What You Should Know About Medical Residency and Training

Many applicants to medical school don't realize that becoming a doctor is not just a matter of graduating from medical school. A great deal of training occurs after graduation, during residency.  Residency typically lasts three years. It is during residency that you will specialize in a particular field of medicine.

Residency by the Year

The first year of residency is also known as an internship or first year residency (PGY-1 for post graduate year 1, the first year out of medical school). Interns generally rotate among specialties. During PGY-2, the second year of residency, the doctor continues to learn the field, focusing on a specialty area. Fellowship, PGY-3, is when the doctor trains in a sub-specialty. 

Daily Tasks

Residents are expected to fulfill several tasks daily. Responsibilities of a resident can include:

• Rounds (talk to each patient about their care).
• Rounds with the team: teams include several interns, an upper-level supervising resident, and an attending or teaching physician taking care of certain patients. Students are often questioned/drilled about diseases and treatment techniques. Students are able to speak with each patient about their needs and make suggestions for further diagnostic tests and treatments.
• Students check in with some patients again and delve deeper into their treatments.
• Residents leave notes or instructions on each patient including possible problems that may arise for the next shift resident.
• Attend various lectures and conferences.
• Study at home and work.

Students may admit new patients and are expected to:

• Prepare a history of the patient's medical past.
• Perform a physical examination.
• Write their admitting orders, which include instructions for tests and medications.

All of this work is accompanied by an average annual salary of  $40,000 to $50,000.