in clinic

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Spending time seeing and treating patients, rather than doing research, teaching, or office work.

   Grammar: Used after a linking verb such as be: doctors are in clinic when they are seeing patients.

   Patterns

   • be in clinic
   • be in clinic all morning
   • spend the morning in clinic

   Dr. Alvarez is in clinic this morning, so she can't take your call.

   As a resident, I'm in clinic three days a week and in the lab the rest of the time.

   He prefers being in clinic to sitting at a desk writing reports.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   Inside a clinic building or during a visit to a clinic, as opposed to at home or online.

   Grammar: Often used before a noun to describe where something happens: in-clinic treatment.

   Patterns

   • in-clinic treatment
   • in-clinic visit
   • in-clinic procedure

   The study compared in-clinic visits with video appointments.

   Patients can now do most of the paperwork before their in-clinic appointment.

   In-clinic testing gives results within an hour.

Common combinations

be in clinic

All the senior doctors are in clinic until noon, so the meeting is after lunch.

in-clinic visit

An in-clinic visit is still needed for the physical examination.

in clinic all day

She's in clinic all day Tuesday and does surgery on Wednesdays.

time in clinic

New doctors spend a lot of time in clinic during their first year.

in-clinic treatment

The clinic offers in-clinic treatment as well as home care.

Synonyms and how they differ

seeing patients

A plain everyday phrase with the same meaning; it fits any context, while "in clinic" sounds like hospital workplace jargon.

on duty

Suggests being officially working, which may include other tasks, not only face-to-face patient care.

Opposites

Commonly confused: in clinic or at the clinic?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “in clinic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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