Do residents and interns have to work in a teaching hospital?

Answer 1

Residencies are evaluated by the boards of their respective specialties, for example the American Board of Pediatrics. Periodically the board sends examiners to the hospital to evaluate the training program to ensure that it fulfills all the requirements of the specialty.

Teaching hospitals may be university affiliated, that is, affiliated with a nearby medical college, or community based. Even with community based hospitals there is often still some connection with a college of medicine.

Most medical school graduates want to become board certified. The first step in this process is completing an APPROVED residency. Thus doing an internship in a small town with a non-accredited training program won't make the cut.

Answer 2

The residency IS a teaching program, so it's self-defined. All teaching hospitals aren't at sites that are medical school hospitals full of students, though, if that's what you mean. Also, it's possible for a resident to have enough time in training to get a regular license even while still in residency, and if his program allows it, he can moonlight elsewhere. When I was a senior resident, I made twice the money moonlighting (with a lot fewer hours of it!) than I made in the residency.

Answer 3

I would say the vast majority of residents work in a teaching hospital. Where else would one learn?

Most residencies are in teaching hospitals because that's the environment necessary to support a residency program.