Chief resident vs department director

The differences between chief residents and department directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a chief resident and a department director. Additionally, a department director has an average salary of $97,804, which is higher than the $79,226 average annual salary of a chief resident.

The top three skills for a chief resident include residency program, patients and internal medicine. The most important skills for a department director are patient care, patients, and healthcare.

Chief resident vs department director overview

	Chief Resident	Department Director
Yearly salary	$79,226	$97,804
Hourly rate	$38.09	$47.02
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	18,403	73,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

Chief resident vs department director salary

Chief residents and department directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Resident	Department Director
Average salary	$79,226	$97,804
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $123,000	Between $64,000 And $148,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	New Jersey
Best paying company	Tufts Medical Center	Anna Jaques Hospital
Best paying industry	Education	Finance

Differences between chief resident and department director education

There are a few differences between a chief resident and a department director in terms of educational background:

	Chief Resident	Department Director
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Medicine	Business
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of Pennsylvania

Chief resident vs department director demographics

Here are the differences between chief residents' and department directors' demographics:

	Chief Resident	Department Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8%	Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 7.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between chief resident and department director duties and responsibilities

Chief resident example responsibilities.

Manage medically compromise patients under intravenous sedation and general anesthesia.
Manage resident and facility accounts, budgets, social security applications, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Provide multidisciplinary care for patients with special needs and complex medical histories.
Revise existing and draft new hospital policies in the areas of radiology safety and privately own medical equipment.
Perform audits of pharmaceuticals and control substances ensuring that foreign pharmaceutical purchases meet FDA requirements.

Department director example responsibilities.

Manage and direct bureau operations, and provide oversight of criminal investigations of statewide importance.
Establish and develop relationships with ERP and consulting vendors with the goal of maximizing comparative advantage and cost efficient solution development.
Ensure compliance with all CMS regulations.
Provide public education in the areas of fire department capabilities and history as well as CPR classes.
Follow up and coordination of rehabilitation services.
Cross-Train pre-operative and PACU staff to optimize efficiency.

Chief resident vs department director skills

Common chief resident skills

Residency Program, 22%
Patients, 16%
Internal Medicine, 11%
Oral Surgery, 8%
Outpatient Clinic, 7%
Emergency Medicine, 5%

Common department director skills

Patient Care, 15%
Patients, 14%
Healthcare, 13%
Oversight, 8%
Human Resources, 5%
Payroll, 4%

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Chief Resident vs Department Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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