Who works at OLVG?

Do you have an appointment at the outpatient clinic or are you coming to OLVG for treatment or an examination? Then you will have to deal with employees in different positions:

• medical roles
• nursing roles
• some other roles

OLVG is a training hospital and you may also have to deal with trainee staff, such as student nurses, 'co-assistents' or doctors who are training to become specialists. Depending on their experience and aptitude, employees in training observe treatments or also perform them independently. They always work under the guidance of a qualified employee, nurse or medical specialist. In this way, the next generation of healthcare providers will be well prepared for the future.

Medical roles

Medical specialist
A medical specialist is a doctor who has been trained as a cardiologist, paediatrician or surgeon, for example. He or she is responsible for your medical treatment. Many specialists have one or more special areas of focus within their field.
If you want to know your OLVG specialist's areas of focus, then simply have a look at his or her profile.
If you are being treated by several medical specialists, one of them will be your main practitioner. This medical specialist is ultimately responsible for the entire treatment.
Doctors work everywhere in the hospital: in the outpatient clinic, the operating room, at operations or in the nursing ward. They might also be busy with their education, teaching or scientific research. The duties they can perform depends on their training. 

Medical specialists can also be:

• Fellows: a medical specialist who is trained in a specific focus area.
• Heads of the Clinic: a medical specialist without a specific focus area.

In addition to graduate doctors, OLVG employees also work in training to become doctors (co-assistents):

Arts-assistent
An 'arts-assistent' is what might be called a 'resident' or 'junior doctor' in the UK. The term describes a doctor who is not yet a medical specialist. At OLVG, there are arts-assistents who are not training to become medical specialists (abbreviated ANIOS) and doctors who are training to become medical specialists (abbreviated AIOS). They work in the hospital during their training. Arts-assistent also hold consultations in the outpatient clinic, they work in the wards as attending physicians and they also work in the operating room.
Arts-assistents always work under the supervision of a medical specialist.

Co-assistent
A 'co-assistent' is a medical student who is doing an internship in the final years of his/her medical training. Co-assistents do an internship in various departments, such as the outpatient clinic and the nursing department. They sometimes have the first conversation with you, or they help with examination or treatment. A co-assistent will always ask for your permission to perform part of an examination or treatment. Co-assistents always work under the supervision of a doctor.

Physician Assistant
The physician assistant (PA) is a fairly new position within the medical profession. The physician assistant provides medical care within areas of medicine. Activities include taking a case history, performing a physical examination, drawing up a treatment plan and sometimes giving a standard medical diagnosis. The PA is not a doctor and therefore always works under the responsibility of the medical specialist. (external link) More information

Clinical physicist
The clinical physicist is a medical specialist in health care with knowledge of physical principles. The clinical physicist ensures that new and existing medical equipment and techniques are used safely and responsibly to optimise the diagnosis and treatment of patients. (external link) More information

Nursing roles

At OLVG, nurses work in both nursing units and outpatient clinics. They have all completed general nursing training. Some nurses have received additional training for a specific specialty or syndrome.

Department Manager
The department manager is the manager of a (nursing) department or outpatient clinic.

Case manager
During cancer treatment you will receive a regular contact person at OLVG called a 'case manager'. Your case manager supports you and is your guide throughout the intensive process of investigation, treatment and recovery. This goes not only for procedures within the hospital, but also for additional care outside OLVG. Your case manager is there for you and can be contacted if you have any questions. A case manager is either a nurse specialist or nurse consultant. 

Nurse
The nurse is your first point of contact in the nursing ward. Nurses coordinate nursing care. Nurses at the outpatient clinic also perform nursing procedures such as wound treatment.
Some nursing departments also have assistants. They work under the supervision of the nurses and support them in the provision of care.

Specialist nurses
Specialist nurses also work in various departments. They have additional knowledge about the specialism of the department in which they work, for example a child nurse or IC nurse.

Senior nurse
The senior nurse is a nurse with additional duties such as daily team management, the development of the subject area and the coaching of employees.

Nurse consultant
In addition to general nurses, there are nurses who specialise in a certain disease profiles, such as diabetes, oncology, asthma and COPD. These nursing consultants often conduct their own consultations at the outpatient clinic.

Nurse specialist
The nurse specialist is a nurse who is specially trained to perform certain medical procedures within a specialty. The nurse specialist works under the supervision of a medical specialist. The nurse specialist's tasks include, for example: taking a medical history, drawing up a treatment plan, prescribing medication. The nurse specialist often conducts his/her own consultations at the outpatient clinic.
Nurse specialists at OLVG work in the field of orthopedics, interventional cardiology, lithotripsy (for kidney stones) and psychiatry.

Student nurses
Student nurses combine working and training as a nurse at the hospital. This way, they learn to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice in the nursing ward. Student nurses perform some operations independently. They always work under the supervision of a qualified nurse.

Outpatient assistant
The outpatient assistant assists a doctor in examining and treating patients. Outpatient assistants receive patients, make appointments, provide information and do administrative work.

Other professionals
Many treatments require consultation with other experts. That is why you may also deal with other hospital specialists and employees such as physiotherapists, dieticians, speech therapists, psychologists, social workers, lab technicians etc.

Other roles

In addition to medical and nursing roles, there are many other roles at the hospital, such as in the nursing wards. We will explain a number of these roles here.

Service staff
The service staff ensure that you receive your meals, drinks and a menu selection form. You can contact them with questions about nutrition or diet.

Housekeeping staff
These employees will clean your room once a day, and check sanitary conditions twice a day.

Gurney operator
The gurney operator will take you by bed, or wheelchair, to any examinations you need to undergo.

Departmental Secretary
The department secretary handles the department's administration. He/she is the point of contact for, among other things, non-medical questions, appointments with the attending physicians, appointments at the outpatient clinic, postal delivery.

Volunteers
Many volunteers are active at OLVG. They make an important contribution to hospitality within our hospital and contribute their ideas every day.