PGY, short for post-graduate year, refers to a North American numerical scheme denoting the progress of post-graduate dental, medicine, or pharmacy residents in their residency program. It is used to stratify responsibility in most training programs and to determine salary. The grade of the resident is denoted with a numeral after the PGY designation, such as PGY-3 for a third year resident.
The length of residency depends mostly on the field a graduate chooses to take. Medical specialties such as family medicine and internal medicine often require only three years, whereas surgery usually requires a minimum of five, and neurological surgery is the longest at seven years. Subspecialization (vascular or orthopedic spine surgery as a branch of surgery, for example) in any field will add time to post-graduate training.
For more information on specific medical residency programs, see the American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database.
Dental residencies for general practice, known as GPRs, are generally one year, with a possibility of a second year at some facilities. Dental specialties, such as Oral and maxillofacial surgery also require further training (4-6 years). Most specialty programs do not require students to have completed a year of GPR, but it most definitely increases the chances of the applicant.
Pharmacy residencies are usually one year, but a PGY-2 can be completed, often as an option, for pharmacy specialties such as critical care, cardiology, oncology, etc.
In some teaching institutions, trainees are required to indicate level of training on all signatures (John Doe, M.D., PGY-1 or R-1).
Residencies are also offered for those in the Physician Assistant profession in a variety of specialties such as surgery and emergency medicine. Controversy exists as to whether this should be mandatory for subspecialty work.