There are many career paths to take in the medical profession in Australia and many positions trained medical staff can aspire to achieve one day. One such coveted position is that of a medical director.
What is a medical director exactly and what is the process to achieve this sought after position in the world of healthcare?
This article will outline what the role of a medical director entails, as well as what’s required to become a medical director. If you are already qualified to be a medical director or are close to becoming so, you’ll also discover the best way to find a suitable job.
A Medical Director Defined
The role of a medical director is a very diverse one and it also resides at the top as far as careers in the medical profession go. A medical director is an integral part of medical administration. Job roles are not just confined to a hospital environment either. You can also work as a medical director in education, pharmaceutical and technology companies. Medical directors may also manage a practice, overseeing a group of doctors.
In a hospital or clinic environment, the medical director provides leadership and guidance to the doctors and nurses they oversee. As medical director, you are in charge. This role also entails devising guidelines and protocols for the staff to follow and it’s also the job of the medical director to ensure these protocols are adhered to.
A medical director is essentially a medical administrator and a manager that oversees the staff and the medical procedures in a hospital or similar environment. It can be a demanding role, but one with a lot of variety and also extremely rewarding. Medical directors often earn in excess of $300k per year.
How To Become a Medical Director
What is the pathway to becoming a medical director?
The first step towards becoming a medical director is to successfully earn your medical degree. During this stage, you’ll be considered a student doctor. This involves a combination of classroom and on the job training in a hospital, being guided and supervised by already qualified professionals.
After completing your medical degree, you’ll become an intern, which involves a minimum of one year working in a hospital environment. Completion of your internship and official registration will lead to becoming a qualified doctor.
After becoming fully qualified, you can assume the role of a resident doctor. It’s usually during this phase that some people decide to specialise to be able to chase the dream of more advanced job roles in the medical profession, such as ultimately becoming a medical director.
The next step could be the role of a registrar doctor whilst completing specialist training as a qualified medical director.
You can’t just simply be promoted to the role of a medical director, as you need to become a specialist in the field you want to manage such as an FRACP qualified General Physician if you want to be a Director of Medicine or FRACS qualified Consultant Surgeon if you want to be a Director of Surgery. If you want to be a Director of Medical Services which covers managing all the medical divisions within a hospital there is a specialist training program run by RACMA. Completion of this course will earn you the FRACMA which is now becoming a required qualification for any senior medical administrator such as a Director of Medical Services or Executive Director of Medical Services.
Finding Jobs As a Medical Director
As a qualified medical director who is seeking an appropriate placement, you won’t want to be spending copious amounts of your time searching for the right job opportunities. A more effective and less time consuming approach to seeking out employment is with the assistance of a recruitment agency; preferably one that specialises in placements for medical professionals. You could choose a general recruitment agency for medical director jobs, but it’s a smarter choice to choose a company that specialises in medical recruitment.
A specialist recruitment firm has a far better understanding of the medical profession and will have built up a list of reliable and reputable contacts within the industry. After spending so many years (and dollars) becoming qualified to be a medical director, you’ll want to know that your career opportunities are placed in the most qualified hands.
The Takeaway
Becoming a medical director takes a lot of time, hard work and total dedication, but the rewards are well worth it on a number of levels, from job satisfaction to the amount of money you earn. For jobs in the medical profession, always enlist the help of a specialist recruitment company.
