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Attending physician education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an attending physician. Attending physicians usually study medicine, nursing, or biology. 33% of attending physicians hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 1,366 real attending physician resumes to see exactly what attending physician education sections show.
The most common colleges for attending physicians are the New York University and the New York University.
There are also many online attending physician courses to help get the education required to be an attending physician.
There are certain attending physician certifications that you should consider. These attending physician certifications include Medical Assistant and Emergency Medicine.
What education do you need to become an attending physician?
What degree do you need to be an attending physician?
- Bachelor's, 33%
- Doctorate, 20%
- Associate, 13%
- Master's, 8%
- Other Degrees, 26%
What should I major in to become an attending physician?
Most common colleges for attending physicians
| Attending physician common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| New York University | 8.00% |
| New York Medical College | 8.00% |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 7.20% |
| University of the Sciences | 5.60% |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 5.60% |
Best majors for attending physicians
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine | 22.3% |
| 2 | Nursing | 13.5% |
| 3 | Biology | 10.7% |
| 4 | Medical Assisting Services | 8.5% |
| 5 | Business | 5.6% |
Best colleges for attending physicians
The best colleges for attending physicians are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Georgetown University.
An attending physician with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for attending physicians. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become attending physicians.
1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
2. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
5. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$49,816
Enrollment
6,840
6. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
7. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
8. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
9. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
10. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,306
Enrollment
6,975
20 best online courses for attending physicians
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1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
2. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
3. Introduction to Longevity Medicine
A Medical Guide to Longevity Medicine for Physicians...
4. Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Advanced Diploma
A complete program in one course, This Diploma is an Encyclopedia in The Natural Medicine field...
5. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
6. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
7. Doctor of Natural Medicine
This course is a mini encyclopedia in natural medicine field...
8. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing
Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...
9. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
11. Introduction to Cataract Surgery
This comprehensive course will give you the fundamental knowledge needed to begin performing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and extracapsular removal. Each step from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care will be covered to help prepare you for the operating room...
12. Case Studies in Personalized Medicine
Learn how advances in biomedicine hold the potential to revolutionize drug development, drug treatments, and disease prevention: where are we now, and what does the future hold? This course will present short primers in genetics and mechanisms underlying variability in drug responses. A series of case studies will be used to illustrate principles of how genetics are being brought to bear on refining diagnoses and on personalizing treatment in rare and common diseases. The ethical and...
13. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
14. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
15. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
16. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
17. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
18. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
19. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
20. Prepare for the EMT Certification Test
Welcome to your final course in Become and EMT! Prepare for the National Registry exam. The title for this course is a little bit misleading. We do hope that at the completion of this course that you feel more prepared to take the skills portion as well as the written portion of the national registry exam. More than anything else, however, our greatest hope is that we have given you the knowledge and tools to provide high quality patient care once you are certified as an EMT or once you achieve...
Top 10 most affordable universities for attending physicians
The most affordable schools for attending physicians are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and university of south florida.
If the best universities for attending physicians are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for attending physicians.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
3. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
4. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
5. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
7. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
8. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
9. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
10. University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,368
Cost of attendance
21,034
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for attending physicians
The hardest universities for attending physicians to get into are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Georgetown University.
Some great schools for attending physicians are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for attending physicians based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
3. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
4. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
6. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
8. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,449
9. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
10. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for attending physicians
The easiest schools for attending physicians to get into are AdventHealth University, barry university, and d'youville college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an attending physician without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for attending physicians.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
4. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
7. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
8. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
9. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
10. Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,033
Average attending physician salary by education level
| Attending physician education level | Attending physician salary |
|---|---|
| Doctorate Degree | $206,520 |
Attending physician education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025