Public health director vs clinical director

The differences between public health directors and clinical 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 public health director and a clinical director. Additionally, a clinical director has an average salary of $96,497, which is higher than the $85,569 average annual salary of a public health director.

The top three skills for a public health director include community health, public health and public health programs. The most important skills for a clinical director are patients, patient care, and physical therapy.

Public health director vs clinical director overview

	Public Health Director	Clinical Director
Yearly salary	$85,569	$96,497
Hourly rate	$41.14	$46.39
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	75,124	83,232
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a public health director do?

Public affairs specialists, also called media or communication specialists, are responsible for communicating with the public on behalf of an individual, company, government, or politicians. This role will require you to perform various tasks including creating press kit materials, such as images, press releases, and pitch letters for media outlets, maintaining the reputation and identity of the client or employer, and evaluating clients' public opinion through polls, social media listening, and surveys. In addition, public affairs specialists are responsible for evaluating promotional and advertising programs.

What does a clinical director do?

A clinical director is a managing professional who manages the work of healthcare providers to ensure quality patient care is achieved. Clinical directors are responsible for organizational tasks such as adjusting staff schedules, explaining insurance benefits to the patients, and managing financial reports. They can work either in small clinics with a smaller workforce or larger hospitals with multiple departments. Clinical directors may also assist in the hiring process of healthcare providers and should establish a positive work environment.

Public health director vs clinical director salary

Public health directors and clinical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Director	Clinical Director
Average salary	$85,569	$96,497
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $131,000	Between $63,000 And $145,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Jefferson County Health Center	Sutro Biopharma
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between public health director and clinical director education

There are a few differences between a public health director and a clinical director in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Director	Clinical Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Public health director vs clinical director demographics

Here are the differences between public health directors' and clinical directors' demographics:

	Public Health Director	Clinical Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.7% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public health director and clinical director duties and responsibilities

Public health director example responsibilities.

Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
Provide continuing medical education with HIV and TB specialists on the prevention and control of HIV and TB.
Provide oversight for communicable disease surveillance, investigation and control, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness.
Position demand expertise in grant oversight, strategic project planning, program management, and stakeholder collaboration.
Provide clinical exercise physiology services and health/wellness counseling for family practice/sports medicine/orthopedics medical group effecting positive lifestyle changes in patients serve.
Conduct and implement group WIC orientation emphasizing WIC benefits.

Clinical director example responsibilities.

Develop distinctive ambulatory strategies to achieve and sustain competitive healthcare advantage.
Manage and assist with data collection and input for MDS.
Manage quality of documentation through education and electronic review of clinical processes utilizing HCHB EMR.
Manage front office, marketing, and communication -demonstrated/supervise exercises for patients -Developed instructional packets for home exercise programs
Manage projects and ambulatory system initiatives, and collaborate with system leadership teams to ensure EMR alignment with all regulatory requirements.
Experience in GCP, FDA audits, and regulatory guidance review and implementation.

Public health director vs clinical director skills

Common public health director skills

Community Health, 15%
Public Health, 10%
Public Health Programs, 8%
Public Health Issues, 6%
Health Education, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common clinical director skills

Patients, 18%
Patient Care, 11%
Physical Therapy, 5%
Social Work, 4%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Clinical Services, 3%

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Public Health Director vs Clinical Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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