Since your medical director will be leading the operations and strategy for a healthcare-focused organization, it is imperative that they have experience in the medical field themselves. Your prospective medical director will likely be working across many disciplines in the medical field rather than focusing on a single department like pediatrics or oncology. It is important to gauge the candidate’s level of experience working with teams of medical professionals and to gain an understanding of their leadership style. What to look for in an answer:

• Clear leadership capabilities
• Identifies examples of leading other physicians
• Past experience as a team leader

Once your candidate moves from a physician or lead physician role into a director role, they will take on more of a facilitating position within the organization, rather than a front-line, patient-facing role. Your candidate will need to balance the needs of a diverse number of people to ensure that they are all able to receive important information about the medical services offered by your institution. What to look for in an answer:

• Cites past experiences in facilitating communications
• Enjoys working in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication skills

Many developed countries in the world, including the United States, are seeing their Baby Boomer generation exit the workforce. These individuals, along with lengthening life expectancies, mean that medical establishments are seeing an increasing need for their services. The additional consideration of increasing medical costs means that medical establishments will need to adjust the services offered, which means changing relationships with staff and supporting organizations, including government and insurance agencies. What to look for in an answer:

• Recognizes the effect of elderly patients on medical services
• Strong understanding of medical fundamentals
• Business and communications acumen

While no medical director wants to be put in a situation of enormous stress in the face of external crises, there is a chance they will need to be prepared to respond to unexpected circumstances, such as a multiple vehicle crash or public transportation accident. Your medical director and staff will need to be adequately prepared to support first responders to the situation and to provide top-notch care to survivors of the crisis. What to look for in an answer:

• Provides a clear strategy for responding to crisis situations
• Detail-oriented approach to running medical teams
• Calm, collected disposition

Although your medical director will be in charge of a large array of tasks, including administrative work, team meetings, communications and projects that need significant medical knowledge, it is important that the candidate is able to stay abreast of new developments in the field. New developments might include changes to regulations and the development of new machinery that can streamline certain processes and checkups. Your prospective medical director should be able to incorporate these developments into your organization’s strategy going forward. What to look for in an answer:

• Direct response to how they learn of new medical developments
• Identifies important contacts that they can leverage
• Interest in improving organizational strategy

Many healthcare institutions use offshore suppliers to cut costs, but this can be counterproductive in relation to supply availability, supplier regulation, ecological costs and costs on the local economy. You can use this question to understand a candidate's awareness of industry issues, strategy skills and problem-solving skills. An ideal medical director candidate would demonstrate a suitable skill set with their response. A candidate's answer should emphasize:

• Awareness of industry trends
• Strategy and problem-solving skills
• Ability to develop innovative solutions