Residency

Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident or house officer is a physician, podiatrist, or dentist (one who holds the degree of MD, DPM, DDS, DMD, DO or MB; BS, MBChB, or BMed, BDS, BDent) who practices medicine, usually in a hospital or clinic, under the direct or indirect supervision of an attending physician. Successful completion of a residency program is a requirement to obtaining an unrestricted license to practice medicine in many jurisdictions.

History

The concept of residency in medicine was borrowed from the British system in the 19th century. The first formal residency programs were established by Sir William Osler and William Stewart Halsted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Structure

Residency programs are traditionally hospital-based, and in the middle of the twentieth century, residents would often live (or "reside") in hospital-supplied housing. "Call" (night duty in the hospital) was sometimes as frequent as every second or third night for up to three years. Pay was minimal beyond room, board, and laundry services. It was assumed that most young men and women training as physicians had few obligations outside of medical training at that stage of their careers.

Duration

The duration of residency varies by the field of surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, radiology, etc. The length of residency training also varies from country to country; in the United States, the minimum number of years for any residency is three years.

See also

• Medical education
• Medical school
• Internship (medicine)
• Fellowship (medicine)

References

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