Meaning & use
attending
Last updated
In a hospital, a fully qualified doctor who has completed training and holds primary responsibility for patient care, often supervising residents and medical students.
See it in a sentence
The attending reviewed the chart before approving the treatment plan.
She hopes to become an attending within the next two years.
A note on using this word
This medical-jargon usage differs from the everyday sense of 'attending' as simply being present; in a hospital, 'the attending' specifically refers to the senior supervising doctor.
Words with a similar meaning
attending physician
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