How To Become A Medical Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Hospitals can't afford to waste time. However, a lot of the administrative procedures in medical establishments can be cumbersome and wasteful. That's why some hospitals or clinics hire medical consultants to manage the business-related needs of the establishment so doctors can focus on providing care. A medical consultant spends a lot of time with the various administrative proceedings in a hospital. They may work with diagnostic coding, billing audits, and more.

The medical consultant uses their knowledge to help their employer transition to more efficient systems, cut waste, and in general, offer guidelines to improve the business. Most medical consultants hold advanced degrees. Some have bachelor's, while others have even gone on to pursue graduate diplomas in fields such as medicine or business. Medical consultants can be medical professionals looking to work more with the business end of the field or career consultants specializing in medicine.

ScoreMedical ConsultantUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $194,384

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.96%

Black or African American 11.69%

Hispanic or Latino 14.32%

Unknown 4.26%

White 61.05%

Gender

female 53.62%

male 46.38%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical consultant

Explore medical consultant education requirements

Most common medical consultant degrees

Bachelor's

47.1 %

Master's

15.7 %

Doctorate

15.3 %

Start to develop specific medical consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	21.89%
Patient Care	10.48%
Surgery	7.67%
Medical Care	6.61%
Oncology	6.25%

Complete relevant medical consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical consultant resumes.

Gain additional medical consultant certifications

Medical consultant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical consultants include Medical Assistant and Certification in General Surgery.

More About Certifications

Research medical consultant duties and responsibilities

Manage CMS require oversight of in-home, at-risk Medicare member care management programs through chart audit and NCQA on-site visits.
Lead the planning, organization, execution, and analysis of coding, billing, HIPAA, and OSHA audits.
Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Function as the primary office safety, health, OSHA, HIPPA representative.

Prepare your medical consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable medical consultant resume templates

Build a professional medical consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical consultant resume.