Here’s a guide to the healthcare professionals you may encounter, their roles, and how they’ll support you and your whānau.
There are different roles for doctor’s which is dependent on their level of experience:
Consultant/ Specialist/Senior medical officer: a doctor or surgeon who is the most senior type of doctor in the hospital. They have completed all training and they are responsible for leading the team providing your care. They will often delegate some of the care or operations to the registrar under their supervision.
Fellow: typically a fully trained specialist, often from another country, who is undertaking very specialised training in a specific area.
Registrar: a doctor who has been qualified for anytime between two and fourteen years. They maybe training to be a specialist (senior registrar) or completing time working in a specialty to gain a training position (junior registrar).
House officer: the most junior type of doctor in the hospital. They typically manage
the day to day care of patients on the hospital ward and work closely with the rest of the team.
MOSS (Medical Officer of Specialist Scale): a senior doctor who does not have a qualification as a specialist, or has a qualification from overseas that is not eligible for specialist registration in New Zealand.
Medical students: medical students are still in medical school working towards becoming a qualified doctor. Most of their time in the hospital is in their final years of their course.
SURGEONS
Neurosurgeon: Surgeons who manage conditions of the brain and the spine.
Plastic Surgeon: Surgeons who can rebuild or reconstruct the many different parts of the body.
Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon (Otolaryngologist): Surgeons who look after the inner hearing part of the ear, the inside of the nose and the throat.
Maxillofacial Surgeon: Surgeons for the jaws and teeth.
Craniofacial Surgeon: A plastic surgeon that specialises in conditions of the face, facial bones and skull.
Orthopaedic Surgeon: Manages the bones of the arms, legs and spine.
Ophthalmologist: Eye surgeon.
Cardiothoracic Surgeon: Surgeon for the heart, lungs and chest.
Urologist: Surgeon who looks after kidneys, prostates and bladders and other parts of the urinary tract.
General Surgeon: A Surgeon who operates in the abdomen.
Obstetrician: A surgeon who manages pregnancies and the delivery of babies.
Gynaecologist: A surgeon who manages the female reproductive tract.
DOCTORS
General Practitioner (GP): an expert doctor in managing most medical conditions. GPs will seek help from other medical and surgical specialists when people need care in the hospital system.
Dermatologist: a doctor for skin conditions.
Geneticist: a doctor specialising in genes and rare conditions.
Respiratory Physician: a medical doctor who is an expert in lungs and breathing.
Cardiologist: a doctor who is an expert in the heart.
Renal Physician: a doctor who is an expert in kidneys.
Endocrine: a medical doctor who is an expert in the endrocrine glands in your body and hormones treating conditions such as diabetes and thyroid disease.
Paediatrician: a doctor who is an expert in the care of children.
Neurologist: a medical doctor who is expert in brain and nerve conditions.
Radiologist: highly specialised doctors who review the images from the scan to work out a diagnosis.
Anaesthetist: a specialist doctor who gets you safely and comfortably asleep for operations.
Oncologist: a medical doctor who specialises in the treatment of cancer with medications.
Radiation Oncologist: a medical doctor who specialises in the treatment of cancer with radiation therapy.
Palliative Care Physician: a medical doctor who specialises in the care and support of people who have a terminal illness and often those who have a significant condition that has little or no treatment options.
NURSES
Each team will have its own nurses: sometimes the nurses will be the only member of the team who see you, they work closes with the doctors and surgeons.
Clinical Nurse Specialists: nurses who are very experienced in their subject of work and will often work independently of the doctors.
Charge Nurse: is the nurse in charge of a ward or a clinic.
Ward Nurse: is the nurse running the day-to-day care of patients in the hospital ward (inpatients).
Theatre Nurse: is a nurse who helps with operations in the operating theatres (operating rooms).
Outpatient Nurse: is a nurse who works in the outpatient department where patients are seen for appointments.
OTHER MEDICAL TEAM MEMBERS
Speech and language therapists: experts in speech (how you form words), language (how you use words) and swallowing.
Psychologist: provides psychological support and strategies to overcome individual challenges.
Orthodontist: looks after the position of teeth and uses braces and other devices to move teeth into more functional positions. Works closes with dentists and surgeons.
Dentist: looks after the health of your teeth.
Physiotherapists: support you with the movement of your body by strengthening and retraining muscles.
Radiology Technician: sets up and undertakes the investigations such as x-rays, ultrasound, CT scans or MRI scans.
Radiation Technician: a technician who supports the radiation oncologist and sets up the radiation treatment.
Anaesthetic Technician: supports the anaesthetist while you have an operation.
Personal Assistant, Secretary, Outpatient Administrator: an administrator who helps the doctors and nurses coordinate patient care, appointments and documentation.