When you’re referred to hospital with your child, you may be familiar with the department you’re admitted to.
But what if you’re confused about where you’ve been sent? Departments with long, obscure names (such as audiovestibular medicine) may cause you some confusion (not to mention the fact there’s often a lot of crossover between departments and you may find yourself seeing a whole alphabet of specialists).
That’s why we’ve written this section – to help you navigate your way through the A to Z of hospitals specialisms.
Have we missed one out? We hope this is a comprehensive list but please let us know if you’ve found a department we need to include.
For further information about medical specialisms, visit the NHS Medical Careers page:
http://www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk/specialty_pages.aspx
- Allergy
- Audiovestibular medicine
- Acute medicine
- Cardiovascular medicine
- Clinical genetics
- Clinical neurophysiology
- Dermatology
- ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat)
- Endocrinology and diabetes
- Gastroenterology
- Immunology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Opthalmology
- Otolaryngology
- Paediatric medicine
- Psychiatry
- Renal medicine
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
ALLERGY
This field of medicine provides active intervention and also allergen avoidance for millions of UK people who suffer allergic diseases such as food allergy, drug allergy, drug allergy, venom allergy, anaphylaxis, asthma, rhinitis, eczema, asthma and some forms of urticaria (such as latex allergy).
An expert in allergy medicine is called a consultant allergist or consultant paediatric allergist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include asthma nurse specialist, clinical nurse specialist and specialist dietitian. They may also work with other specialists such as respiratory physicians, dermatologists, immunologists, ENT consultants or paediatricians
AUDIOVESTIBULAR MEDICINE
Formerly known as audiological medicine, audiovestibular medicine is concerned with hearing, balance and communication disorders. This includes disorders that are inherited, infectious, inflammatory, vascula (to do with blood vessels), metabolic (to do with the chemical reactions that occur within us) or caused by trauma.
An expert in audiovestibular medicine is called a consultant in audiovestibular medicine.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include specialist nurses, audiologists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, teachers of the deaf and hearing therapists.
Sub-specialisties linked with audiovestibular medicine include paediatrics, clinical genetics, paediatric neurology, otorhinolaryngology, immunology and allergy, and opthalmology.
ACUTE MEDICINE
Also known as acute internal medicine (AIM), this is the area of medicine you encounter when you go to an accident and emergency centre – now commonly known as an acute medical unit (AMU). For older readers it’s Casualty.
AMUs deal with the initial treatment of life-threatening emergencies (first 72 hours), the initial treatment of all emergency cases that present in the department and ambulatory (walk-in rather than brought in by ambulance) or outpatient, cases.
An expert in acute medicine is called an AMU consultant or a consultant in AMU.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
AMU consultants work with a wide range of other experts, including pharmacists, nursing staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers, not to mention other doctors.
Many AMUs now also incorporate a GP service to deal with walk-in patients.
CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
This used to be known as cardiology. Cardiovascular medicine involves the diagnosis, assessment and management of patients with heart problems, or cardiovascular disease.
Types of cardiovascular doctors include cardiovascular physicians who spend time in the coronary care unit, ward, outpatient clinic and catheter lab (where they carry out cardiac catheterisation, which is to look into the vessels or chambers of the heart), and cardiovascular surgeons who perform surgery on the heart or vessels.
An expert in cardiovascular medicine is called a cardiovascular consultant, or they may be referred to as a consultant cardiologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include anaesthetists, radiographers, specialist nurses and cardiac physiologists.
Cardiac physiologists carry out crucial diagnostic, monitoring and analytical procedures (such as echocardiograms, or ECGs, and exercise stress testing) as well as assisting in interventional procedures such as the pacemaker implantation and follow-up.
CLINICAL GENETICS
This area of medicine involves the diagnosis of disorders and birth defects caused by genetic factors.
As a genetic disorder can cause a multitude of health issues, clinical genetics doctors tend to work in regional genetics centres alongside scientists, genetic counsellors and academic colleagues.
An expert in clinical genetics is called a clinical geneticist, or possibly a consultant in clinical genetics.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include genetic counsellors, molecular and cytogenetic laboratory staff, obstetricians, paediatricians, neurologists, cardiologists, oncologists and cancer surgeons, as well as academic colleagues.
CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
This is an area of medicine that investigates neurological (nerve) disease using techniques to look at the electrical properties of neural (nerve) tissue and muscle.
If your child has a diagnosis of a neuromuscular disease, nerve entrapments, epilepsy or opthalmic disease, you will see a clinical neurophysiologist.
Common procedures carried out in this field include nerve conduction studies and electromyography (which records the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles), and EEG (electro-encephalography, a procedure which records electrical activity along the scalp).
A doctor in clinical neurophysiology is called a neurophysiologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include technical staff, healthcare support workers, secretaries/clerical staff, managers and other medical staff.
DERMATOLOGY
This area of medicine is the study and treatment of skin disease.
Dermatologists often work closely with patients under the care of other specialists – for example, they may work alongside oncologists (cancer specialists) and clinical geneticists (such as in the case of conditions like neurofibromatosis).
A doctor in dermatology is called a dermatologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include specialist dermatology nurses and medical physics technicians who deliver services such as ultraviolet light therapy
ENT (EAR, NOSE AND THROAT)
See otolaryngology
ENDOCRINOLOGY AND DIABETES
This specialism is concerned with conditions where hormones are involved – for example thyroid disease, diabetes and genetic disorders such as Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome and achondroplasia (a type of short limb dwarfism).
A doctor in the field of endocrinology is called an endocrinologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include pituitary, thyroid and other endocrine surgeons, specialists nurses, geneticists, paediatricians and endocrinologists.
GASTROENTEROLOGY
This area of medicine is about the diagnosis and treatment of all diseases to do with the digestive system and the liver.
Conditions that are diagnosed and treated in this specialism include gastrointestinal bleeding, anaemia, inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome/high stoma output, jaundice, and management of infective, alcoholic and autoimmune liver diseases.
Endoscopies (inserting a camera into the body for the purpose of examination), intestinal and liver biopsies (removing a sample of an organ for examination) and insertion of parenteral nutrition lines (inserting a tube into the body to bypass the usual process of eating and digestion) are carried out by the gastroenterology team.
A doctor in gastroenterology is called a gastroenterologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include hepatologists, anaesthetists, radiologists, clinical nurse specialists, nutrition nurses, dietitians (including paediatric gastroenterology dietitians), speech and language therapists and pharmacists.
IMMUNOLOGY
Immunology involves the diagnosis and management of patients with disordered immunology mechanisms (the body’s defence system).
Immunology departments provide clinical and laboratory services for people with immunodeficiency, autoimmune disease, systemic vasculitis and allergy.
A doctor in the field of immunology is called an immunologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include clinical nurse specialists (e.g. immunology nurse specialist, gene therapy specialist nurse), paediatric immunologists and psychologists.
NEPHROLOGY
See Renal medicine
NEUROLOGY
This area of medicine involves the diagnosis and management of diseases of the nervous system, for example epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and movement disorders.
Neurological investigations can include muscle or nerve biopsies.
A doctor in the field of neurology is called a neurologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include neuroradiologists, neurophysiologists, neurosurgeons, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, specialist nurses and social workers.
ONCOLOGY
This area of medicine deals with the diagnosis, assessment, treatment and management of patients with cancer.
Specialists in this area are trained to provide the best outcome for their patients, whether that is cure (using treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, or palliative (pain relief at the end of life) care and giving their patient the best quality of life.
They also work with patients and families on such areas as cancer genetics, screening and cancer preventative measures.
A doctor in the field of oncology is called an oncologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include clinical nurse specialists (e.g. in oncology, haemato-oncology or chemotherapy), palliative care nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and pharmacists.
OPTHALMOLOGY
This specialism is to do with the treatment of disorders of vision, or eyes.
Issues dealt with by this department include inflammatory eye disorders (e.g. uveitis, thyroid eye disease), neurological eye disorders (e.g. myasthenia gravis and pituitary tumours), retina-specific disorders affecting vision, vascular disorders affecting vision (e.g. diabetes) and genetic disorders affecting vision (e.g. retinitis pigmentosa).
Medical ophthalmology or ophthalmic medicine is a holistic specialty which provides specific expertise in the diagnosis and medical treatment of people with disorders of vision.
More than 50% of new ophthalmic referrals present with a medical rather than a surgical problem so medicine comprises a large proportion of the workload of any eye department.
Other departments that opthalmic doctors work closely with include dermatology, endocrinology, medical genetics and neurology.
A doctor in this field is called an ophthalmologist.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These include ophthalmic nurses, ophthalmic photographers and orthoptist (experts who work with eye disorders involving eye movement and alignment, such as crossed eyes, double vision and lazy eye).
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
This area deals with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose and throat, including oncology (cancer treatment) of the head and neck.
It is traditionally known as ENT (ear, nose and throat).
Common procedures include tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, endoscopic sinus surgery, thyroid surgery and rhinoplasty.
A doctor in this field is called an otolaryngologist or they may be referred to as an ENT consultant or consultant in ENT medicine.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include audiologists, speech therapists, dieticians, radiologists and pathologists.
PAEDIATRIC MEDICINE
This area deals with conditions affecting infants, children and young people.
It is a massive medical field that includes anything from neonatal intensive care right through to community services for disabled children.
As an area, it tends to focus on the family with the emphasis being on minimising the effects of any given condition whilst allowing the child to live as normal a life as possible.
Sub-specialities within paediatrics are many but include paediatric emergency medicine, paediatric intensive care, community child health and children’s health.
A doctor working in paediatric medicine is called a paediatrician.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include a whole range of other experts including clinical nurse specialists, speech therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and social workers.
PSYCHIATRY
This area of medicine looks after patients with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities and eating disorders.
Management of psychiatric disorders often involves a combination of measures including medication, counselling, and improving the home environment and social networks.
Child and adolescent psychiatry is one of the main psychiatric specialties.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include nurses, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, family therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and primary mental health workers.
RENAL MEDICINE
This area of medicine – also known as nephrology – deals with the management of kidney disease.
This includes disorders that solely affect the kidneys, those that affect is as part of a multi-system disease (such as diabetic nephropathy) or genetic disorders such as polycystic kidney disease.
A doctor in renal medicine is called a nephrologist or doctor in renal medicine (e.g. consultant in renal medicine).
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include renal nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, psychologists, social workers, renal transplant surgeons, paediatricians, diabetologists and palliative care physicians.
RESPIRATORY MEDICINE
This specialism is concerned with the treatment of all lung diseases, including inherited (e.g. cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia), infective (such as pneumonia and broncheistasis), inflammatory (e.g. vasculitis), vascular (e.g. pulmonary embolism), malignant (e.g. lung cancer), allergic and airway (e.g. asthma and COPD).
A doctor in respiratory medicine is called a respiratory physician.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These may include specialist nurses, lung function technicians (now known as respiratory physiologists) and physiotherapists.
RHEUMATOLOGY
This is a specialist area dealing with people with musculoskeletal conditions, including inflammatory and non-inflammatory disorders affecting the joints, bones, muscles and soft tissues.
Among the conditions dealt with in this department are inflammatory joint disease, degenerative joint disease (such as osteoarthritis, caused by ageing and wear and tear), spinal problems, soft tissue disorders, metabolic bone disorders, crystal arthropathies (an accumulation of crystals in the joints) and musculoskeletal infections.
OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM:
These include specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, chiropodists, podiatrists and orthopaedic surgeons.
