Medicine vocabulary · Hospital Departments and Staff
Consultant
Meaning in medicine, with examples
/kənˈsʌltənt/nounCommon term
In medicine, consultant means: In the UK and some other countries, a senior hospital doctor who has finished specialist training and has final responsibility for a team's patients.
In Turkish: uzman hekim, kıdemli uzman, sorumlu hekim
How it is used
Patients are admitted 'under' a consultant, whose name appears on their records. Junior doctors escalate concerns to the consultant. The US equivalent is the attending physician, or simply 'attending'.
Example sentences
She's under Dr Patel, the respiratory consultant.
I'm going to discuss the scan with my consultant before we decide.
Common collocations
consultant physician
on-call consultant
admitted under a consultant
consultant-led clinic
Related terms
residentIn the US and Canada, a doctor who has finished medical school and is doing several years of supervised training in a specialty in a hospital.
ward roundA regular visit by a team of doctors, often led by a senior doctor, to see each patient on a ward, review progress and make a plan for the day.
referralThe act of sending a patient to another doctor, specialist team or service for an opinion, tests or treatment; also the letter or request that does this.
on callAvailable to be contacted and to come and help if needed, especially outside normal working hours, such as at night or at weekends.
