Who's who in healthcare
September 2007
This glossary has been produced to help patients and carers understand the roles of healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals – who work in the NHS.
You can access the glossary of over 100 different healthcare professionals through an alphabetical list or by type of healthcare professional. We have supplied a brief description of the healthcare professional plus an outline of the training they need and provided information on regulatory and professional bodies.
The glossary is a living document and we welcome any suggestions or amendments by email to info.science@bma.org.uk
How to use the glossary
The glossary lists all healthcare professionals included in both alphabetical order and by professional group. The link in the job title in either of the lists will take you to the glossary entry for the selected healthcare professional.List of healthcare professional titles in alphabetical order
This section lists all healthcare professional titles in alphabetical order for access to their glossary entries.List of healthcare professional titles by professional group
This section lists healthcare professional titles by professional group - doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals - for access to their glossary entries.Regulatory bodies
Regulatory bodies exist to register practitioners to maintain standards and ensure protection for people using the services of those registered.Glossary of doctors
This section provides an overview of the different job titles and grades of doctors with descriptions of their roles.Glossary of nurses and midwives
This section provides an overview of the different job titles of nurses and midwives with descriptions of their roles.Glossary of allied healthcare professionals
This section provides an overview of the different job titles of allied healthcare professionals with descriptions of their roles.
Consultant diaries
- What does a hospital consultant do in a typical week? How many hours do consultants spend working in NHS hospitals? How often are they on-call?
Read more here