It’s just like how it sounds : a medical director directs a medical practice. These individuals are responsible for the daily clinical care that goes on. In large organizations, there may be multiple medical directors; one for each division. For example, a Medical Director of Infectious Disease or Medical Director of Family Practice.
You can also be a Medical Director for a nursing home in which you would be responsible for the residents that live there and for all of the nursing care given there. A Medical Director of a pharmaceutical company may lead a team toward development of a drug or through a regulatory process. I even found a Medical Director position for a medical education company that develops CME content.
The median compensation for physician executives in a Medical Director role is $251,000. However, the pay varies widely. Here are a few examples of actual salaries of medical directors :
- Robert Spence, Medical Director at Good Samaritan Hospital – $313.799
- Thomas Graham, Medical Director at Union Memorial Hospital – $750,844
- Dr. Gilbert Kilman – Medical Director at Epocrates – $102,074
- Dr. Frances Fergusson – Medical Director at Pfizer – $209,940
The must-haves for this position is your MD/DO degree, clinical experience, and management experience. The amount of years required for experience can range from 3 years to 7+ years. If you are looking for a pharmaceutical medical director role, these positions also require research related experience.
Medical Directors are involved more closely with clinical care than upper-level executives. Their position requires good management skills combined with sound clinical knowledge. It can be a very rewarding experience to lead a close team of healthcare professionals at the point of care. Or if you prefer pharmaceuticals or educational, you’ll work with a diverse group of people.
Sources
NonClinicalJobs.com, “Medical/Scientific Director for a CME Company in Newtown, PA”
Forbes.com, “Gilbert Kilman”
Forbes.com, “Framces Fergusson”
Health Cost Services Review Commission, “IRS 990 Compensation Summary of the Maryland Hospital Industry’s Top 5 Paid People Per Hospital
ACPE, “2009 Physician Executive Compensation Survey”
