Why Are Junior Doctors Now Called Resident Doctors?

Last updated: 28 September 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

What changed on 18 September 2024

After a vote of its members, the BMA formally adopted "resident doctor" as the collective term for the group previously known as junior doctors. NHS Employers, the Department of Health and Social Care and government communications followed, so "resident doctor" is now the official term across pay circulars, press releases and negotiations — including the 2026 pay deal that set the current FY1 (£41,226) and FY2 (£47,610) salaries.

The change was not sudden: the BMA had consulted members and debated the terminology for months, with the vote reflecting a clear majority view that "junior" misrepresented the workforce. Media outlets took time to catch up — you will still see "junior doctor" in older articles and some current headlines — but official usage has settled on "resident doctor".

Why "junior" was a problem

Three related problems drove the change:

• It suggested inexperience. To the public, "junior" sounds like a trainee under close supervision — closer to a student than to a qualified professional. In reality, the "junior doctor" workforce included specialty registrars with eight or more years of postgraduate experience, running emergency departments at night and performing complex procedures independently.
• It confused patients. Patients hearing "junior doctor" could reasonably wonder whether the person treating them was fully qualified. Every resident doctor is a registered medical practitioner; FY1s are provisionally registered and supervised, but FY2s and above hold full registration. The old term undermined confidence without reason.
• It weakened the profession's standing. In pay disputes and public debate, "junior" framed highly trained professionals as beginners — a framing doctors felt depressed both public understanding and their negotiating position. "Resident doctor", by contrast, describes what they do (resident in hospitals, delivering care around the clock) without ranking their competence.

The BMA's own explanation centred on accuracy: the term should describe the role, not diminish the people in it. "Resident" also aligns with international usage — the United States has long called its trainees "residents".

Who "resident doctor" covers

"Resident doctor" is a collective term covering every training grade from the start of foundation training to the award of CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training):

• Foundation doctors — FY1 and FY2 (£41,226–£47,610 in 2026/27)
• Core / specialty trainees — CT1–CT3, ST1–ST8 across all specialties (£55,355–£77,348)
• GP trainees — doctors in GP specialty training

It does not cover SAS doctors (specialty doctors and specialist grade — career-grade roles outside training), consultants, or GPs — each of those groups has its own contract and identity. And individual grade names (FY1, ST3, registrar) are unchanged: "resident doctor" is the umbrella, not a replacement for the grades themselves.

What didn't change

Nothing contractual, financial or structural changed with the rename:

• Contracts: the 2016 junior doctor contract (now the resident doctor contract in name) is unchanged.
• Pay: nodal pay points N1–N5 and all values are identical — the rename and the 2026 pay deal happened to coincide in time, but they are separate events.
• Grades: FY1, FY2, CT1, ST3 and all other grade labels are exactly as before.
• Training: curricula, ARCP, exams and CCT requirements are untouched.

If you see a pay document from before September 2024 saying "junior doctor", read it as "resident doctor" — the figures and terms are the same.

How to use the terms now

In formal, official or professional contexts, use "resident doctor" — it is the current term, and using it signals that you are up to date. In everyday speech, "junior doctor" remains universally understood, and nobody will misunderstand you for using it; but be aware it is now dated in official usage.

On this site, we use both: "resident doctor" as the primary term (in line with the BMA and NHS Employers), with "junior doctor" alongside it so that readers searching either term find what they need. Page titles and URLs use "junior doctor" where that matches what people actually search for — for example, junior doctor take-home pay and junior doctor hourly pay — while the content explains the current terminology. That is not inconsistency; it is meeting readers where they are.

Residents around the world: the term is not new

"Resident doctor" may sound novel in Britain, but it is the standard term in much of the English-speaking medical world. In the United States, doctors in postgraduate training have been called residents for over a century — the name reflecting the historical practice of living in (being resident in) the hospital. American "residency" is the direct equivalent of UK specialty training, and "attending" is roughly the equivalent of consultant. Canada, Australia and much of the Middle East use similar terminology.

This international alignment is one of the quieter arguments for the change. A British ST5 introducing themselves as a "resident doctor" at an international conference is immediately understood; as a "junior doctor", they risked being mistaken for a medical student. For a profession that is increasingly mobile — with significant numbers of UK-trained doctors working abroad and overseas-trained doctors staffing the NHS — a shared vocabulary reduces friction.

There is a historical footnote worth knowing: the NHS itself once used "resident" language. Early NHS hospital hierarchies included resident medical officers, and the term never fully died out in hospital slang. The BMA's 2024 change is therefore less an invention than a restoration — returning to a term that describes where these doctors work and what they do, rather than ranking them against their seniors.

Pay context: the same doctors, same salaries

Because the rename changed nothing about pay, the guides elsewhere on this site apply exactly as written — just substitute "resident doctor" for "junior doctor" throughout:

• FY1 and FY2 doctor salary — £41,226 and £47,610 basic in 2026/27
• Junior doctor take-home pay — monthly breakdowns by grade
• Junior doctor hourly pay — what the salaries mean per hour
• Locum doctor hourly rates — bank vs agency

And if you are wondering where the resident doctor grades sit in the wider medical hierarchy, see NHS consultant salary (£113,565–£150,569) for the destination most trainees are working towards.

Frequently asked questions

Why are junior doctors now called resident doctors?

The BMA changed the collective term on 18 September 2024 because 'junior' was misleading — it suggested medical students or inexperienced staff, when the group includes fully qualified doctors with up to a decade or more of experience. 'Resident doctor' reflects that these doctors are resident in hospitals delivering care.

When did junior doctors become resident doctors?

18 September 2024, when the BMA formally adopted 'resident doctor' as the collective term. NHS Employers and the government followed in official communications.

Who counts as a resident doctor?

All doctors from Foundation Year 1 (FY1) through completion of specialty training and award of CCT — foundation doctors, core trainees, specialty registrars and equivalent grades.

Does the name change affect junior doctor pay or contracts?

No. It is purely a terminology change — contracts, nodal pay points, the 2016 contract terms and all pay values are unchanged. An FY1 on £41,226 is now called a resident doctor, but the job and pay are identical.

Is it wrong to say 'junior doctor' now?

Not wrong in the sense of being misunderstood — everyone knows what it means — but 'resident doctor' is the current official term used by the BMA, NHS Employers and the government. This site uses both so readers can find the information either way.

Are SAS doctors or GPs resident doctors?

No. SAS doctors (specialty doctors and specialist grade) and GPs are separate groups with their own contracts. 'Resident doctor' covers doctors in training grades from FY1 to CCT.

Sources and independence

Source: BMA — Junior doctors to be called resident doctors; BMA — Government offer to resident doctors in England (June 2026).

The terminology change took effect on 18 September 2024 following a BMA member vote. Contracts, grades and pay values were unaffected.

This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the NHS. Doctors are employed on medical and dental terms, not Agenda for Change.