What’s the difference between doctors, medical interns, residents, and attending?

Most professions have titles that are ascribed to professionals depending on their achievements and the length of their service. For example, the military has rankings that go from private to Sergeant Major; college teachers go from Instructors to Professors; and so on. The same can be said about doctors in the healthcare industry. Dr. Matt Boente, M.D., states that there are four stages in the field of medicine if one aims to be a doctor. There’s the medical intern, medical resident, medical attending, and full-pledged doctors. What’s the difference among the four?

Medical interns are med students who have graduated from med school. Medical interns are all trying to complete their one-year mandatory and post-medical school training. As such, medical interns are not qualified to practice unsupervised medicine and cannot participate in any procedures outside of their enrolled field. Medical residents are those who have successfully passed their third-level exams and completed their first year as medical interns. They can do general practice. They then pursue a medical residency for further training in their enrolled field.

A medical fellow is a physician who completed their medical residency and chooses to pursue further training in a specialized field. While it is not required in the practice of medicine, it is necessary when diving into a subspecialty such as neurosurgery.

Medical attending are physicians who practice independently within their chosen field of specialty. According to Dr. Matt Boente, M.D., the only people above medical attending are the physicians who run the hospital, like the board of directors.

Long-time Chicago Cubs fan Dr. Matt Boente, M.D. can’t get enough of his favorite sports team. At work, he is deeply interested in the machinations of health economists that change the landscape of healthcare. For more Cubs trivia, visit this website.