What is the difference between an attending physician & a resident in a hospital?

Answer 1

If you follow the TV Show, "ER", a resident is a doctor who just graduated from medical school. Typically, this will be for 4 years. An attending physician is someone who has more experience and is a permament member of the hospital.

Answer 2

The attending physician may or may no be a resident. A resident is someone that is in medical school and working towards their certification to whatever specialty they are going after. A full fledged doctor could be the attending physician. I have two sons that are doctors, one a neuro radiologist and the other is a primary family care physician. They are both on call for their specialities. My son that is a primary care physician ( a family care doctor) has calls at his hospital. So as you see, a either a certified physician and/or a resident can be on call as the attending physician. It just depends who is on call. Have both a blessed day and a blessed weekend.