Your questions: Professional roles in health care
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Your questions: Professional roles in health care
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It can be hard to know which type of health professional is the correct one to help you with your health problem. Here we give some brief descriptions of the roles that different types of health professionals play, and the problems that they treat. This information is currently arranged alphabetically by the names of the professions. This list of health professions is not complete, but it will be added to over time. You might also like to look at our fact sheet about nursing staff. AudiologistsAudiology is the clinical science concerned with the assessment, prevention, and rehabilitation of hearing impairment and associated communication disorders. Audiologists are post-graduate university trained professionals who specialise in the assessment, prevention and non-medical management of hearing problems. DietetitiansDietetitians are university trained professionals who assess and advise clients on issues relating to food and nutrition. Dietitians are also involved in nutrition education. They may prescribe diets to meet many different needs (eg: diabetes, weight reduction, weight gain, cardiac problems, allergies, eating disorders, cholesterol reduction). They also see children for weight management, healthy eating, eating problems or allergies. Our Nutrition and Dietetics page has more information. DoctorDoctor is the term that is a applied to either a professional who holds a PhD degree or to a professional with a degree in Medicine. The 'doctor' that you see as an inpatient in hospital will be a professional with a degree in medicine. They may be a resident (doctor), registrar (experienced doctor in training to be a specialist), staff specialist (qualified specialist doctor employed by the health service) or VMO- visiting medical officer (qualified medical specialist with visiting rights to the hospital). Medical Practitioners'Medical Practitioner' is a more formal term used to describe a professional who has a degree in medicine. Many doctors go on to specialise in particular areas of medicine after they have done their initial training. For example, some doctors go on to specialise in surgery, others might choose obstetrics (specialising in pregnancy and childbirth) or general practice. NursesWe have a fact sheet on nurses- from EN to Nurse Practitioner. Occupational therapistsOccupational therapy helps people who have problems with daily living activities. These might include work, education, getting dressed or cooking. Occupational therapists are university-trained professionals who work with people of all ages to promote, maintain or restore functional independence in all aspects of daily living. PaediatriciansPaediatricians are doctors with specialist training in the diseases of children. The children that they see will range in age from birth until approximatley 16 years of age. PhysiotherapistsPhysiotherapists help people with problems related to physical movement. Their university training gives them specific skills used in the assessment and treatment of problems in movement / physical function. Physiotherapists manage a range of health problems, including musculoskeletal, cardiothoracic and neurological conditions, using physical treatments rather than drugs or surgery. Information about HKHS physiotherapy services is available on the Physiotherapy department page. PodiatristsA podiatrist deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the foot and lower limb. Podiatry encompasses a broad range of common foot problems such as corns, warts, ingrown nails, ulcer management and biomechanical issues relating to structural and functional defects of the foot and lower limb. The Podiatry department page has more information on this topic. PsychiatristsPsychiatrists are doctors (medical practitioners) who have specialist training in psychiatry, the study of mental disorders. PsychologistsPsychologists are health professionals with a university degree in psychology. Their role that may involve psychological assessment, counselling or psychotherapy. RadiologistsA specialist medical practitioner (doctor) with extensive training in reading diagnostic x-rays and performing specialised x-ray procedures. Social workersSocial Workers are health professionals with a university degree in social work. A social worker helps individuals and their families deal with various problems which arises from coping with a difficulty, illness, or hospitalisation. We have more information on the HKHS Social Work Department page. Speech PathologistsSpeech Pathologists assess, diagnose and treat children and adults with difficulties in the areas of language, speech, stuttering, voice and swallowing. Problems with language, speech, voice or swallowing can arise after a stroke or traumatic brain injury or other neurological conditions. Children may need help with problems such as speech sound development, language delay, stuttering or voice. Some years ago speech pathologists were often called speech therapists. More information is available on the fact sheet "When to contact a speech pathologist" and on our Speech Pathology page.
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