Resident vs. Attending Physician: What's the Difference? (2023)

FAQs

What is the difference between a resident and an attending physician? ›

A resident is a physician who has completed medical school, has a degree in medicine and is receiving further training in a chosen specialized medical field. Residents practice medicine under the supervision of fully credentialed Attending physicians.

A resident can not practice medicine independently. An attending physician may work in hospitals but can also have a private practice. Many residents work in hospitals to complete their residency. An attending physician has a higher average salary than a resident.

Attending physician: A doctor who has finished post-graduate training. Fellow: A doctor who pursues optional additional training before becoming an attending. Resident: A doctor who has finished their first year of post-graduate training. Intern: Medical school graduates who are first-year residents2.

In a medical facility, the physician who has the major responsibility for a patient's care is called the attending physician. Attending physicians have completed their training and often play an active role in the education of medical students, interns, and residents.

This term comes from the fact that resident physicians traditionally spend the majority of their training "in house" (i.e., the hospital). Duration of residencies can range from three years to seven years, depending upon the program and specialty.

Primary duties: An attending physician is a fully trained physician with three or more years of residency training.

Once a resident finishes their residency, they are considered an attending physician. The attending physician is in charge of the whole medical team- including the residents, intern, and medical student.

Residents are doctors in training. They have graduated from medical school, been awarded an M.D. degree, and now are training to be a particular type of doctor — such as a pediatrician or pediatric specialist, or a type of surgeon. In their first year of such training, residents are sometimes called interns.

A chief physician generally is in charge of medical matters and often is the superior of other physicians (including consultants and attending physicians), but may also be in charge of other professional groups and areas of responsibility.

How many years is the residency? ›

Once medical school has been successfully completed the graduate school experience begins in the form of a residency, which focuses on a particular medical specialty. Residencies can last from three to seven years, with surgical residencies lasting a minimum of five years.

The term is used more commonly in teaching hospitals. In non-teaching hospitals, essentially all physicians function as attendings in some respects after completing residency.

The training that is done after a residency (in a subspecialty) is usually called a fellowship. Much of what you will learn in your chosen specialty will be learned in your residency.

The biggest difference between a fellowship vs attending is a fellow is still in training while an attending completed their training and is practicing independently. To become a fellow, you first must complete a residency teaching broad skills relevant to your field.

The average first-year resident physician makes about $60,000, and there's not much wiggle room. Resident salaries are determined by an institution and correlate with training year rather than specialty.

2 | Are Residents Doctors? Although a resident has completed medical school and received a degree, they are still considered doctors in training. Once they complete their residency training and become board-certified, they are considered a fully credentialed doctor.

“Resident” is a word coined in the twentieth century when physicians in training often physically lived (“resided”) at the hospital. At the medical center where I work, there are nearly 200 of us, and although we no longer live at the hospital full-time, it can often feel like we do.

Health care is described as different levels of care: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary care is the main doctor that treats your health, usually a general practitioner or internist.

After graduating from high school at 18, you'll spend 4 years in college and yet another 4 years in med school. At around 26 years old, you'll start taking up residency that averages 4 years, and at least a year of fellowship training.

Do all doctors do residency? ›

Residency is not mandatory, it is a specialty training program that you can choose to enter after completing your MD. However, residency is a mandatory step to achieving medical licensure in the US, which will allow you to practice medicine as an independent physician.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-level management position in a hospital or hospital system. Hospital CEO's must possess the qualifications and skills to manage and direct the complexities of a modern patient care facility.

The Ethics Committee of the Council decided that the title “Doctor” may be used by the registered medical practitioners in the modern medicine, Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani. No other group of workers in the field of medical profession whethernursing or para-medical staff should use the title “Doctor”.

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education regulations require that residents on call be provided with "adequate sleep facilities" which are "safe, quiet, and private."

Most physicians routinely teach their students, residents, colleagues, and patients. Residents regularly contribute to the education of medical students and their fellow residents and may spend up to one-fourth of their time supervising, instructing, and evaluating students and junior colleagues.

Consultants are the most senior grade of hospital doctors and are responsible for leading a team to deliver care for patients. Every patient who is admitted to hospital will have a named consultant who is responsible for their care.

If you enter as a licensed physician, your rank will typically begin at captain or major (Army/Air Force) or lieutenant or lieutenant commander (Navy), but it may be higher depending on where you are in your civilian career.

The significant distinction between doctors and physicians is that the latter typically have a broader background, whereas doctors specialize in a specific field of practice. A physician can become certified in six years, but doctors frequently need 10 or more years to complete their education.

Why are surgeons called Mr? ›

The use of the title dates back to the Middle Ages when surgeons served an apprenticeship, like other tradesmen, while physicians required a university degree in medicine before they could enter practice. On account of their university training physicians were entitled to call themselves "doctor of medicine".

The shortest residency training programs are three years and the longest are seven. After residency training, some people pursue fellowship training which can range in length from one to three years, on average.

The average salary for first year medical residents is $58,921 per year, according to the AAMC's 2020 Survey of Resident/Fellow Stipends and Benefits. This salary number is based on from 190 institutions that participated in the survey.

Cedars-Sinai is proud to be #1 in California and #2 on U.S. News' annual list of the top 20 hospitals in the nation.

The chief of medicine, also known as a chief physician, is a physician who holds the highest senior management title at a healthcare facility that treats patients or a hospital.

A hospital CEO is responsible for the operations of the entire hospital or hospital chain. This person is the final decision-maker on all aspects of operations, strategy, policy and finance.

The attending surgeon has finished all training and is fully qualified in surgery. The attending is in charge of your surgical care and supervises the team that takes care of you. This team includes residents, medical students, and other health professionals.

By the time you finish residency, you'll likely already have a new job lined up, whether it's moving on to more subspecialized training in fellowship, a new position as a hospital employee, or starting an independent practice.

Medical specialties such as family medicine and internal medicine often require three years, whereas surgery usually requires 5-7 years of training, and neurological surgery is the longest at 7 years.

Does life get easier after residency? ›

Residents and fellows around the country have bought into the “medical training myth.” The myth states: “Life will get so much better when I finish residency/fellowship.” Sadly, too many house staff buy into this false belief and experience tremendous letdown when they graduate.

Taking a fellowship will make sense if you have the passion and the drive to hone your skills on what you really want to do. The experience of it will definitely be harder than residency so you have to make sure that you spend your fellowship on something where your passion and your skills match.

A fellow is a board-certified doctor that has finished their residency program. A resident is a doctor that has finished medical school and is pursuing medical training. A fellow can practice medicine independently.

Although a resident has completed medical school and received a degree, they are still considered doctors in training. Once they complete their residency training and become board-certified, they are considered a fully credentialed doctor.

Once a resident finishes their residency, they are considered an attending physician. The attending physician is in charge of the whole medical team- including the residents, intern, and medical student.

The medical director, also called chief of medicine or chief medical officer, is the most senior doctor on a hospital's staff. A medical director may serve as a liaison between a facility's board and the medical staff and meet with department heads to discuss and adjust hospital procedures and spending.

Residents are doctors in training. They have graduated from medical school, been awarded an M.D. degree, and now are training to be a particular type of doctor — such as a pediatrician or pediatric specialist, or a type of surgeon. In their first year of such training, residents are sometimes called interns.

Clinical grades are usually based on a curve such that only a small percentage of the class can earn them, meaning you have to outshine your colleagues. In this regard, medical school is much more stressful than residency. In residency, the pressure to outperform your peers is an order of magnitude lower.

Resident salaries are determined by an institution and correlate with training year rather than specialty. So, in a given training institution, all residents who are in their third year of training typically get the same salary, and all in their sixth year are paid the same as well.

Do you become a doctor after residency? ›

Doctors are eligible to apply for an unrestricted medical license after completing their residency program. They are then free to seek employment in private practice or become an employee of a hospital or clinic.

The attending physician is the leader of the team and has responsibility for all decisions made that affect a person's care, including diagnosis, treatments, and supervision of the remainder of the team.

They interview and examine patients and discuss their findings with more senior physicians. Students will go into the operating room to learn from the surgical team. Students do not make decisions, perform surgery, or sign orders.

The Winner

The Good Doctor is definitely worth watching but it's not addictive. The Resident will have you on the edge of your seat. And as soon as the episode ends, you'll find yourself dying for more.

As challenging as residency can be, most physicians also recognize their postgraduate training as a critical step in getting to where they are today. Medical residency teaches doctors to apply what they learned in medical school while providing them with the confidence needed to work through unexpected scenarios.