RosmanSearch recruits and places stroke medical directors and staff physicians for hospitals, large neurology groups, health systems, and stroke centers in the U.S. To speak with a stroke director recruiter, contact Beth Dery 216-287-2302, bdery@rosmansearch.com.
If you are a neurologist and want to search for and apply for a new job, send us your CV, or have questions about stroke medical director reimbursement or a salary for a specific job, contact RosmanSearch.
RosmanSearch is a specialized neurosurgery, neurology, urology, and gastroenterology staffing, and placement firm. Our team recruits and places vascular neurologists as stroke program directors, assistant directors, stroke directors of research, senior medical directors of stroke, directors for inpatient stroke services at hospitals, and fill chairs of neurology departments.
Our job is to fill neurology job openings and to enlist and enroll neurologists as stroke directors and employees for stroke programs, neurology departments, stroke associations, stroke rehabilitation centers, and academic medical centers. We review every stroke director candidate's job experiences, help to negotiate salaries, and try our best to place candidates in favorable employment positions. We work with our clients to recruit stroke medical directors and chairs of neurology departments for leadership roles who are interested in furthering their careers and finding a professional home. Get more information about our neurology recruiting fee structure here.
Stroke Director Recruitment
RosmanSearch’s team of highly-trained neurology recruiters have experience filling Stroke Director positions as well as assisting would-be Stroke Directors to find positions that help them to advance their careers. In the past 10 years, we have assisted dozens of neurologists to accept positions with our clients as stroke directors and are the only neuroscience-specific search firm on the market. Finding the right leader for your stroke program can be time-consuming and expensive; Our team is here to make the process easier.
We currently are assisting over 30 programs at all levels of stroke certification to hire the best stroke specialists for their teams. We work with programs that are seeking to maintain certification or pursue more advanced certification. We are always pleased to work with stroke facilities and outpatient stroke rehabilitation centers. Due to the 2020 pandemic, we have seen an increase in recruitment for stroke directors as programs and stroke centers seek to maintain or pursue advanced certification and aid COVID-19 treatment teams.
For physicians who are interested in pursuing a position as a Stroke Director, our diverse offering of types of programs and program geography can give you the confidence that we can help you find the right job for you and your career.
Neurologist Stroke Medical Director Jobs Available:
What is a Stroke Director? | Stroke Director Job Description
Stroke Directors, sometimes called Stroke Medical Directors or Director of Inpatient Neurology, are neurology leaders who direct a team of vascular and endovascular neurologists at certified stroke centers. Stroke Medical Directors and stroke specialists’ roles are primarily clinical positions, though many hospitals and medical centers provide protected time for assessment, research, team administration, and reporting. Stroke center experts, like the ones at Johns Hopkins Hospital Stroke Center, are specifically trained in neurosciences and the requirements of patients affected by stroke. The Stroke Director is the leader who is accountable for the stroke program and stroke facility and is necessary to pursue stroke certification through the Joint Commission. Average salaries for stroke directors and vascular medical directorships range from $300K to $450K.
Some examples of typical responsibilities of Stroke Directors include clinical involvement of stroke care, development of protocols and standards, education of medical support staff, stroke patients, and family members, and coordination of quality measures programs. These leaders often are viewed as mentors by junior stroke team members and programs are looking for leaders to take on these mentorship roles.
Though salary and benefits vary due to the type of program, geographical region, size of the program, average census of stroke patients, among other variables, the average salary range in 2020 for a neurologist that is a medical stroke director, stroke association director, or stroke program director is $300,000-450,000 in the United States. Frequently, compensation packages are put together such that base salary plus RVU bonus is designed similar to other stroke specialists at the program with an additional leadership/administrative stipend for the additional work the stroke director does in their professional capacity.
For physicians looking to take the next step in their career and accept a leadership role, Stroke Directors are an excellent leadership position to grow professionally. Neurologists with aspirations to become Chief or Chair of Neurology frequently pursue Stroke Director or other directorship titles to gain the leadership skills and talents required to successfully become a leader in the field.
Stroke Certification
Programs seek stroke certification through the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for various reasons. Some reasons may include a growing clinical need in the area, and a desire to commit to a higher standard of service and strengthen community confidence in the quality and safety of care. Whatever the reason, pursuing stroke certification is a credential that can help programs stand out from the competition and market services to larger communities. There are currently four main stroke certification levels.
- Acute Stroke Ready: Medical Centers with a dedicated vascular stroke team/program
- Primary Stroke Center: Medical Centers that have a dedicated vascular stroke team/program and provide critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes
- Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center: Medical Centers with a dedicated vascular stroke team/program and endovascular procedures in addition to post-procedural care
- Comprehensive Stroke Center: Medical Centers that have the abilities to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases and advances the body of stroke research
Each level of certification requires a Stroke Medical Director who is responsible for the administration of the program. To become stroke-certified, medical centers should coordinate with the Joint Commission to learn more about the requirements, support positions, medical coverage requirements, and outcomes required. For more information about the difference between levels of stroke certification, the Joint Commission has published a comparison chart.
COVID-19 and Stroke
The prevalence of stroke as a symptom of COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), is helping to drive the need for stroke physicians as more reports of sudden strokes in adults, aged 30-40, even among those who are feeling well, come to light. While there is no solid proof that COVID-19 is causing strokes, experts are trying to understand if COVID-19 can lead to neurological problems and strokes. Young and healthy patients that are not exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 are testing positive and suffering strokes.
Stroke directors are as important as ever as programs seek leaders to take on these roles at programs that weren’t previously stroke-certified as well as programs seeking to provide higher quality care for their stroke patients. Stroke Directors can be instrumental in ensuring that there is proper prioritization of faculty and staff to continue stroke coverage and that the stroke team continues to function efficiently. Recommendations include staffing patterns where one vascular neurologist and a backup provider are on call at all times to reduce the chance of lapse of coverage in the case of faculty/staff virus exposure or illness.
Additional Resources On Strokes And COVID-19
- Coronavirus May Cause Sudden Stroke In Younger Patients, Doctors Warn
- Pandemic Guidance For Stroke Centers Aiding COVID-19 Treatment Teams
- Doctors Link COVID-19 To Potentially Deadly Blood Clots and Strokes
Beth Dery
Chief Operating Officer & Stroke Director Recruitment Lead
216-287-2302
