Who's Who in the Hospital

Parents are likely to be stressed when a child is hospitalized, and questions about the people providing medical care and what roles they play can add to the confusion.

Here's a guide to those who care for kids in the hospital:

Medical Student: Medical students usually spend the first 2 years of medical school in the classroom and the last 2 years seeing patients in a hospital setting.

Resident: A resident is a doctor who has graduated medical school and is now training in a specific field. Doctors spend from 3 to 7 years in residency training before receiving board certification in their specialty. Residents providing care are supervised by attending physicians who must approve their decisions.

Fellow: A fellow has completed medical school and residency training, and is getting additional clinical training in a specialty.

Attending Physician: An attending physician has completed medical training and has primary responsibility for the care of the patient. While overseeing care, the attending may supervise a team of medical students, residents, and fellows.

Specialist: A specialist is an attending physician who focuses on a particular area of medicine, such as cardiology (heart and vascular system) or rheumatology (problems involving the joints, such as arthritis).

Hospitalist: Hospitalists are doctors who usually specialize in internal medicine, family practice, or pediatrics. A hospitalist caring for your child will be in contact with your family doctor but will manage treatment while your child is hospitalized. Hospitalists don't have private practices, so their time is devoted to caring for hospitalized patients.

Physician Assistant (PA): A physician assistant, under the supervision of a trained doctor, examines patients, diagnoses and treats simple illnesses, orders tests and interprets results, provides preventative health care counseling, assists in surgery, and writes prescriptions. Most PAs have a college degree and have completed a 2- to 3-year training program.

Doctor On-Call: The "doctor on-call" is a physician working on weekends, evenings, and other shifts to answer questions or cover emergencies.

Nurses

Nurses provide much of the day-to-day care in hospitals, closely monitoring a patient's condition and performing vital jobs like giving medicine.

Many kinds of nurses provide varying levels of care:

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN): LPNs provide basic care and assistance to patients with tasks like bathing, changing wound dressings, and taking vital signs. An LPN has at least 1 year of training in this kind of care.

Registered Nurse (RN): A registered nurse gives medication, performs small procedures such as drawing blood, and closely follows a child's condition. RNs have graduated from a nursing program and have a state license.

Advanced Practice Nurses (APN): An advanced practice nurse is an RN who has received advanced training beyond nursing school. At minimum, APNs have a college degree and a master's degree in nursing. Different kinds of APNs include: