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The differences between public health directors and medical 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 medical director. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, 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 medical director are patients, medical care, and medical services.
| Public Health Director | Medical Director | |
| Yearly salary | $85,569 | $230,317 |
| Hourly rate | $41.14 | $110.73 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 75,124 | 75,810 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
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.
Public health directors and medical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Health Director | Medical Director | |
| Average salary | $85,569 | $230,317 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $131,000 | Between $143,000 And $369,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Jefferson County Health Center | UnitedHealth Group |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a public health director and a medical director in terms of educational background:
| Public Health Director | Medical Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medicine |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between public health directors' and medical directors' demographics:
| Public Health Director | Medical Director | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2% | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% |
| 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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |