring quality and maintaining rigorous standards and professional development programs, nurse managers help create an environment where safe, cost-effective nursing is the norm. Their leadership ensures that health service units operate efficiently, resources are allocated wisely and the highest standards of patient care are consistently met.

Whether in hospitals, aged care or community health care facilities, nurse managers are essential to the ongoing improvement and success of healthcare delivery.

Responsibilities, tasks and key skills for nurse managers

Nurse managers oversee the functioning of health service units in hospitals, clinics, community health care facilities and aged care providers. They are responsible for particular units and specified fields within healthcare facilities, ensuring effective management and oversight.

It’s a management role that includes supervising nursing staff and overseeing finances, logistics, technology, quality control, clinical standards, workplace policies and professional development.

Nurse managers are responsible for ensuring that their unit consistently provides the highest level of care possible and that services are both safe and cost-effective.

The day-to-day tasks of a nurse manager include:

• Assigning duties and rosters for nursing and support staff
• Developing overall goals and objectives for the unit
• Managing budgets, equipment and technology
• Supervising staff and assessing performance
• Ensuring compliance with legal and ethical codes and standards
• Developing and implementing policies, guidelines and procedures
• Overseeing records and data storage
• Identifying staff training needs and organising professional development
• Change management
• Monitoring quality and clinical standards

As you can see, nurse manager roles are quite different from other nursing positions, as they focus on leadership and administrative functions rather than clinical duties and provision of direct patient care.

Nurse managers belong to a unit group within official occupational classifications, with responsibilities that include ensuring clinical standards and professional development. They manage units and monitor quality to maintain high standards of care, overseeing units and monitoring quality clinical standards across their specified fields.

Why become a nurse manager?

There are many compelling reasons to pursue a rewarding career as a nurse manager.

• Strong job growth and demand for nurse managers in Australia
• Opportunities for career advancement and leadership roles
• Ability to make a positive impact on patient outcomes and staff development
• Competitive salaries and benefits
• Diverse work settings, including hospitals, aged care and community health

Nurse managers play a crucial role in ensuring quality patient care across various healthcare settings by upholding clinical standards and leading their teams effectively. Working within a supportive team environment allows nurse managers to collaborate with colleagues, foster professional growth and contribute to a positive workplace culture that benefits both staff and patients.

Shape healthcare policies and outcomes

Nurse management offers a natural career progression for experienced registered nurses (RNs) seeking to expand their expertise and make a broader impact on healthcare services, policies and patient outcomes. Nurse managers play a pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare by:

• Building evidence-based practice by evaluating and integrating new research
• Driving innovative solutions to improve care and efficiency, including emerging technologies
• Adapting services to complex and rapidly changing clinical situations, due to factors such as pandemics and the health impacts of climate change
• Making data-driven decisions
• Applying ethical and culturally responsive frameworks to build inclusive and equitable care policies and practices
• Mentoring nurses and other healthcare professionals

Through these contributions, nurse managers not only strengthen healthcare systems but also inspire meaningful change across clinical and organisational settings.

Join a highly in-demand profession

Several factors in the contemporary Australian healthcare landscape are driving a strong and increasing need for nurse managers.

A study by the Department of Health and Aged Care predicts that supply and demand issues impacting the nursing workforce will lead to a shortfall of over 70,000 nurses by 2035. This prediction is further supported by data sourced from the Labour Force Survey and Jobs and Skills Australia, which highlight significant critical shortages in sectors such as acute care, primary healthcare, aged care, and in regional and rural areas.

The demand for nursing staff is rapidly increasing, driven by our ageing population, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and the ongoing evolution of healthcare systems and technology. These factors are also creating a critical need for continuous upskilling through health and education providers.

However, the availability of qualified nurses is on the decline. This shortage is largely due to several factors, including post-pandemic burnout prompting many nurses to leave the profession, a drop in nursing course enrollments and a growing shift away from permanent roles in favour of more flexible casual and contract positions.

These factors add to a growing demand for experienced and specialised nurses to step up into managerial and leadership roles, and to supervise and mentor junior nursing staff entering the profession. Seek, for example, predicts job growth of over 23 per cent for Nurse Unit Managers over the next five years.

Personal and professional benefits

There are numerous benefits to pursuing a career as a nurse manager, including:

• Strong and enduring job and development opportunities for nurse leaders of all ages and backgrounds, with nurses comprising over 54 per cent of Australia’s healthcare workforce
• Excellent earning prospects, with nurse managers earning an annual median salary of over $120,000, and over $137,000 for senior and specialised roles
• Scope for part-time and flexible work, with 23 per cent of nurse managers in part-time roles nationally

What skills are necessary for a nurse manager?

Nurse managers need a combination of soft skills and professional expertise, with specialised roles generally requiring more specific training and experience.

The most important soft skills for nurse managers, who work with a diverse range of stakeholders in sensitive, and often complex and stressful situations, include:

• Communication: The sharing of information between people, including verbal and non-verbal interactions, listening skills and the provision of feedback
• Critical thinking: The ability to analyse information and ideas, consider different perspectives, and make reasoned and logical judgements
• Problem-solving: Includes defining problems, understanding their cause, and developing and implementing acceptable solutions, often requiring creative thinking
• Adaptability: The capacity to adjust and work with evolving circumstances and conditions, such as changes in policy, technology, processes, and new and different situations—such as pandemics and natural disasters
• Resilience: The ability to overcome and “bounce back” from difficult experiences, including the capacity to reflect on and integrate learnings from these situations

These skills are usually developed via a combination of personal growth and work experience. Formal study also helps, as lectures, assignments, group work and practical placements can exercise and advance them.

Two other vital skills for nurse managers are leadership and clinical expertise. These are usually gained through a combination of professional experience and advanced study. The skills required should be commensurate with the level of responsibility and qualification held by the nurse manager.

Leadership involves setting clear goals, influencing and directing people, and formulating action plans and evaluation frameworks to deliver outcomes. It requires a broad toolbox of skills and personal attributes, including confidence, courage, empathy, the capacity to build trust and the soft skills described above.

Many of these abilities can be developed in the workplace through employee training courses, “acting” supervisory roles and promotions, and postgraduate study in relevant disciplines.

Clinical expertise is also essential for many nursing leadership roles, covering general and specialised nursing services.

This can be gained through advanced study and work experience across a wide range of specialisation areas including paediatrics, aged care, oncology, mental health, emergency, critical care, surgery and midwifery.

Steps to becoming a successful nurse manager

The pathway to becoming a nurse manager can be completed in a reasonably short timeframe while working in nursing either full-time or part-time. We’ll break this down into achievable steps below.

Step 1: Obtain a bachelor's degree and become a practising registered nurse (RN)

Becoming an RN and practising as a nurse are mandatory prerequisites for progressing into nurse management. The first step is completing a Bachelor of Nursing, which is usually a three-year degree in one of the programs of study approved by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

For those with a bachelor’s degree in another field, the nursing degree requirement can be met via an approved graduate entry Master of Nursing course. For internationally qualified nurses, there is also a recently fast-tracked procedure to gain Australian registration.

After successfully completing a nursing degree, applicants can apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and AHPRA.

Additional registration criteria include passing a criminal history check, meeting English language requirements and committing to obtaining professional indemnity insurance.

Note that registration must be renewed annually, which requires demonstrating recency of practice and completing continuing professional development (CPD).

Step 2: Acquire experience and build leadership skills

Once registered, RNs can begin building the broad base of professional work experience that’s required to move into a career as a nurse manager. This can be obtained by working with different kinds of healthcare providers, such as various units in hospitals, clinics and community agencies, as well as across the range of specialised nursing areas.

There are many ways to develop the leadership skills and experience needed for nurse management roles, including:

• Actively seeking workplace or community group leadership opportunities, such as spearheading projects and “acting” management roles
• Choosing CPD modules and training courses that focus on leadership, risk management or fiscal management monitoring
• Mentoring new nurses and nursing students
• Self-guided research (such as online articles, free courses or video tutorials) on leadership topics, like leadership styles and human resource management
• Taking on volunteer leadership roles, for example, in community sports teams or non-profit boards and committees

Step 3: Advance your education

A postgraduate degree such as UTS Online’s Master of Advanced Nursing can provide you with the competitive edge needed to secure fulfilling and lucrative nurse manager roles. It can open doors to leadership and specialised positions, resulting in both greater professional satisfaction and improved patient outcomes.

This degree provides advanced practice knowledge, as well as leadership and management training. Core subjects develop skills and expertise in evidence-based, innovative, and specialised practice and leadership capabilities for high-quality and safe healthcare services.

You can choose from three specialisation pathways: acute care, chronic and complex care, and critical care, or undertake a general core pathway with selected electives to meet your individual career objectives.

There is also a range of relevant scholarships available, which are well worth researching. For example, in early 2025, NSW Health offered grants of up to $10,000 to support postgraduate study for RNs working in their services.

Other options are periodically available through the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre as well as various hospitals and government departments.

Step 4: Network with other nurse leaders

Seeking mentorship and career guidance from current nurse managers and healthcare leaders is also a valuable strategy for advancing your nursing leadership career. This can be achieved through workplace networks, joining professional organisations, attending industry workshops and conferences, and university courses.

UTS Online’s Master of Advanced Nursing has strong links with healthcare industry partners and is led by academics with in-depth research and industry experience.

The mentoring relationships and networks that you can build through postgraduate study are important resources in expanding your career horizons, both now and in the future.

Step 5: Stay updated on best practices

Setting professional goals and keeping up to date with the latest research and developments in nursing care is vital in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, particularly in leadership roles.

Resources such as nursing journals and webinars can help you stay informed, and postgraduate study can guide you in navigating the vast range of publications available.

This includes learning to identify, appraise and synthesise cutting-edge research and to champion the translation of evidence into clinical practice.

Empowering your journey in nursing leadership

UTS Online’s Master of Advanced Nursing is designed for nurses who want to drive better health outcomes through person-centred, evidence-based care across diverse healthcare settings.

Gain the tools and skills you need to confidently advance your career as a nurse manager by upskilling with Australia’s number one university for academic reputation in nursing and midwifery.

The Master of Advanced Nursing is perfect for busy nurses, with the course being flexible and delivered 100% online. It can be completed in as little as two years and offers unparalleled support and mentoring from our Student Success Advisors and experienced academic staff.

The course also has multiple entry and exit points to enable flexible pathways and ensure that your study can be tailored to meet your goals. Options include:

Graduate Certificate in Advanced Nursing
Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing
Graduate Certificate in Critical Care
Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education

Ready to step up and lead the next generation of nurses? Elevate your skills and opportunities with UTS Online’s Master of Advanced Nursing.

Get in touch with our Student Enrolment Advisors today on 1300 477 423 to discover more.