A qualified doctor or surgeon in a hospital who supervises house officers.
A person who registers something officially.
For many decades this was the term used for a doctor or dentist in training for a hospital career but who had proceeded beyond the very initial stages of being a house officer. The term became divided into specialist registrar and GP registrar but has now been replaced by the term ‘specialist trainee (ST) followed by the number of years in training eg ST4, ST5 etc. It is likely, however, that both doctors and the public will continue to use the term ‘registrar’ for many years. After a period in this grade usually 3-6 years — they may be appointed as GP principals or gain a certificate of specialist training and be able to apply for NHS consultant posts (provided they have passed the appropriate higher examinations). In 2004 there were almost 15,000 specialist registrars in the UK and more than 1,800 GP registrars. Registrar numbers are also regulated by the government to achieve a balance between the numbers in training and the likely number of vacancies for career-grade doctors or dentists in the future.