Academic medicine

An experienced medical team on your side can make a difference in your health. That’s why a multi-faceted approach is the foundation of what we do at SIU Medicine. SIU Medicine is the clinical practice of SIU School of Medicine – which means it’s an academic medicine environment, where education and health care combine.

Pioneering research meets compassionate care

With academic medicine, your care is tailored to you. It’s shaped by the insights of medical students and teachers whose mission is to improve your health while simultaneously advancing medical research. This balance of empathy and innovation enables SIU Medicine to provide a new standard of care.

Building ties that strengthen our community

Through the combination of education and research, we strive to elevate our entire community. Our outreach spans a diverse range of backgrounds and socioeconomic levels. Our community-driven approach to wellness impacts you, your family and your neighborhood.

Terms you might hear in an academic medicine setting:

Academic medicine: Refers to medical organizations where a medical school that teaches students who want to become doctors also provides health care to patients. These organizations, like SIU School of Medicine (where students become doctors) and SIU Medicine (where doctors treat patients), also gain new knowledge through research in the medical field.

Physician or attending physician: A physician or attending physician is a medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) who has completed graduate school training, also known as a residency, to provide health care in a clinic or hospital, in the specialty area they focused on during their residency program. The attending physician is the doctor supervising and teaching any fellows, residents or medical students who may be in the room.

Fellow: A physician who has completed his or her residency and elects to complete further training in a specific area of health care. For example, a surgery resident might do a fellowship in brain surgery to study operations in the brain more closely. This is an optional step for physicians.

Resident: A physician who has completed medical school and is receiving training in a focused area, called a specialty.  

Intern or first-year resident: A physician who has completed medical school and is engaged in his or her first year of post-medical school training, gaining supervised experience working with patients.

Medical student: An individual who is in medical school. Medical students wear shorter white coats and are not referred to as a physician until they graduate from medical school. SIU School of Medicine is part of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and is the university’s medical school, located in Springfield.