Medical consultant vs nursing director

The differences between medical consultants and nursing 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 medical consultant and a nursing director. Additionally, a medical consultant has an average salary of $194,384, which is higher than the $87,643 average annual salary of a nursing director.

The top three skills for a medical consultant include patients, patient care and surgery. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Medical consultant vs nursing director overview

	Medical Consultant	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$194,384	$87,643
Hourly rate	$93.45	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	77,013	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a medical consultant do?

A medical consultant assists doctors and other medical staff in running a healthcare facility. They give advice on matters such as salaries, staffing, advertising, safety, patient confidentiality and insurance plan compliance. They are also responsible for gathering and analyzing data, coming up with conclusions, providing recommendations to the employer, helping the institution ensure they are compliant with insurance and safety standards, and offering advice that will help optimize the performance of the health facility.

What does a nursing director do?

A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.

Medical consultant vs nursing director salary

Medical consultants and nursing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Consultant	Nursing Director
Average salary	$194,384	$87,643
Salary range	Between $100,000 And $374,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Chicago, IL	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	California
Best paying company	Berkshire Hathaway	Oculus
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between medical consultant and nursing director education

There are a few differences between a medical consultant and a nursing director in terms of educational background:

	Medical Consultant	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Medical consultant vs nursing director demographics

Here are the differences between medical consultants' and nursing directors' demographics:

	Medical Consultant	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 8.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between medical consultant and nursing director duties and responsibilities

Medical consultant example 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.
Experience in dental CPT and ICD-9, as well as medical CPT and ICD-9 coding.
Demonstrate knowledge of ICD-9-CM and CPT coding guidelines, medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.

Nursing director example responsibilities.

Manage FTE'S of the units.
Manage FTE numbers by following staffing grids.
Lead in the implementation of whole house telemetry.
Manage and provide inpatient nursing care for all aspects of general surgery.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of nursing and ancillary services for successful operation of the SNF.
Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.

Medical consultant vs nursing director skills

Common medical consultant skills

Patients, 22%
Patient Care, 10%
Surgery, 8%
Medical Care, 7%
Oncology, 6%
Medical Services, 6%

Common nursing director skills

Patients, 16%
Term Care, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Infection Control, 5%

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Medical Consultant vs Nursing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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