The following article discusses the career path of Chief Medical Officer. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Chief Medical Officers.
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Job Duties
Chief medical officers (CMO) hold responsibility for the leadership and supervision of all medical professionals and activities within a health care organization. They develop different initiatives in order to ensure that patient satisfaction is improved, while at the same time ensuring profitability. They change methods of service delivery for the better and stay up to date with all clinical trends in models of patient care, changing theirs where appropriate. They also develop strong relationships with staff, suppliers, and patients and families. Through these, they gather feedback on service delivery in an effort to improve it. Furthermore, they provide operational and strategic direction.
CMOs have a variety of other important tasks. They report on metrics of clinical performance, ensure strategies are delivered on time, oversee budgets, report to organizational executives on financial data, and support the overall development of the health care organization. Furthermore, they complete financial and performance reviews and provide supervision to clinical professionals in order to make sure all services and treatments are provided appropriately. They are also responsible for making sure that all privacy and safety protocols are implemented and followed.
Other job duties of chief medical officers are:
- To provide supervision to physicians and clinicians.
- To manage their medical facility’s health programs.
- To meet with the Board of Directors in order to determine how the medical facility can improves its policies and procedures.
- To ensure training is in place for physicians and medical staff.
- To ensure all staff is aware of all relevant regulations and procedures.
- To focus on compliance with facility policies, accreditation programs, and government regulations.
- To work together with the facility’s administration and doctors to ensure standards of care are of the highest possible quality.
Where We Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 308,900 chief executives in 2016, of which just 7% were employed in health care and social assistance.
How to Become
To become a CMO, someone will be expected to hold a medical degree. Past experience in health care and in leadership positions is also very important. It is usually beneficial to hold leadership and industry certifications as well.
Education Requirements
CMOs have been to medical school and have generally specialized in a certain field of medicine. This means they are educated to doctorate-degree level. Besides education, having significant experience is usually of tremendous importance as well. Most CMOs have worked as physicians within the hospital they end up heading for a considerable amount of time.
Traits & Qualities
The most effective have the following traits to some degree or other:
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong decision making skills
- Leadership skills, being able to motivate others
- Management skills.
- They are excellent problem solvers
- They have strong time management skills
Minimum Education
Doctorate Degree
The national average salary estimate for Chief Medical Officer was $185,835. This number is estimated from over 85,524 employees, users past and present job advertisements from Indeed.com. This equates to an hourly salary of $96.79 and monthly of $15,486.
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$49,000
$411,000
The following section lists Chief Medical Officer salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Washington had the largest quoted salary of $229,911 while New Hampshire had the smallest quoted salary of $25,200.
| Alabama | Georgia | Mississippi | Oregon |
| Arizona | Illinois | North Carolina | Pennsylvania |
| California | Indiana | New Hampshire | Tennessee |
| DC | Louisiana | New Mexico | Texas |
| Florida | Massachusetts | New York | Washington |
According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Chief Medical Officer. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.
| Employer Name | Location | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Management Consultants | Pennsylvania | $307,630 |
| Enterprise Medical Recruiting | New York | $300,000 |
| TEC Group International | Massachusetts | $287,040 |
| CMC Limited | Illinois | $264,742 |
| HealthConcepts | California | $258,572 |
| Whitman-Walker Clinic | DC | $248,759 |
| Mission City Community Network, Inc | California | $248,759 |
| MMS Group | Washington | $245,145 |
| HCRI | California | $240,440 |
| Acuity Professional Placement Solutions | Indiana | $221,943 |
| Morgan Consulting Resources | California | $213,454 |
| Spring Branch Community Health Center | Texas | $206,086 |
| Creative Healthcare Solutions | Indiana | $200,000 |
| The C.W. Williams Community Health Center,Inc. | North Carolina | $200,000 |
| Healthcare Associates of Saints Pertersburg FL, LLC | Texas | $200,000 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | California | $196,746 |
Learn More
- Chief Medical Officer – Wikipedia
- Chief Medical Officer (United Kingdom) – Wikipedia
- Best Online MHA Degree Programs
- Online Healthcare Management MBA Degree
- Chief Medical Officers Group (CMOG) – Member Center – AAMC
- Best Medical Management Degree
- Medical Director Salary
| Career Name | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Medical Director | $184,548 |
| Chief Technology Officer | $147,424 |
| Director of Engineering | $138,182 |
| Director of Pharmacy | $136,890 |
| Chief Marketing Officer | $136,769 |
| Data Scientist | $130,297 |
| Chief Financial Officer | $130,123 |
| Quantitative Analyst | $127,870 |
| Investment Banker | $125,041 |
| Network Architect | $123,709 |
