Understanding Your Healthcare Team

Doctors and other healthcare providers help diagnose your condition and guide your overall treatment plan. Your providers may include physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants/associates.

They may:

• Order tests and treatments
• Review test results
• Prescribe medications
• Perform procedures
• Monitor your progress
• Decide when your plan of care needs to change

You may also meet specialists who focus on a specific area, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, or surgery.

Provider responsibilities depend on their professional training, licensing, and healthcare setting. Care decisions are guided by your needs and may involve the broader care team.

Your nurse is often one of your main connections to the healthcare team throughout the day or night. Nurses assess patients, provide treatments within their responsibilities, monitor changes, educate patients, and communicate with other professionals.

Nurses may:

• Assess your condition
• Check symptoms and vital signs
• Give medications
• Monitor pain
• Watch for changes in your condition
• Prepare you for tests and procedures
• Provide education
• Communicate concerns to doctors and other team members
• Help prepare you for discharge

Certified nursing assistants, patient care technicians, and similar team members provide important everyday care and work with the nursing team.

They may assist with:

• Bathing and hygiene
• Walking and mobility
• Toileting
• Meals
• Repositioning
• Vital signs
• Blood sugar checks

They work closely with the nurse and may spend significant time helping with your everyday needs.

Their responsibilities and permitted tasks depend on training, applicable rules, and facility policies. Tasks such as checking vital signs or blood sugar depend on the worker's training and the facility's procedures.

Hospital pharmacists help make sure medications are being used safely and appropriately. They may identify medication-related concerns, recommend adjustments to the prescribing team, and provide medication education. The type of review can vary from patient to patient.

They may review:

• Medication doses
• Allergies
• Drug interactions
• Kidney or liver function
• How different medications work together

Different therapists may become involved depending on your needs.

Physical therapists help with walking, strength, balance, and mobility.

Occupational therapists help you safely perform daily activities such as dressing, bathing, and preparing to function at home.

Respiratory therapists help with oxygen, breathing treatments, breathing equipment, and certain lung conditions.

Speech-language pathologists (speech therapists) may help with communication, speech, or swallowing problems.