Common Hospital Staffs And Their Roles In A Nigerian Hospital

Hospital staff

A visit to the hospital by many people bring them in direct contact with doctors and some few other health care professional.
This is the reason why many at times, we do hear patients calling any person attending to their health care need within or outside the hospital as a doctor. However, the staff in a hospital are made up off persons from different professions and sectors. Without them, the hospital will not function properly. 

In addition, most of these staffs are like those who shoot a movie and refer to as ‘behind the scene.’

The number of staffs in a standard hospital can be so long that many staffs may not even know themselves or the role the other play. However, most Nigerian hospital have device means to improvise by using one profession to cover the work of another. This has helped to reduce cost and resources. For example, a mechanical engineer can add the work of electrical engineer if it is possible. However, this is not the norm.

Those who work within a hospital can be categorize into medical and non-medical staffs. They are all very important in the hospital.

Medical staffs In Hospital

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• Doctors: They diagnose, prescribe, and operate. There are different types of doctors with different functions. Most hospital in Nigeria employ some who do handle minor cases outside their field. It should be noted that some profession that we sometimes consider as doctors are not actually one.
• Pharmacy: They are drug experts. They dispense drugs within the hospital. They are most time the last point of call for patients leaving the hospital.
• Pharmacy Technicians: Work with a pharmacist, rendering assistance on the day to day activity of the pharmacy
• Ambulance Technicians And Assistance: They range from the driver to other paramedics that handle emergency cases inside an ambulance
• Anaesthetic: They monitor patients as they undergo surgery to know when they are feeling pains and control doses of anaesthetic agents use
• Medical Laboratory Scientist: They carry out laboratory test on patients
• Cardiac Physiologist: Investigate the functioning of the heart as well as fit heart equipment into the heart e.g. pacemaker
• Cardiograph: Help in operating machinery that monitor heart function
• Cardiologist: Doctors that manage diagnoses and access heart and vascular system (circulation)
• Nurses: Assist doctors in managing the health of patients. They have various functions within the hospital. Some are dedicated to the management of children’s health, mental health nurses, ward managers who are in charge of budget etc.
• Nurse Assistant: Assist nurses in their day-to-day activities. The major difference you will spot is the slight change in uniform.
• Clinical Microbiologist: They work to identify microorganism infections including hospital acquired infections
• Dentist: A doctor that treats and manage tooth conditions
• Gynaecologist: They treat conditions relating to women
• Medical Laboratory Assistance: Support medical laboratory scientist
• Neurosurgeons: They are very few in Nigeria, hence are not seen every day. They carry out brain surgery
• Obstetricians: They handle cases involving pregnancy and children. Somehow, their line of duty intercept that of a gynaecologist
• Ophthalmologist: A doctor that diagnose, treat, and do eye surgery
• Optometrist: They study eye with various test methods and prescribe corrected eye glasses
• Pediatricians: A doctor that has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of children
• Orthopedist Technicians: Fixes fractures and bones using most of the time Plaster Of Paris (P.O.P)
• Physiotherapist: Treat muscle bone, heart circulation, and lungs that may occur due to accident
• Psychiatrist: Specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health condition
• Psychologist: They use psychological approach to bring out improvement in patients who otherwise were unresponsive. Most fill the role of a counsellor
• Radiologist: Treat cancer-using radiation. They also do diagnostic scan on patients
• Mid Wives: They assist before, during and after child delivery
• Radiographers: Operate x-ray machinery interpreting such when needed.
• Health Assistance: Provide care to patients under the supervision of a nurse or doctor

Non-Medical Staffs In Hospital

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Most patients do not meet these set of persons.

• Secretary: They handle the paper work of the hospital with clerical staffs and other in the administrative units.
• Catering Staffs: They cook meal for both staffs and patients including patients’ visitors. Most are not employed or full time staffs
• Chaplains: They provide religious services to patients and staffs
• Security: Provides safety to both lives and properties
• Gardeners: Cultivate plants and control weeds around the premise
• Managers: Every establishment to be successful must have a head. The head is the manager, which in Nigeria is known as the Medical Director (M.D) always headed by a medical doctor
• Record Staffs: In most Nigeria hospital, a health assistance fills this job. However, this is not the case in some advance hospitals were by special employed staffs fill this position. They record, organised and retrieve medical health record when needed.
• House keeper: Cleaning, catering and bed cloths
• Human Resource Management: They try to organised the hospital by helping management to organised training for both old and new staffs. They also recruit and select staffs for rotation.
• Library Staff: They provide the right kind of books for booth staffs and patients.
• Laundry: They wash and dry clean wards linen until they are needed
• Ward Clerks: They deal with patients’ notes and records
• Social Welfare: Try to improve the emotional well-being of patients and their families
• Engineers: They may be more in a hospital depending on the size of the hospital. They handle everything engineering from computer to generator down to electrical repair etc.

These are not all the kind of profession you will find in a hospital. However, these are the basics when a country like Nigeria is concern. They are all important to the smooth running of the hospital.

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