Glossary
Path to Becoming a Doctor
Medical student: After completing four years of college, these students go on to medical school, which lasts four years. The first two years are spent in the classroom. During the last two years, students do clinical rotations in hospitals and clinics.
Typically, they spend a month at a time doing various specialties of medicine. For example, a student may work a month in the surgery department, a month doing internal medicine, a month in a pediatrics clinic, and so on.
These clinical rotations serve two purposes: 1) for the students to gain a broad understanding of how different types of doctors practice, and 2) so students can test out different types of medicine in order to choose which they like best. They will then apply for a residency in that preferred specialty.
Note:Medical students wear short white lab coats to distinguish them from doctors who have graduated from medical school. Once they graduate, they are allowed to wear long white lab coats.
Intern:The first year of training after graduating from medical school is called internship. Since the individuals have graduated from medical school, they are doctors. They have certain privileges not allowed to medical students, such as prescribing medications and performing procedures. However, they are still in training and are supervised by attending physicians. Most internships have the same rotating structure as the last two years of medical school, with interns spending a month at a time in different departments and clinics.
Resident:After completing their internship year, doctors go on to their residency. This is where they will specialize and train to become a specific type of doctor. For example, a doctor can do a family practice residency and then work as a primary care physician, or a doctor may do an emergency medicine residency and work in the Emergency Room. Residency can last anywhere from three to six years (including the internship year). Residents are labeled as a first-year resident, second-year resident, and so on.
Fellow: After graduating from residency, some doctors do a fellowship where they sub-specialize in their specific field of medicine. Fellowships can last from one to three years. For example, to become a cardiologist, a doctor completes a three-year internal medicine residency followed by a three-year cardiology fellowship.
Attending physician: Often just called attendings, these are doctors who have completed all of their medical training and work autonomously. If they wish, attending physicians can be involved in training and teaching younger generations of doctors (medical students, interns, residents, or fellows).