Attending vs Resident

An attending is a fully credentialed physician who is able to practice medicine independently, while a resident is a professional that has earned their medical degree but is not able to practice medicine independently.

How To Become A Resident: What It Is and Career Path

What is a resident and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A resident is a freshly graduated medical student, completing a physician fellowship under the supervision of medical professionals. Residency is a regular phase of medical education that lasts for three to seven years, depending on the specialization. In fact, there is around one resident for every five physicians active in healthcare facilities.

Residents are involved in patient care, do rounds and attend seminars, complete medical records, and perform any task assigned to them by healthcare staff. They examine patients and assess their health status, develop treatment plans, and assist in medical procedures and surgery.

As a new resident on the job, you are likely to feel a bit overwhelmed in the beginning. But not to worry, according to the latest regulations, the workload is limited to 80 hours a week, and the maximum length of shifts first-year residents are allowed to take is 28 hours.

ScoreResidentUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,589

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.64%

Asian 7.08%

Black or African American 15.84%

Hispanic or Latino 17.10%

Unknown 5.61%

White 51.72%

Gender

female 59.01%

male 40.99%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a resident

Explore resident education requirements

Most common resident degrees

Bachelor's

44.9 %

Doctorate

17.4 %

Associate

10.8 %

Start to develop specific resident skills

Skills	Percentages
Home Health	19.55%
Patients	15.38%
Rehabilitation	13.02%
Customer Service	6.21%
CPR	3.51%

Complete relevant resident training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New residents learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a resident based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real resident resumes.

Research resident duties and responsibilities

Manage pediatrics emergencies, indoor & outdoor patients, neonatal & intensive care units.
Document daily reports, administer medication, experience with first aid, CPR, and strategies for crisis intervention.
Perform full mouth surgical dental rehabilitation for mentally and physically disable patients (children and adults) under general anesthesia.
Work up surgical patient for surgery, under supervision.

Prepare your resident resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your resident resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a resident resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable resident resume templates

Build a professional resident resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your resident resume.