Residency

Residency refers to the part of a medical education that follows the internship year. The doctors at this stage of residency are given the term residents. They have received a medical degree but are yet to receive the full license to practice medicine unsupervised. They are taught by residents and attendings.

The resident will be expected to pick their specialty by the completion of the standard five year surgical residency or three year internal medicine residency. Before the completion of the residency, the resident will be given the opportunity to start performing surgeries alone and practice medicine unsupervised.

The Match
In their fourth year of medical school, students apply for a residency through a process known as The Match. They name their preferred medical programs in a rank-order list which is matched up with the rank-order list made by the residency director at the hospital. The student has an interview at the hospital prior to that part of the process and on Match Day, the student finds out the place they were accepted.

The student is then expected to complete that program for the program length and the hospital is expected to provide that education. In special circumstances such as relocation and marriage, the student can request to leave and take up a place in a new hospital, of which every one will have openings. They can also be re-matched in the case of a situation such as hospital closure or mergers.

Surgical Programs
''Note: For dermatology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and orthopedics, the resident has to complete the surgical residency program prior to starting the residency program for their specialty. For the rest of the surgical programs, the first year of internship counts as part of the time they train in their specialty, i.e. for cardiothoracic surgery, the first year of the seven year program counts. ''
 * Anesthesiology Residency - four year program training in Anesthesiology Surgery
 * Cardiothoracic Surgical Residency - six year program training in Cardiothoracic Surgery
 * Dermatology Residency - three year program training in Dermatology
 * Obstretrics and Gynecology Residency - four year program training in OB/GYN
 * Ophthalmology Residency - three year program training in Ophthalmology
 * Orthopedic Surgical Residency - four year program training in Orthopedic Surgery
 * Otolaryngology Residency - four year program training in Otolaryngology
 * Surgical Residency - five year program training in General Surgery - the surgical residency is required for departments such as cardiothoracic surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, trauma surgery and ENT in order to then gain a fellowship in the specialty. The resident rotates on the service of each specialty along with OB/GYN, urology and neurosurgery.

Internal Medicine Programs
Note - for every program, the length of time also includes the first year of the internship
 * Emergency Medicine Residency - three year program training in Emergency Medicine
 * Internal Medicine Residency -  three year program training in Internal Medicine
 * Neurology Residency -  three year program training in Neurology
 * Pathology Residency -  four year program training in Pathology
 * Pediatrics Residency -  three year program training in Pediatrics
 * Psychiatry Residency -  three year program training in Psychiatry
 * Radiology Residency -  four year program training in Radiology

Program Director
The Program Director leads the educational program by organising and implementing the decisions regarding the education of the residents, working with the Chief of Surgery and the board. They provide help and guidance for the ethical, professional and personal development of the doctor and they provide a safe environment for the patients in their care.

The Program Director is also the the one who conducts the interview with potential students for the match, create the rank-order list, preside the new resident in-take, manage their service rotation and evaluate the work of the doctor. They will also decide the disciplinary action to take in the event that such action is needed.

Previous Program Directors
The current Program Director at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is Dr. Richard Webber. Dr. Eliza Minnick was the former Program Director until she was sacked. In 2005, the Associate Director of the Residency Program was Dr. Barclay Faust.

Chief Resident
The Chief Resident is selected in their 5th year of residency. They are picked by the Chief of Surgery. They handle the training and schedule of the residents, and set up dates in which they teach workshop while handling their own schedule and training.

Previous Chief Residents

 * Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * Dr. Callie Torres
 * Dr. April Kepner
 * Dr. Polly Preston at Brigham and Women's Hospital
 * Dr. Arizona Robbins at John Hopkins Hospital

Research Year
The resident can take an optional research year where they take a break from training in their specialty, and research for academic and clinical reasons. They can research at the hospital they are training for their specialty in, or in another depending on resources.

Behind the Scenes

 * Four doctors have died in their residency years in Grey's Anatomy - George O' Malley in his second year, Reed Adamson in her third year , Charles Percy in his third year and Lexie Grey in her fourth year . Izzie Stevens was sacked in the merger , while Shane Ross resigned to relocate to another hospital and Stephanie Edwards left the residency program to travel.
 * Many cardiothoracic residents take the Surgical Residency program before taking the Cardiothoracic Fellowship. Dr. Sam Bennett is the only doctor known to have skipped Surgical Residency and took the Cardiothoracic Residency.
 * Grey's Anatomy portrays the Chief Resident as presiding over every resident in the hospital. However, in reality there would be multiple Chief Residents for every specialty.