Associate vs. Assistant Attending?

[secants]

So I've been checking out a few residency programs and I'm kind of confused on what exactly the difference is between a staff attending, associate and assistant attending; I'm not referring to professorship. Anyone have any idea?

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[Smurfette]

It's whether they are tenured, much like in college with asst, assoc and full professors. Assistant is normally a junior attending on a tenure track; associate have met certain tenure requirements but not all those of full tenure. Every institution (and possibly department) has their own requirements with teaching, research, etc. regarding tenure.