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The differences between health unit supervisors and medical 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 health unit supervisor and a medical director. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $74,174 average annual salary of a health unit supervisor.
The top three skills for a health unit supervisor include patients, social work and patient care. The most important skills for a medical director are patients, medical care, and medical services.
| Health Unit Supervisor | Medical Director | |
| Yearly salary | $74,174 | $230,317 |
| Hourly rate | $35.66 | $110.73 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 70,139 | 75,810 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A health unit supervisor handles both the administrative and executive tasks in a health care unit. They coordinate all that takes place in one or more patient care units in health care facilities. The unit supervisor plans and oversees administrative operations. They also supervise other personnel or staff in the unit or ward. They may also be responsible for the generation of schedules for teams in the unit. They will be required to communicate with other members of the administrative team.
A medical director is responsible for handling the overall supervision of different medical departments, managing the coordination between medical teams to ensure smooth operations and achieve high-quality care services for the patients. Medical directors enforce strict guidelines and safety measures for everyone's adherence. They also implement medical care programs, recruit medical staff, inspect the adequacy of medical equipment, respond to patient's inquiries and concerns, and oversee the facilities' procedures. A medical director manages the budget of the department, allocating equal resources to address every need.
Health unit supervisors and medical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Unit Supervisor | Medical Director | |
| Average salary | $74,174 | $230,317 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $108,000 | Between $143,000 And $369,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Tesla | UnitedHealth Group |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a health unit supervisor and a medical director in terms of educational background:
| Health Unit Supervisor | Medical Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medicine |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between health unit supervisors' and medical directors' demographics:
| Health Unit Supervisor | Medical Director | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9% | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |