What does a chief resident do?
Chief resident responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief resident resumes:
- 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.
Chief resident skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Chief Residents are proficient in Residency Program, Patients, and Internal Medicine. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Leadership skills, and Technical skills.
We break down the percentage of Chief Residents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Residency Program, 22%
Established and expanded ER Residency program at Jordan University Hospital from 1 Resident to 20 in four years.
- Patients, 16%
Trained 7 first-year dental residents to become proficient with dental emergency treatment and manage medically-complex patients.
- Internal Medicine, 11%
United States Internal Medicine Vihren Dimitrov Vihren Dimitrov
- Oral Surgery, 8%
General Practice Resident focused on Intravenous Conscious Sedation, Periodontics and Oral Surgery.
- Outpatient Clinic, 7%
Direct patient care and responsibilities for adults and children in both outpatient clinic settings and inpatient hospital consults.
- Emergency Medicine, 5%
Authored case report on drug-drug interactions with nortriptyline published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Most chief residents use their skills in "residency program," "patients," and "internal medicine" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chief resident responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a chief resident to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Chief residents often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "participated in data collection for benchmarking and analysis of university-wide programs (highest participation rate university-wide, 2004)"
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling chief resident duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." According to a chief resident resume, here's how chief residents can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "provided leadership and support to the pediatric residency program and its mission. "
Technical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of chief residents is technical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday chief resident duties, as "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "perform various service and routine technical duties necessary to provide for the comfort, care, and safety of handicapped patients. "
Detail oriented. For certain chief resident responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "detail oriented." The day-to-day duties of a chief resident rely on this skill, as "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what chief residents do: "created an emr report document detailing the usage and benefits of over 40 cerner reports. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a chief resident to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what chief residents relies on this skill, since "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." How this skill relates to chief resident duties can be seen in an example from a chief resident resume snippet: "enhance communications and act as a liaison between residents, staff, and program administrative staff. "
The three companies that hire the most chief residents are:
- Universal Health Services2 chief residents jobs
- Trinity Health2 chief residents jobs
- HealthTrust1 chief residents jobs
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Chief resident vs. Interim director
An interim director is responsible for supporting business operations, organizing training, as well as specific department programs for staff to maximize their productivity and improve optimal performance to meet project deliverables and achieve client satisfaction. Interim directors coordinate with the management and board executives on corporate decisions, implementing company guidelines and procedures, and identifying business opportunities to generate more revenues and profitability. They also analyze financial statements and business transactions, developing strategies to reduce expenses and minimize loss without sacrificing the organization's quality services.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a chief resident are more likely to require skills like "residency program," "patients," "internal medicine," and "oral surgery." On the other hand, a job as an interim director requires skills like "healthcare," "patient care," "oversight," and "patient safety." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Interim directors earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $110,000. On the other hand, chief residents are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $78,238.On average, interim directors reach higher levels of education than chief residents. Interim directors are 14.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 50.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chief resident vs. Medical officer
A Medical Officer delivers health and first-aid provisions for patients as well as prepares and maintains the paper and electronic health care records of clients. They ensure that all related equipment and supplies are suitably maintained at all times.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that chief resident responsibilities requires skills like "residency program," "oral surgery," "emergency medicine," and "grand rounds." But a medical officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "public health," "diagnosis," "surgery," and "hypertension."
On average, medical officers earn a higher salary than chief residents. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, medical officers earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $124,636. Whereas chief residents have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $78,238.In general, medical officers achieve similar levels of education than chief residents. They're 4.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 50.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief resident vs. Pharmacist manager
A pharmacist manager is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of a pharmacy, ensuring that all pharmacy personnel provides the right medication to the customers based on the prescription. Pharmacist managers assist in advising the customers for the instructions of their medications, including its dosage and instructions of intake. They manage the inventory and keep safe and clean storage for the products at all times. A pharmacist manager must have a comprehensive knowledge of the medical industry, as well as excellent communication skills, especially in responding to the customers' concerns and inquiries.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, chief residents are more likely to have skills like "residency program," "internal medicine," "oral surgery," and "outpatient clinic." But a pharmacist manager is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "patient care," "compassion," and "inventory management."
Pharmacist managers make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $100,580. On the other hand, chief residents are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $78,238.When it comes to education, pharmacist managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to chief residents. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 23.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chief resident vs. Clinical manager
A clinical manager is responsible for monitoring medical procedures and administrative duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations in a healthcare facility. Clinical managers manage the facility's staffing needs, evaluate budget reports, assist healthcare professionals on administering medical duties, and develop strategic procedures to optimize treatments and maximize productivity. A clinical manager enforces strict sanitary and safety regulations for everyone's strict compliance. They also need to have excellent knowledge of the medical industry to promote medical processes and provide the highest quality care.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between chief residents and clinical managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chief resident might have more use for skills like "residency program," "internal medicine," "oral surgery," and "outpatient clinic." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of clinical managers require skills like "customer service," "home health," "quality patient care," and "patient education. "
Clinical managers enjoy the best pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $72,510. For comparison, chief residents earn the highest salary in the education industry.The average resume of clinical managers showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to chief residents. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 11.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 52.1%.Types of chief resident
Updated January 8, 2025











