Resident

Residency is a stage of post-graduate medical training. A resident physician/surgeon is a doctor who has received a medical degree and practices medicine under the supervision of fully licensed physicians and/or surgeons, usually in a hospital or clinic. A residency may follow the internship year or include the internship year as the first year of residency. Successful completion of residency training is a requirement to practice medicine as an attending physician/surgeon. A resident may choose a residency in any specialty of their choosing but may have to complete years in more general training as prerequisites for some specialties.

Chief Resident
The chief resident, as described by Sydney Heron, is "the fifth year resident that rules over all residents". The chief resident also handles training, call schedules and assignments of other residents on top of their own responsibilities to ensure that the department runs smoothly.

Notable Chief Residents

 * Dr. Callie Torres
 * Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * Dr. April Kepner

Residents

 * Dr. Steve Mostow (Fourth-year, general surgery)
 * Dr. Graciella Guzman (Second-year, general surgery)
 * Dr. Ryan Spalding (Second-year, general surgery)

Former Residents

 * Dr. Izzie Stevens (Third-year, general surgery) - fired
 * Dr. George O'Malley (Second-year, trauma surgery) - deceased
 * Dr. Reed Adamson (Third-year, general surgery) - deceased
 * Dr. Charles Percy (Third-year, general surgery) - deceased
 * Dr. Lexie Grey (Fourth-year, general surgery) - deceased

Surgical Residency Programs

 * Cardiothoracic Surgical Residency is a 6-year program training solely in cardiothoracic surgery. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Surgical Residency is a 5-year program training in general surgery. Training also includes rotations in other surgical specialties such as trauma surgery, pediatric surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, and OB/GYN. The first year in this program is also the intern year known as surgical intern.
 * Anesthesiology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in anesthesiology. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in OB/GYN. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Orthopedic Surgical Residency is a 4-year program training solely in orthopedic surgery. A surgical internship in general surgery is required prior to beginning the program.
 * Otolaryngology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in otolaryngology. A surgical internship in general surgery is required prior to beginning the program.
 * Urology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in urology. A surgical internship in general surgery is required prior to beginning the program.
 * Dermatology Residency is a 3-year program training solely in dermatology. A surgical internship in general surgery is required prior to beginning the program.
 * Ophthalmology Residency is a 3-year program training solely in ophthalmology. A surgical internship in general surgery is required prior to beginning the program.

Medical Residency Programs

 * Pathology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in pathology. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Psychiatry Residency is a 4-year program training solely in psychiatry. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Radiology Residency is a 4-year program training solely in radiology. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Emergency Medicine Residency is a 3-year program training solely in emergency medicine. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Internal Medicine Residency is a 3-year program training in internal medicine. The first year in this program is also the intern year.
 * Neurology Residency is a 3-year program training solely in neurology. An internship in internal medicine is required prior to beginning the program.
 * Pediatrics Residency is a 3-year program training solely in pediatrics. The first year in this program is also the intern year.

Notes and Trivia

 * Typically, residents are on-call for 30 hours straight.
 * Dr. George O'Malley died shortly before completing his second year as a resident.
 * It is unknown who succeeded Dr. Miranda Bailey as Chief Resident in the following class when she completed her residency. It is also unknown who succeeded Dr. April Kepner in the following class.
 * Dr. Arizona Robbins was Chief Resident of her class at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
 * In the real world, there is a Chief Resident for each residency program, and because Dr. Callie Torres was an ortho resident, she would have presided over other ortho residents, not the other surgical residents as they were in the general surgery program.
 * While neurosurgery is its own residency program in the real world, both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice portray neurosurgery as a fellowship, requiring a surgical residency.
 * Dr. Sam Bennett is the only heart surgeon, on both shows so far, revealed to have taken the cardio residency program vs. other heart surgeons who completed a surgical residency followed by a cardio fellowship.
 * Although anesthesiologists are not considered surgeons, they are part of the surgical divisions and departments within a hospital's hierarchy.
 * In an alternate reality, Dr. Alex Karev was chief resident instead of Dr. April Kepner.