At SSM Health, your care is guided by experts who are leaders in their fields. Many of our physicians and medical teams also teach and mentor future healthcare professionals through residency and rotation programs. This commitment to education ensures you benefit from the latest knowledge, advanced techniques, and real-world experience every time you receive care.
What is a resident physician?
A resident physician has already completed medical school and received his/her medical Degree, either MD or DO, is licensed to practice, and is now completing additional years of training. Prior to starting residency training, one must have completed both a four-year university degree and a three- or four-year medical school degree.
Upon graduation from medical school, physicians are required to complete additional years of training as a resident. During their residency training, physicians gain valuable experience providing medical care to patients.
For Family Medicine residents, training can take place in multiple areas including outpatient, inpatient, nursing home, emergency medicine, and surgery, as well as other settings.
Obstetrics and Gynecology residents train in obstetrics, high risk obstetrics, gynecology, surgery, oncology, infertility, urogynecology, emergency medicine, breast health, and much more in several different settings.
What to expect during your visit with a Resident Physician
When providing patient care, residents are supervised by a licensed attending physician who reviews and oversees their patient care. During their training, a resident is under supervision by the attending physician, who has already completed his/her own residency training and may have also completed additional fellowship training.
Residents are required to get a detailed history and do a detailed exam before they come to present the case to the attending physician – a process called precepting. During precepting, the resident physician is asked additional questions before they come to a final diagnosis, assessment, and patient care plan together.
The attending physicians will introduce themselves during your visit as part of your care. Over the years, residents are given more autonomy as they progress through their training. This process makes sure that patients are getting the best possible care while the resident physician is learning and preparing to practice on their own as a physician.
Your visit is billed with the resident as the performing provider, and the attending physician as the billing provider. If you are looking for an in-network provider, please reference if the attending physician is covered under your plan.
For information about a specific program, visit our Medical Residencies & Rotations page.
