Medical safety director vs health specialist

The differences between medical safety directors and health specialists 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 safety director and a health specialist. Additionally, a medical safety director has an average salary of $148,525, which is higher than the $47,740 average annual salary of a health specialist.

The top three skills for a medical safety director include safety data, signal detection and safety reports. The most important skills for a health specialist are patients, health education, and public health.

Medical safety director vs health specialist overview

	Medical Safety Director	Health Specialist
Yearly salary	$148,525	$47,740
Hourly rate	$71.41	$22.95
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	64,360	72,463
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	6	6

Medical safety director vs health specialist salary

Medical safety directors and health specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Safety Director	Health Specialist
Average salary	$148,525	$47,740
Salary range	Between $77,000 And $286,000	Between $31,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Covance	City of Seattle
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between medical safety director and health specialist education

There are a few differences between a medical safety director and a health specialist in terms of educational background:

	Medical Safety Director	Health Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Medicine	Psychology
Most common college	Duke University	University of Pennsylvania

Medical safety director vs health specialist demographics

Here are the differences between medical safety directors' and health specialists' demographics:

	Medical Safety Director	Health Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7%	Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between medical safety director and health specialist duties and responsibilities

Medical safety director example responsibilities.

Manage interaction and oversight of insurance brokerage, insurance company and third party resources and services.
Manage HSE programs for a national corporation specializing in concrete product manufacturing.
Investigate accidents and report to MSHA and CAL-OSHA.
Distinguish for successfully representing Becton Dickinson through multiple FDA and NSAI audits.
Secure ISO certification -developed by internal resources and culture, not outsource.
Monitor compliance with EPA standards, conduct all employee-training sessions for compliance with safety and HazCom standards.

Health specialist example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain medical and legal case files in compliance with HIPAA.
Hire, manage payroll and provide oversight for research and administrative assistants.
Provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation counseling and case management services to disable veterans and other eligible individuals.
Coordinate and facilitate workgroup and committee meetings.
Assist in running a life skills group for young adults with autism.
Work one-on-one with an individual who have autism and are visually impair.

Medical safety director vs health specialist skills

Common medical safety director skills

Safety Data, 14%
Signal Detection, 11%
Safety Reports, 10%
Safety Issues, 10%
Clinical Development, 10%
Risk Management, 9%

Common health specialist skills

Patients, 12%
Health Education, 8%
Public Health, 8%
Data Collection, 6%
Veterans, 5%
Technical Assistance, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Safety Director
Medical Safety Director vs Health Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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