Tip of the week: Medical directors should keep track of hours to receive fair compensation

Vast pay discrepancies for medical directorships exist depending on specialty, region, and type of healthcare facility, according to a recent study conducted by the Medical Group Management Association, Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey: 2009 Report Based on 2008 Data.

One way medical directors can ensure that they are being paid fairly is to keep track of their hours. Administration should know how much time medical directors put into their roles that they can compensate accordingly. If you are putting in so much time that your directorship is the equivalent of another full-time job, but you aren’t getting paid, keeping track of this time is invaluable leverage.

According to the study, internal medicine and OB/GYN medical directors spend the most time (10-12 hours per week) on their responsibilities, whereas urology medical directors spend the least amount of time (two hours per week). Most medical directors reported spending five hours per week seeing to their duties.

This week’s tip is adapted from “Medical Directorships: Define responsibilities to ensure fair pay” in the July issue of Medical Staff Briefing.