Your Brain Injury Team –
After a brain injury, you may encounter some or all of these professionals helping you on the road to recovery.
Attending Doctor – Responsible for the medical care and treatment. The doctor may be a specialist in trauma, neurosurgery, or a hospitalist ( like a family doctor who takes care of patients in the hospital). These doctors may have residents, fellows and medical clerks working with them.
Nurse Practitioner (NP) – Nurses with extra training who can assess, treat, order tests and prescribe medicine. The NP works closely with the doctors, nurses and therapists.
Physiatrist – Ad doctor who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Registered Nurses (RN) – Nurses with training and experience in brain care injury, rehabilitation and discharge planning. They care for the everyday needs of a person.
Psychologist – Evaluates and treats issues with mood, coping, adjusting to the injury and being in the hospital.
Neuropsychologist – Evaluates changes or concerns with thinking skills and behaviour, teaches the patient, family and treatment team ways to manage these concerns.
Physiotherapist – Evaluates and treats changes in physical abilities, like walking and balance training.
Occupational Therapist – Helps a person learn or re-learn independent living skills like dressing, cooking and managing finances.
Speech Language Pathologist/Speech Therapists – Evaluates and treats communication and swallowing issues, looks to how the person understands what they speak, read and hear.
Recreation Therapists – Helps a person explore and take part in leisure activities, helps a person learn new activities or new ways to do activities he or she did before.
(excerpt from Calgary Brain Injury Program, “After a Brain Injury”)
