Healthcare Team
During your stay at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, you will encounter a number of healthcare professionals who work together to coordinate your treatment, and who comprise your healthcare team.
Nursing Staff
When you arrive at your room, you will meet a nurse on the unit who will take vital signs, such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure, and will ask you about your health and habits. It's a good opportunity to let the nurse know if you have any special needs. Nursing teams are typically staffed by registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN), both who are supervised by a Patient Care Director. There are also a variety of attendants and technicians who work with nursing in delivering care. Chances are you will meet them as well.
Physicians
Your personal physician &ndash often called the attending physician &ndash will manage your overall care. At times, during your treatment, this physician may seek advice from a consulting physician, someone with specialized experience in the medical or surgical specialty that your care requires.
In addition, you may also be examined by one or more house staff physicians. These physicians are either residents &ndash physicians in their second or third year of acquiring additional expertise in their specialties following graduation from medical school, or fellows &ndash physicians who have completed a residency and are receiving advanced training in their specialty.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools &ndash Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medial College. Therefore, you may meet medical students during your time in the hospital. Medical students are here learning through observation. They also, at times, may participate in patient care under the strict supervision of the attending physician.
Other Team Members
Many other healthcare professionals may also play a role in your care, including social workers, physical, occupational and speech therapists, respiratory therapists, dieticians, radiology technologists, laboratory technologists, phlebotomists (they draw blood), service assistants from Food and Nutrition Services, and escort (sometimes called transport) personnel, who accompany patients to and from tests or procedures that take place in other parts of the Hospital and, sometimes, when they leave the Hospital.
You may also meet other staff such as clerks and business assistants, who assist with scheduling tests and coordinating admission and discharge. You may see these workers on the unit floors, typically at the nurses' station.
Volunteers
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has many devoted volunteers who read and visit with our patients or assist with meals. If you would like to request a visit from a volunteer, please speak with your nurse.
