Attending physician vs chief resident

The differences between attending physicians and chief residents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an attending physician, becoming a chief resident takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an attending physician has an average salary of $200,702, which is higher than the $79,226 average annual salary of a chief resident.

The top three skills for an attending physician include patients, primary care and surgery. The most important skills for a chief resident are residency program, patients, and internal medicine.

Attending physician vs chief resident overview

	Attending Physician	Chief Resident
Yearly salary	$200,702	$79,226
Hourly rate	$96.49	$38.09
Growth rate	7%	28%
Number of jobs	53,195	18,403
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Doctoral Degree, 55%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	4	6

Attending physician vs chief resident salary

Attending physicians and chief residents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Attending Physician	Chief Resident
Average salary	$200,702	$79,226
Salary range	Between $125,000 And $321,000	Between $51,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	Miami, FL	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Hampshire
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Tufts Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between attending physician and chief resident education

There are a few differences between an attending physician and a chief resident in terms of educational background:

	Attending Physician	Chief Resident
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Doctoral Degree, 55%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Attending physician vs chief resident demographics

Here are the differences between attending physicians' and chief residents' demographics:

	Attending Physician	Chief Resident
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%	Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between attending physician and chief resident duties and responsibilities

Attending physician example responsibilities.

Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Prepare patients for ultrasound guide injections and aspirations which includes draping patients, prepping medications and preparing sterile instruments.
Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

Chief resident example responsibilities.

Manage medically compromise patients under intravenous sedation and general anesthesia.
Manage resident and facility accounts, budgets, social security applications, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Provide multidisciplinary care for patients with special needs and complex medical histories.
Revise existing and draft new hospital policies in the areas of radiology safety and privately own medical equipment.
Perform audits of pharmaceuticals and control substances ensuring that foreign pharmaceutical purchases meet FDA requirements.

Attending physician vs chief resident skills

Common attending physician skills

Patients, 35%
Primary Care, 8%
Surgery, 5%
Internal Medicine, 5%
BLS, 4%
Rehabilitation, 3%

Common chief resident skills

Residency Program, 22%
Patients, 16%
Internal Medicine, 11%
Oral Surgery, 8%
Outpatient Clinic, 7%
Emergency Medicine, 5%

Attending Physician vs. similar jobs

Attending Physician related careers

Attending Physician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Attending Physician
Attending Physician vs Chief Resident

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs