Patient relations directors are also known as patient relations coordinators. Their job is to oversee the interaction between patients and medical professionals in a healthcare setting. They may work in a hospital, clinic, or private practice. Patient relations directors monitor the relationship between doctors, nurses, and even patient registration personnel.
These professionals also address patients' concerns and ensure that they and their families understand the treatment procedures, risks, and financial implications. Patient relations directors interact with patients and their families regularly. They review documents provided by other departments to understand the patient's current care plan better.
Patient relations directors need a high degree of empathy because they often have to alleviate patient's fears and help them trust their doctors.
To become a patient relations director, applicants need a bachelor's degree in nursing or a healthcare-related field. Many patient relations directors hold master's degrees. Necessary skills include interpersonal skills, communication, and empathy.
What is a Patient Relations Director?
What Does a Patient Relations Director Do
There are certain skills that many patient relations directors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, detail oriented and leadership skills.
How To Become a Patient Relations Director
If you're interested in becoming a patient relations director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 55.2% of patient relations directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 18.2% of patient relations directors have master's degrees. Even though most patient relations directors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Patient Relations Director Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of director you might progress to a role such as chief operating officer eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title chief operating officer.
Average Salary for a Patient Relations Director
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Patient Relations Directors
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
7. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
9. University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA • Private
10. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Top Skills For a Patient Relations Director
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 17.8% of patient relations directors listed patient care on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and detail oriented are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Patient Relations Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Patient Relations Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Patient Relations Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Patient Relations Director Demographics
Patient Relations Director Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among patient relations directors, 75.0% of them are women, while 25.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among patient relations directors is White, which makes up 67.8% of all patient relations directors.
- The most common foreign language among patient relations directors is Spanish at 51.3%.
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Best States For a Patient Relations Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a patient relations director. The best states for people in this position are Nevada, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Oregon. Patient relations directors make the most in Nevada with an average salary of $119,948. Whereas in Connecticut and New Jersey, they would average $117,786 and $116,905, respectively. While patient relations directors would only make an average of $116,507 in Oregon, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Connecticut
$117,786
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$116,507
Avg. Salary
3. Washington
$115,365
Avg. Salary
How Do Patient Relations Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Patient Relations Director Employers
Most Common Employers For Patient Relations Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Driscoll Children's Hospital | $135,181 | $64.99 | 2 |
| 2 | Interfaith Medical Center | $126,316 | $60.73 | 2 |
| 3 | Splunk | $118,463 | $56.95 | 7 |
| 4 | Henry Ford Health System | $105,748 | $50.84 | 2 |
| 5 | Nashville General Hospital | $104,123 | $50.06 | 2 |
| 6 | Tennessee Medical Association | $94,361 | $45.37 | 2 |
| 7 | Conifer Health Solutions | $93,847 | $45.12 | 11 |
| 8 | Community Medical Center | $91,226 | $43.86 | 2 |
| 9 | Texas Health Resources | $90,728 | $43.62 | 3 |
| 10 | UnitedHealth Group | $90,408 | $43.47 | 3 |
Patient Relations Director Videos
