Full Careers
What exactly is residency(on-the-job training) for health care careers?
A lot of job info sites say that for almost all medical related careers require "residency" or on-the-job training. I'm assuming this is an internship. Is this usually paid? They say that it requires several years of it.
Public Comments
- That's true. Residency is the time period where you work under another doctor's guidance and in your intended specialty in medicine. It is unpaid, but you do just a much, if not more than the doctors who are paid. It's tough work mentally and physically, but once you're done, you have a blooming career ahead of you as a doctor.
- all doctors need to complete a specific residency to be certified to work in any one medical field (technically you could still practice, but you wouldnt be able to practice at a hospital. too dangerous anyway!). then there are fellowships, which are for people who want to specialize in addition to the general field they did their residnecy in: a doc wanting to study gastroenterologic problems would do his or her residency in internal medicine, then a fellowship in gastroenterology. it tacks on an extra 3- 4 years on top of the 8 years of schooling and 4 years of residency and internship, but its worth it if you want to focus on something very specific (i myself am looking at emergency or critical care medicine). now if youre talking about nurses, PAs or med techs, they dont always require a residency. that term is reserved for doctors and for med professionlas working at a hospital that requires you complete a residency through them in order to work there. however, you do get a little job training on site at some other hospitals and practices that dont have those programs, but many arent that lucky and they just throw you in. in fact, an intern is pretty much thrown in to work as a doctor (with the added benefit of a resident or attending looking over their shoulder- and god how much better i will feel knowing that!) if you are say, an lpn (licensed nurse practitioner), you would graduate with your degree (and they do mock and practice procedures that a nurse needs to do when you are attending school there), find a job where you dont need much experience to start (thats the hard part for most med professionals aside from m.d.'s and d.o.'s ) and away you go OR be chosen to complete a residency at, say, johns hopkins and after successfully finishing that, work at the hospital as a nurse. and yes, to clarify, a doctor's internship and residency are paid (the person that answered first is wrong)- just very little. the salary is paultry and laughable, but hey, those of us who are in it for reasons other than money are fine with that:) now, on the other hand, the clinical years of med school are not paid, as you are not a doctor at that point. so, to clarify, doctor= always need residency to really work as a physician. anyone else in the med field= some programs that help advance your nursing, etc. career but not neccessarily required. hope it helps! good luck- its a very rewarding and fulfilling field if its your passion.
