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Clinician vs doctor

The differences between clinicians and doctors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a doctor has an average salary of $208,582, which is higher than the $60,150 average annual salary of a clinician.

The top three skills for a clinician include social work, patients and patient care. The most important skills for a doctor are patients, customer service, and emergency medicine.

Clinician vs doctor overview

ClinicianDoctor
Yearly salary$60,150$208,582
Hourly rate$28.92$100.28
Growth rate9%7%
Number of jobs105,02314,571
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age4548
Years of experience4-

What does a clinician do?

A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.

What does a doctor do?

A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.

Clinician vs doctor salary

Clinicians and doctors have different pay scales, as shown below.

ClinicianDoctor
Average salary$60,150$208,582
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $103,000Between $106,000 And $408,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAGreen Bay, WI
Highest paying stateNevadaOhio
Best paying companyPace UniversitySaint Luke's Health System
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between clinician and doctor education

There are a few differences between a clinician and a doctor in terms of educational background:

ClinicianDoctor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common majorPsychologyMedicine
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachDuke University

Clinician vs doctor demographics

Here are the differences between clinicians' and doctors' demographics:

ClinicianDoctor
Average age4548
Gender ratioMale, 24.3% Female, 75.7%Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.6% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage15%13%

Differences between clinician and doctor duties and responsibilities

Clinician example responsibilities.

  • Perform thorough substance abuse assessments incorporating instruments such as ASAM, SASSI and urine drug screens; provide individual therapy.
  • Spearhead the development of rehabilitation programs serving adults with chemical dependency and mental health diagnoses with the manager.
  • Follow all ethical CARF standards when treating the residential client.
  • Facilitate stabilization, assessment, care and compassion for those in critical need.
  • Provide CBT and motivational interviewing for individual and group therapy to clients' who are on methadone.
  • Used motivational interviewing to lead recovery and therapy groups for IOP and PHP programs in the evenings and on weekends.
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Doctor example responsibilities.

  • Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
  • Develop personalize treatment plans, rehabilitation plans, exercise plans, report of findings, nutritional plans and narrative reports.
  • Perform patient x-rays, provide MRI consultations.
  • Perform x-rays of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
  • Hire, train, educate and monitor staff in HIPPA policies and procedures.
  • Create, update, and maintain confidential patient EHRs in compliance with all HIPAA laws and regulations.
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Clinician vs doctor skills

Common clinician skills
  • Social Work, 26%
  • Patients, 14%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Individual Therapy, 4%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Mental Illness, 3%
Common doctor skills
  • Patients, 33%
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Emergency Medicine, 5%
  • Surgery, 5%
  • DR, 4%
  • Cleanliness, 3%

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