WHO’S WHO?
At a teaching hospital like St. Louis Children’s Hospital, it’s easy to get confused by the terms and titles used to describe a child’s doctor. Below is a brief outline of the different kinds of physicians who practice medicine here, and what differentiates them.
Intern – a physician in the first year after graduating medical school. An intern is sometimes called a “first year resident.” Not yet licensed to practice medicine independently, interns and residents gain practical experience with patient care in a hospital setting, while under the direct supervision of more senior, board-certified physicians. Also called a House Physician.
Resident – a licensed physician taking part in a period of advanced, supervised medical training after graduating from medical school. Also called a House Physician.
House Physician – a medical trainee (intern or resident) who has completed medical school, but is still undergoing the required training to be licensed to practice medicine independently.
Fellow - a physician who has completed training as an intern and resident and has chosen to continue training toward a specialty. A fellow has been granted a stipend and position allowing him or her to do further research in that chosen specialty. (Specialties include cardiology, endocrinology, infectious disease, neurology, etc.)
Attending Physician – A hospital physician or surgeon who has completed all required training, and is licensed to practice medicine independently without additional supervision. Attending physicians visit and treat patients regularly and often supervise students, fellows, and residents. The attending physician is ultimately accountable for the care of his/her assigned patients.
“On-Service” – A period of time assigned to an attending physician when he/she is responsible and accountable for the day-to-day care of patients in his/her particular unit. A service rotation can consist of several days, or several weeks, depending on the specialty. In order to provide continuity of care, when a physician is on service, he or she works every day including weekends, evenings and overnights as needed in order to attend to the ongoing needs of his/her patients.
WHERE YOU ARE
A hospital of the size and scope of St. Louis Children’s Hospital has many different units and divisions, each with a unique design to help care for the special medical needs of the children. Below is a list of the names of each unit, with a brief explanation of their special purpose.
NICU – Newborn Intensive Care Unit - Babies born extremely prematurely, or with critical illnesses are transported to the NICU directly from the delivery room and recover in the NICU until they are stable enough to go home.
PICU – Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – Critically ill children who require specialized life support equipment and staff who are specially trained in critical care are seen in the PICU.
CICU – Cardiac Intensive Care Unit – The CICU was designed to care for children recovering from heart or lung transplants or surgery. Its staff is specially trained in the specialized needs of these patients.
CARES – Children’s Ambulatory Referral for Emergency Services – division of the emergency unit dedicated to patients referred by on-staff physicians.
APC – Ambulatory Procedure Center – place for sedated diagnostic testing, such as heart-lung biopsies or MRI.
PAWS – Pediatric Ambulatory Wound Service – Clinic that addresses needs of children with burns or skin infections that require irrigation and dressing changes.
SDS – Same Day Surgery – pre-surgery suite for children who are not admitted to the hospital, where pre-surgical evaluations and preparations are completed.
PCU – Progressive Care Unit – transitional unit between the PICU or CICU and general patient floor
FRC – Family Resource Center – medical library of information on childhood disease and coping mechanisms, geared toward parents and families of pediatric patients.
PACU – Post Anesthesia Care Unit – unit where children are taken to recover from surgical anesthesia and be reunited with parents.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
In the fast-paced, specialized medical community, it’s common to use abbreviations to describe anything from a specialist’s credentials, to a type of procedure. While it may make things run smoothly for the professionals, it can be confusing to visitors to the hospital who may not be familiar with the medical terminology. Below is a list of common abbreviations used throughout the hospital, and what they mean.
APN – Advanced Practice Nurse
PRN – pro re nata, whenever necessary, as needed
BSN – Bachelor of Science, Nursing
CASWCM – Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager
CCLS – Certified Child Life Specialist
CCC-SLP – Clinical Competence Certification for Speech Language Pathology
CPNP – Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
LCSW-C – Licensed Clinical Social Work - Certified
LMSW – Licensed Master Social Work
MSW – Master of Social Work
PharmD – Doctor of Pharmacy
PsyD – Doctor of Psychology
RD – Registered Dietitian
RN – Registered Nurse
OC – Occupational Therapy
PT – Physical Therapy
RT – Respiratory Therapy
BMT – Bone Marrow Transplant
OR – Operating Room
CT scan – (Also CAT scan) Computed Tomography – scan of the body that provides a sectional view
MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging – imaging that uses magnetic field and radio waves to create cross-sectional images of the head and body – in particular, brain, neck, spinal cord and soft tissue.
fMRI – Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagine – MRI used to demonstrate correlations between physical changes (as in blood flow) in the brain and mental functioning.
PET – Positron-Emission Tomography – scan of the body that provides a sectional view
NPO - nil peros, nothing by mouth (in reference to feeding)