Chief Medical Officers

High School

Since CMOs must first be physicians, it’s a good idea to take biology, chemistry, and health courses in high school to prepare for your college studies. Chief medical officers need strong business and financial skills, so you should also take business management, accounting, and finance classes. You also must be able to make presentations, write reports, and interact effectively with colleagues and others, so be sure to also take English, speech, writing, and a foreign language. Other recommended courses include computer science, data analytics, and social studies.

Postsecondary Education

To become a chief medical officer, you will need to have a medical degree [Medical Doctor (M.D.) or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)] and be a board-certified physician. Many CMOs also earn master’s degrees in healthcare administration or business administration.

Certification

Some colleges and universities offer certificate programs in healthcare management, physician leadership, and related fields. Others offer chief medical officer accelerator programs. For example, the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville offers a six-month CMO Accelerator program. Components include Defining Success; Setting the Vision; Working with the Executive Team; Leading Across Boundaries; Coaching Top Performance; and Driving Integrated Solutions. Contact schools in your area for information about available programs.

Other Education or Training

The Association of American Medical Colleges offers a Chief Medical Officers Leadership Academy, a 15-month executive training program for “newly appointed CMOs who are in their first four years of the position, and senior physician leaders preparing to assume the CMO role in the next one to three years.” Visit https://www.aamc.org/learn-network/leadership-development/cmo-leadership-academy for more information.

The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) offers a variety of webinars such as Why Being a CMO is the Best Job in Medicine; Public Speaking and Presentation Skills: Strategies for Healthcare Leaders; and Change Management Unchained: Essential Strategies for the Physician Leader. Visit https://www.physicianleaders.org/webinars to learn more.