Okuzeka
Medicine vocabulary · Hospital Departments and Staff

Junior doctor

Meaning in medicine, with examples

nounCommon term

In medicine, junior doctor means: In the UK, any qualified doctor who is not yet a consultant or GP, from first-year doctors to senior trainees.

In Turkish: asistan hekim, kıdemsiz hekim, uzmanlık öğrencisi

How it is used

A broad, informal UK term; the NHS now increasingly says 'resident doctor'. The group includes foundation doctors (FY1, FY2), core trainees and specialty registrars. In the US the closest equivalents are interns and residents.

Example sentences

  1. At night, two junior doctors cover more than forty patients on the surgical wards.

  2. As a junior doctor, never be afraid to ask a senior colleague for help.

Common collocations

  • junior doctors' rota
  • junior doctor training
  • on-call junior doctor
  • first-year junior doctor
  • 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.
  • consultantIn the UK and some other countries, a senior hospital doctor who has finished specialist training and has final responsibility for a team's patients.
  • on callAvailable to be contacted and to come and help if needed, especially outside normal working hours, such as at night or at weekends.
  • 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.

More terms: Hospital Departments and Staff

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.