Attending physician

[1] An attending physician typically supervises[2] fellows, residents, and medical students.

Attending physicians may also maintain professorships at an affiliated medical school.

[2] This is common if the supervision of trainees is a significant part of the physician's work.

Attending physicians have final responsibility, legally and otherwise, for patient care, even when many of the minute-to-minute decisions are being made by house officers (residents) or non-physician health-care providers (i.e. physician assistants and nurse practitioners).

In non-teaching hospitals, essentially all physicians function as attendings in some respects after completing residency.