A doctor who is a senior specialist in a particular branch of medicine and who is consulted by GPs.
In Britain’s health service a consultant is the senior career post for a fully accredited specialist. He or she normally sees patients referred by general practitioners — hence the historical term ‘consultant’ — or emergency cases admitted direct to hospital. NHS consultants are also allowed to do a certain amount of private practice if they wish. After qualification and a two year period of general supervised training, doctors enter onto a specialist training scheme, working in hospitals for 5—8 years before being accredited; many also do research or spend some time working abroad. All must pass difficult higher examinations. In 2005, the number of consultant hospital medical and dental staff in Great Britain was 31,990.
A health care worker, such as a nurse, physician, dentist, pharmacist, or psychologist, who acts in an advisory capacity.
In the United Kingdom, a consultant is a physician who specializes in a specific field of medicine and is typically associated with a particular hospital. A consultant assumes complete responsibility for the patients under their care.