
A hospital registrar is a doctor in the middle of their training, after being a junior doctor and before becoming a consultant. They are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to qualify and practise as medical professionals. Registrars can administer treatments within their specialism, prescribe medication, and refer patients to other healthcare services. They also handle patient records, collect patient data, and verify documents. In teaching hospitals, registrars may have a group of junior practitioners observing them during their rounds.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Training stage | After being a junior doctor and before becoming a hospital consultant or specialist trainee |
| Experience level | Qualified early career professional |
| Reporting structure | Reports to a mentor at regular intervals |
| Responsibilities | Administer treatment, prescribe medicine, refer patients, handle records, digitise information, answer phones, supervise junior doctors and medical students, lead the acute medical on-call, be the referring doctor for the hospital, and provide customer support |
| Qualifications | Medical degree and a two-year postgraduate medical training program |
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What You'll Learn

Registrars are doctors in the middle of their training
A registrar is a doctor in the middle of their training. They are qualified medical practitioners who are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to fully qualify and practise as medical professionals. This stage of training comes after being a junior doctor and before becoming a hospital consultant.
Registrars are responsible for the medical care of patients in a hospital and can administer treatments within their specialism, usually in collaboration with colleagues. They can also prescribe medicine and refer patients to other healthcare services and treatments if they require specialist care. They work as deputies to consultants but are leaders in their own right. They are also responsible for the supervision of medical students and junior doctors.
Registrars have to pass further professional exams to become consultants. They are difficult, and doctors must usually study while also looking after patients in their busy day jobs. At the end of their training period, registrars can be just as good as consultants, or even better. They will have a huge amount of experience and will have completed their exams more recently, so their clinical knowledge is fresh.
The role of a registrar can be very variable and often hectic and demanding. They may be responsible for leading the acute medical on-call, being the referring doctor for the entire hospital, and handling general practice helplines. They also have to learn how to use the patient records database and digital healthcare system, which vary between settings and hospitals.
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They can administer treatment within their specialism
A hospital registrar is a qualified medical doctor in the middle of their training. They are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to qualify and practise as medical professionals. Registrars can administer treatment within their specialism, usually in collaboration with colleagues, to provide care to patients in a hospital setting. For example, radiotherapist registrars can give radiotherapeutic treatments with the rest of the radiotherapy team but may not administer radiotherapy on their own.
Registrars can freely prescribe medication to patients to provide long-term treatment and ensure they receive the correct dosages. This duty requires them to utilise a wide range of medical knowledge acquired during their education to prescribe the correct medicines for conditions. They can also refer patients to other healthcare services and treatments if they require specialist care, such as mental health services, particular medical treatments or surgeries.
Registrars are responsible for supervising medical students and junior doctors. They are leaders in their own right, working as deputies to consultants. They undertake hospital responsibilities and perform whatever duties are normally expected of a fully qualified professional in that setting, except they also report to a mentor at regular intervals.
The role of a registrar can be very variable and hectic, encompassing a wide range of tasks and challenges. They are often responsible for reviewing newly admitted patients, especially the most unwell, and providing care for patients who have developed an illness while admitted for another reason, such as surgery. Registrars may also handle patient records, digitise information, and answer phones to discuss treatments and explain medical conditions.
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They can prescribe medicine
A hospital registrar is a qualified medical doctor in the final years of their training. They are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to qualify and practise as medical professionals. Registrars can prescribe medicine to patients during appointments to provide long-term treatment and ensure they receive the correct dosages. This duty requires them to draw on a wide range of medical knowledge acquired during their education to prescribe the correct medicines for various conditions.
Registrars are qualified early career professionals who can do whatever a fully qualified doctor can do, except they report to a mentor at regular intervals. They can administer treatments within their specialism, usually in collaboration with colleagues, to provide care to patients in a hospital setting. For example, a radiotherapist registrar can give radiotherapeutic treatments as part of a radiotherapy team but may not administer radiotherapy alone.
Registrars are also responsible for supervising medical students and junior doctors. They are leaders in their own right and work as deputies to consultants. They are often responsible for reviewing newly admitted patients, especially the most unwell, and those who have developed an illness while admitted for another reason, such as surgery.
The role of a registrar can be very busy and demanding, and it is considered one of the most challenging jobs in a hospital. They are often responsible for being the referring doctor for the entire hospital, a general practice helpline, counsellor for distressed relatives, and gatekeeper of the medical assessment unit.
In addition to their medical duties, registrars also handle patient records, using digital healthcare systems to view, interpret, edit, and act on patient records to provide the correct treatment and medical advice. They may also help to digitise physical documentation, such as handwritten notes, using medical coding and online database systems.
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They refer patients to other healthcare services
A registrar is a doctor in the middle of their training. They are qualified medical practitioners who are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to fully qualify and practise as medical professionals. They refer patients to other healthcare services and treatments if they require specialist care, such as mental health services, particular medical treatments, or surgeries. Radiotherapist registrars, for example, can administer radiotherapeutic treatments in collaboration with the rest of the radiotherapy team but are not authorised to administer radiotherapy alone.
Registrars are also responsible for supervising medical students and junior doctors. They work as deputies to the consultants but are leaders in their own right. They are responsible for the medical care of patients in a hospital. They can prescribe medication to patients during appointments to provide long-term treatment and ensure that they receive the correct dosages. They are also responsible for handling patient records, including learning how to use the patient records database and digital healthcare system, which vary between settings and hospitals.
In the past, there have been different names for this registrar period, including senior registrar, specialist registrar, and now specialist trainee. From September 2024, a registrar will be called a resident doctor. This term includes junior doctors and specialty doctors. Registrars are often responsible for reviewing newly admitted patients, especially the most unwell, and providing care for patients who have developed an illness while admitted for another reason, such as surgery. They also handle patient admissions, billing, and customer support.
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They handle patient records and digitise information
A hospital registrar is a qualified medical doctor in the final years of their training. They are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to qualify and practise as medical professionals. Registrars can administer treatments and prescribe medication to patients. They also refer patients to other healthcare services and treatments.
Handling patient records and digitising information is a key aspect of a registrar's training. They learn how to use the patient records database and digital healthcare system, which vary between hospitals. Registrars are trained to view, interpret, edit and act on a patient's records to ensure they receive the correct treatment and medical advice. They also help to digitise handwritten notes from consultants and other specialists using medical coding and online database systems.
Registrars usually produce and receive some level of physical documentation. They may help to digitise this information, so it can be beneficial to develop computer skills in advance. Hospitals regularly answer enquiries and explain medical conditions and treatments by phone. Registrars may also have meetings and calls with individuals from external organisations, such as the Care Quality Commission.
Registrars are leaders in their own right, but they also report to a mentor at regular intervals. They are responsible for the supervision of medical students and junior doctors. They work as deputies to the consultants and provide care to patients who have developed an illness while admitted for another reason, such as a surgical operation.
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Frequently asked questions
A hospital registrar is a doctor in the middle of their training. They are qualified medical practitioners who are gaining experience in a healthcare environment to satisfy the requirements to fully qualify and practice as medical professionals.
Registrars are responsible for the medical care of patients in a hospital. They can administer treatments within their specialism, prescribe medicine, and refer patients to other healthcare services. They also supervise medical students and junior doctors, and handle patient records.
To become a hospital registrar, you must first complete a medical degree and then undertake a two-year postgraduate medical training program.
A junior doctor is a doctor who is in the early stages of their career and is usually undergoing further training to specialise in a particular area of medicine. A registrar is a qualified doctor who is completing their final years of training before becoming a fully qualified practitioner.
A registrar is a doctor who is still in training and gaining experience under the supervision of a mentor. Once they have completed their training period, they can apply to become a consultant, which is a senior position that does not require regular official mentorship.











































