How To Become A Chief Medical Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chief medical officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A chief medical officer oversees and coordinates the medical activities and functions of a healthcare organization. They ensure that healthcare services meet standards and remain safe, effective, and efficient. The chief medical officer works with executives to develop policies and strategies that align with the organization's goals. They also collaborate with healthcare providers to improve patient care, manage risk, and control costs. They possess strong leadership, communication, and analytical skills.

ScoreChief Medical OfficerUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $228,710

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.1

Growth Rate 28%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 8.13%

Black or African American 11.34%

Hispanic or Latino 14.67%

Unknown 4.27%

White 60.86%

Gender

female 35.49%

male 64.51%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Chief Medical Officer?

Pros

Competitive salary and benefits
Ability to implement innovative solutions to healthcare challenges
Exposure to diverse areas of medicine and healthcare administration
Potential for career advancement within healthcare leadership
Opportunity for personal and professional development

Cons

Long hours and demanding workload
Risk of burnout due to high workload and responsibility
Limited time for direct patient care or clinical research
Risk of legal or ethical issues arising from decisions made
Potential for negative impact on work-life balance

Key steps to become a chief medical officer

Explore chief medical officer education requirements

Most common chief medical officer degrees

Bachelor's

42.6 %

Doctorate

20.5 %

Master's

18.8 %

Start to develop specific chief medical officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	10.91%
CMO	7.43%
Oversight	6.57%
Quality Improvement	5.61%
Health System	4.79%

Complete relevant chief medical officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chief medical officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chief medical officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chief medical officer resumes.

Gain additional chief medical officer certifications

Chief medical officer certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific chief medical officer certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for chief medical officers include Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine.

More About Certifications

Research chief medical officer duties and responsibilities

Manage patients with general medical illnesses focusing particularly on prevention and family.
Lead efforts to support and continually improve the coordination and delivery of oncology services using evidence base guidelines.
Involve in the preoperative, operative, and postoperative (ICU and ward) care of the patients.
Collaborate with software developer to customize Ob-Gyn functionality with new EMR, and facilitate its implementation and adaption in all divisions.

Get chief medical officer experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a chief medical officer. The most common roles before becoming a chief medical officer include medical director, physician team lead and medical officer.

Prepare your chief medical officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chief medical officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chief medical officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Chief Medical Officer Resume templates

Build a professional Chief Medical Officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Chief Medical Officer resume.