Attending physician

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Attending" redirects here. For other uses, see Attention (disambiguation).

In the United States and Canada, an attending physician (also known as a staff physician or supervising physician) is a physician (usually an

medical students. Attending physicians may also maintain professorships at an affiliated medical school.[2] This is common if the supervision of trainees is a significant part of the physician's work. Attending physicians have final responsibility, legally and otherwise, for patient care, even when many of the minute-to-minute decisions are being made by house officers (residents) or non-physician health-care providers (i.e. physician assistants and nurse practitioners).[3]
Attending physicians are sometimes the 'rendering physician' listed on the patient's official medical record, but if they are overseeing a resident or another staff member, they are 'supervising.'

The term "attending physician" or "attending" also refers to the formal relationship of a hospitalized patient and their primary medic during the hospitalization, as opposed to ancillary physicians assisting the primary care physician. [citation needed] However, even on a consultation service, at an academic center, the physician who has finished his or her training is called the attending or consultant,[4] as opposed to a resident physician.

Attending physicians may also still be in training, such as a fellow in a subspecialty. For example, a cardiology fellow may function as an internal medicine attending, as they have already finished residency in internal medicine. 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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Attending physician". Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ^
    ECFMG
    . Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. PMID 7073412
    .
  4. ^ "Attending Physician Vs. Intern Vs. Resident—What's The Difference?". University Health Partners of Hawaii. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Attending_physician&oldid=1190970122"