Chief medical officer vs executive director

The differences between chief medical officers and executive directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a chief medical officer, becoming an executive director takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a chief medical officer has an average salary of $228,710, which is higher than the $127,956 average annual salary of an executive director.

The top three skills for a chief medical officer include patients, CMO and oversight. The most important skills for an executive director are oversight, patients, and customer service.

Chief medical officer vs executive director overview

	Chief Medical Officer	Executive Director
Yearly salary	$228,710	$127,956
Hourly rate	$109.96	$61.52
Growth rate	28%	-8%
Number of jobs	109,855	97,471
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	47	49
Years of experience	6	4

What does a chief medical officer do?

A Chief Medical Officer monitors the staff and programs of the organization's medical and nursing programs. They work in a healthcare institution, such as a hospital or nursing home.

What does an executive director do?

Executive directors are top management employees who usually function as a chief executive officer. This role is usually seen in non-profit organizations. Executive directors provide strategic direction to the organization, and they ensure that the organization's goals are actualized. They provide guidance to the employees and ensure that the employees have the organization's advocacies at the center of every project or program. They oversee the policies of the organization and create strategies that will bring the organization's programs forward. Executive directors are also responsible for making crucial decisions for the betterment of the organization.

Chief medical officer vs executive director salary

Chief medical officers and executive directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Medical Officer	Executive Director
Average salary	$228,710	$127,956
Salary range	Between $138,000 And $377,000	Between $76,000 And $213,000
Highest paying City	Portland, OR	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	UnitedHealth Group	Genentech
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between chief medical officer and executive director education

There are a few differences between a chief medical officer and an executive director in terms of educational background:

	Chief Medical Officer	Executive Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Medicine	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Chief medical officer vs executive director demographics

Here are the differences between chief medical officers' and executive directors' demographics:

	Chief Medical Officer	Executive Director
Average age	47	49
Gender ratio	Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5%	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	10%

Differences between chief medical officer and executive director duties and responsibilities

Chief medical officer example 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.
Research radiology CME for experimental Alzheimer's drug
Develop and implement EHR base oncology relate risk assessments, documentation and interventions.

Executive director example responsibilities.

Manage 10 department heads who supervise a staff of 350 FTE's.
Develop and manage sales teams to assure the highest ROI on the client's investment.
Create and manage a call center for lead programs to support the prospecting activity needs of the FSR.
Freelance blogging to increase website views and ultimately to turn organic content into leads and ROI for small businesses.
Market and manage group and individual insurance programs including health, life, disability, long term care and annuities.
Major accomplishment are to achieve initial NAEYC accreditation.

Chief medical officer vs executive director skills

Common chief medical officer skills

Patients, 11%
CMO, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Quality Improvement, 6%
Health System, 5%
Population Health, 4%

Common executive director skills

Oversight, 10%
Patients, 9%
Customer Service, 5%
Financial Management, 5%
Business Development, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer vs Executive Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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