Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between medical directors and medical doctors 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 medical doctor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $181,967 average annual salary of a medical doctor.
The top three skills for a medical director include patients, medical care and medical services. The most important skills for a medical doctor are patients, patient care, and internal medicine.
| Medical Director | Medical Doctor | |
| Yearly salary | $230,317 | $181,967 |
| Hourly rate | $110.73 | $87.48 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 75,810 | 60,642 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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 Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients. You will be responsible for interpreting patients' laboratory results and referring them to other providers when needed. Also, you will need to work closely with other healthcare professionals and promote health education.
Medical directors and medical doctors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Director | Medical Doctor | |
| Average salary | $230,317 | $181,967 |
| Salary range | Between $143,000 And $369,000 | Between $95,000 And $347,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Brownsville, TX |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | UnitedHealth Group | Pacific Medical Centers |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a medical director and a medical doctor in terms of educational background:
| Medical Director | Medical Doctor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Medicine |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Duke University |
Here are the differences between medical directors' and medical doctors' demographics:
| Medical Director | Medical Doctor | |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% | Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1% |
| 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, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 13% |