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The differences between medical directors and chiefs of staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a medical director, becoming a chief of staff takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $130,835 average annual salary of a chief of staff.
The top three skills for a medical director include patients, medical care and medical services. The most important skills for a chief of staff are PET, team support, and project management.
| Medical Director | Chief Of Staff | |
| Yearly salary | $230,317 | $130,835 |
| Hourly rate | $110.73 | $62.90 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 75,810 | 124,272 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
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.
A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.
Medical directors and chiefs of staff have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Director | Chief Of Staff | |
| Average salary | $230,317 | $130,835 |
| Salary range | Between $143,000 And $369,000 | Between $85,000 And $200,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | UnitedHealth Group | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a medical director and a chief of staff in terms of educational background:
| Medical Director | Chief Of Staff | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Business |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between medical directors' and chiefs of staff' demographics:
| Medical Director | Chief Of Staff | |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% | Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |