This is a physician who is on the official hospital staff. It is differentiated from an intern physician (a recent medical school graduate without a license), a resident physician (a licensed physician who is learning a specialty) and a visiting physician (a specialist from another hospital who is granted temporary privileges in the hospital).

In recent years, it is also used to differentiate between contracted physicians (los que tienen base) and noncontracted physicians (los que no tienen base). Noncontracted physicians can have all the privileges and responsibilities as attending physicians, but they are not entitled to vacation, pensions and benefits. This differentiation is made in countries that still have mostly privatized systems such as Mexico. In the US, contracted and noncontracted physicians are both referred to as "attendings" regardless of their employment agreement.

SaludoZ!