You may hear Duke referred to as an "academic medical center" or "teaching hospital." These terms are used to describe hospitals that have missions beyond just patient care.

Most teaching hospitals pursue three related enterprises:

• Teaching: Training medical students and resident physicians
• Research: Conducting both basic science and clinical investigation
• Patient care: Delivering health care services through a network that may include one or more hospitals, satellite clinics, and physician office practices.

This results in a health system that encourages the highest standards of quality and provides access to the most up-to-date treatments.

It also fosters an environment where many people are always thinking about the patient’s condition, leading to more thorough patient care (although also resulting in patient visits with multiple members of the health care team).

Physician Titles

During a visit to Duke University Hospital, you may encounter physicians with different titles. Here’s what they mean:

• Attending physician: The attending physician is board-certified in a specialty or sub-specialty (such as pediatric cardiology) and is ultimately responsible for directing the care of the patient. Attending physicians are members of the Duke University faculty and are responsible for the training and education of the house staff (or house officers) and medical students, as well as advancing the field of medicine through their research interests.
• House staff: Also known as house officers. The house staff is a broad term for all physicians who have completed medical school and are training in a teaching hospital. They are directly and intimately involved in the care of the patient, but report to the attending physician who oversees the complete care of each patient.

  The three categories of house staff are:

  • Fellow: A fellow is a physician who is board-certified in a primary specialty and is completing additional training to become board-certified in a sub-specialty. For example, a pediatric cardiology fellow is a board-certified pediatrician who is completing a three-year training program to become a pediatric cardiologist.
  • Resident: A resident is a licensed medical doctor who is completing a training program to become board-certified in a specialty field such as internal medicine,

    For example, a pediatric resident has completed medical school and is completing a three-year training program to become specialized in pediatrics. A first year-resident is often referred to as an intern.

  • Intern: An intern is a medical school graduate in the first year of a residency training program. Interns are usually the physicians most directly involved in a patient’s care and are supervised by residents, fellows, and attending physicians.

• Medical student: Medical students often participate in the care and evaluation of both inpatient and outpatients to gain the experience they need to become a fully trained doctor. They are supervised at all times by a physician such as an intern, resident, fellow, or attending. In general, medical students do not participate in patient care until their second, third, or fourth year of medical school.