What Is a Resident Doctor? 11 Questions About Residency Answered

What is a resident doctor? Is a resident a real doctor? Do residents see patients? How much do residents make? What’s residency like day-to-day?

We answer these questions and more about the residency process and how residency compares to other stages of the doctor journey. We’ll also share information about the residency application process, including helpful resources for applying, choosing a specialty, and creating a timeline to keep yourself on track.

1 | What Is a Resident Doctor?

A resident doctor has recently graduated from medical school and is continuing the next step in their training by learning under the supervision of skilled, professional doctors. Because they have graduated from medical school, they have received either their MD or DO degree, but they’re still considered doctors in training.

Residency is the period of training that resident doctors undertake to become a particular type of doctor, such as a pediatrician or a surgeon. In the first year of residency training, residents are sometimes called “interns.”

2 | Intern vs Resident: What’s the Difference?

The word “intern” is the traditional term for a first-year resident. After your intern year, you’re simply referred to as a resident for the remainder of your training. 

That said, in some specialties and programs, particularly those with preliminary or transitional years, the intern year may be spent in a different specialty than the one you ultimately matched into. A future radiologist, for example, may complete their intern year in internal medicine before transitioning into their radiology residency.

3 | 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.

During residency, resident doctors participate in the hands-on care of patients, including assessments, diagnoses, and treatments. However, they must be supervised by a senior, fully credentialed doctor, known as an attending physician, who is ultimately in charge of and legally responsible for the patient’s care.

Residents are often required to hold a license from the state or jurisdiction where they are training, though it is often restricted to training. To become a full doctor, they must complete residency and obtain a full, unrestricted license.

4 | Resident vs Attending Doctor: What’s the Difference?

An attending physician is a fully licensed, board-certified doctor who has completed both medical school and residency. They are the senior physician on a care team and are ultimately legally and clinically responsible for patient outcomes.

A resident, by contrast, is still in training. They hold an MD or DO degree and can see and treat patients, but they do so under the supervision of an attending. As residents progress through their training, they gain greater independence, but the attending remains the final authority for patient care.

The attending is also the one who writes one of the most important letters in a resident’s career. Strong attending relationships during residency directly influence fellowship opportunities and job placement down the road.

5 | What Are Residency Specialties?

All residents choose a specialty where they focus their training. In medical school, students receive in-person training for a variety of topics, whereas in residency, students begin to specialize in what they learn and choose the type of doctor they want to become.

The residency specialties with the most positions include internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), psychiatry, diagnostic radiology, and orthopedic surgery.

Residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

6 | How Long Is Medical Residency?

Residency training is generally 3 to 7 years, depending on the specialty and the specific residency program. Some of the shortest residency programs include family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics, which all last about 3 years. A neurosurgery residency is the longest at 7 years, followed by plastic surgery at 6 years.

Most commonly, residency programs last 4 to 5 years, including obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), psychiatry, pathology, physical medicine, general surgery, and urology. Additionally, some programs require a postgraduate transitional/preliminary year of training, such as anesthesiology, neurology, ophthalmology, and radiology.

7 | How Much Does a Resident Doctor Make?

How much a resident doctor makes depends on the city, country, year of training, and program. However, on average, a first-year resident earns about $68,166 a year.

This stipend is likely to increase throughout the residency program. The AAMC reports annually on residents’ stipends. Their most recent report found that fourth-year residents earned a median stipend of $77,593.

8 | Can Patients See Resident Doctors?

Yes, patients can see resident doctors. However, the resident doctor they see will be supervised by a fully-certified attending physician. This means there is a team approach to patient care, and the setting encourages innovation and learning.

Despite the fact that they are still in training, there are benefits to seeing resident doctors, as residents generally have more time to spend with their patients, are well-versed in recent knowledge, and are enthusiastic about their work. However, patients have the legal right to refuse to be seen by a resident doctor.

When a patient seeks care at a teaching hospital or clinic where residents are trained, they are more likely to receive care from a resident doctor and their team.

9 | What Happens Before Residency?

The first step on the path to residency is getting a bachelor’s degree. As an undergraduate, future doctors are called premeds. However, premed is not a major; it simply signifies that the student is on the path to medical school.

Premed students must take courses in biology, physics, chemistry, English, and math, with other prerequisite courses varying from school to school. Nearing the end of their undergraduate careers, premed students take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which medical schools weigh heavily in the admissions process.

This is also the time when students will apply to medical school, including a primary application, secondary applications, and in-person interviews, to gain acceptance.

Medical school itself is four years long. During the first two years, training is primarily classroom-based and focused on building a core foundation in medicine. During the final two years, med students spend more time in the hospital and clinic, getting hands-on training. Med students rotate through various specialties, spending several weeks gaining hands-on training in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), psychiatry, pediatrics, and surgery.

After medical school, applying to residency is an extensive process with many steps. Applicants must:

• Complete medical school and receive an MD or DO degree (Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine)
• Take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX)
• Apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
• Interview at various residency programs
• Rank their top choice programs using the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).

Finally, they will be “matched” with several programs. More information about this process is detailed below.

Once matched with a medical residency program, the resident will further hone their skills in patient care, laboratory work, medical procedures, and other techniques required of physicians. The residency program takes place in a hospital or a clinic. Rather than paying for medical school, residents finally earn a salary and benefits.

10 | What Is Residency Like Day-to-Day?

It’s no secret that residents work very hard, and long hours are not uncommon. While the ACGME has imposed an 80-hour workweek limit, this is not aggressively enforced, and depending on the specialty, residents can work more than 80 hours a week. Residents spend a lot of time on their feet.

During the first year of residency, resident doctors are known as interns. This year focuses on exposing the intern to various specialties for several weeks at a time as they rotate through different wards.

During residency, resident doctors are supervised by an attending physician who is legally responsible for patient care. Under the supervision of a fully credentialed doctor, the resident gradually assumes increasing responsibility, performing exams and procedures, making diagnoses, and ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests as part of patient care. Outside of patient care, residents are constantly learning by attending lectures, clinics, and conferences.

The day-to-day of a resident begins early and often runs late. In general, residents spend most of their time rounding, seeing their patients, and discussing their care with the attending physician. They will also spend time preparing for rounds and following up on patient care afterward.

Pre-round preparation includes tasks such as reviewing patient records, assessing vital signs and labs, making notes, and developing patient care plans. During rounds, residents visit with patients and discuss the plan of care with the attending physician, who emphasizes bedside manner and physical examination skills.

Finally, after rounds are completed, the resident has many tasks to follow up on and complete. These include ordering new tests, treatments, and imaging; talking to specialists to clarify any points; monitoring patients after a new treatment; and finishing up their notes and other records.

11 | What Happens After Residency?

After residency training, residents may choose to begin their medical practice. To do so, they must be licensed to practice medicine by the licensing board in the state in which they will practice. Licensing requirements vary by state, but require the successful completion of one or several exams. These exams are administered by the state licensing board.

They may also become certified in the specialty in which they trained by taking specialty boards. These always include a written exam, and sometimes an oral exam as well.

Alternatively, after completing residency, the physician may choose to pursue further training in a subspecialty through a fellowship. The subspecialties are specific to the specialty in which they trained as a resident. For example, doctors who completed general surgery residency may choose a fellowship to subspecialize in plastic or reconstructive surgery, vascular surgery, hand surgery, pediatric surgery, and more. They are known as fellow doctors for the duration of the fellowship.

How to Get Into Residency

Getting into residency requires a lengthy application process similar to the medical school application, though an applicant’s residency application must reflect a sense of maturity, growth, and deeper dedication to medicine.

Medical students apply through ERAS. The Electronic Residency Application Service is the centralized online application service that applicants use to deliver their applications and supporting documents to residency programs. ERAS streamlines the application process for applicants as well as their Designated Dean’s Office, letter of recommendation authors, and program directors.

Residency Application Components

The residency application consists of multiple parts, including letters of recommendation, a personal statement, an experience section, and transcripts.

Each component is important and offers residency programs new insight into who you are and why you’d make a good fit for their program. While most of the residency application is mandatory, adding a photo is optional. Though not required, it is highly recommended, as a friendly, professional photo helps those assessing your application remember you.

Residency Application Timeline

ERAS access opens in June, but residency applicants must begin preparing before this date. It’s a good idea to start preparing key elements of your application early in the year, including requesting letters of recommendation and ideating and writing the first drafts of your personal statement.

Ideally, throughout your time in medical school, you will have taken plenty of notes on any and all relevant experiences, including rotations, research, volunteer work, employment, and other related extracurriculars. You will need this information to complete the experiences section of your residency application.

Additionally, choosing your specialty of interest and the programs you wish to apply to will take time. Starting this process early will ensure you make the right decisions for you and give you more time to succeed in every aspect of your application.

Come June, you will gain access to MyERAS, and you can begin fine-tuning your application. Throughout the summer, confirm your letters of recommendation, edit and revise your personal statement, craft descriptive experience entries, and begin interview prep. Once applications are submitted in September, the residency interview season will begin.

In February, residency programs and applicants submit their Rank Order List (ROL). The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine each person’s match.

There’s a lot to remember and plan ahead for when applying to residency. That’s why we created a Residency Application Timeline that breaks down everything you should be working on month by month.

Match Week takes place during the third week of March. On Monday at 10 am ET, applicants find out whether they matched, but not where. The “where” comes on Match Day, Friday at 12 pm ET, when the NRMP releases results simultaneously to all graduating medical students.

For students who don’t match on Monday, the rest of the week is anything but celebratory. They have until Thursday to participate in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), a compressed, high-stakes process in which unmatched applicants apply to unfilled residency positions, interview, and, hopefully, secure a spot before the week is over. Students can submit up to 45 applications and should do so as early as possible on Monday, as availability drops sharply in subsequent rounds. In 2025, 92% of the 2,521 positions placed in SOAP were filled.

Not matching is devastating, but it’s not the end of the road. SOAP exists precisely because the system recognizes that strong candidates sometimes fall through the cracks.

For more on how Match Day works, check out our Residency Match Day Schedule (And How to Prepare).