When necessary, clinicians from other areas within MIT Medical, such as nutritionists or orthopedists, can be added to a patient’s care team. Members of a care team work collaboratively with the patient and with each other to provide coordinated, high-quality, personalized care. With a whole team available, we can be sure that every member of the family gets the care they need, when they need it.
Your primary care provider
You’ll choose a PCP to be your personal clinician, the one you or your child will see most often and with whom you’ll discuss your health concerns and questions. Primary care providers (PCPs) at MIT Medical include doctors and nurse practitioners who specialize in pediatrics, family medicine, or internal medicine.
You’ll see your PCP for most routine care — regular physical exams, medical concerns that are not urgent, or management of chronic conditions, like diabetes or high blood pressure. Your PCP can also make referrals for you or your child to see specialists or get diagnostic testing at MIT Medical or elsewhere.
- PCPs for for children and adolescents include pediatricians, family medicine physicians, family nurse practitioners, and, for some older children and adolescents, certain internal medicine physicians.
- PCPs for adults include family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, and internal medicine physicians.
Most of your Primary Care appointments will be with your PCP. At other times, another member of your care team will have the expertise you need most. You might also see Primary Care clinicians who are not on your regular care team when you are sick and need a same-day appointment.
Who’s who in Primary Care?
Primary care physicians are doctors who have completed medical school and a three-year residency in pediatrics, family medicine, or internal medicine. Depending on their area of specialization, physicians may serve as PCPs for either children or adults or both. Many physicians have additional areas of specialization or professional interest as well, which are listed in their online profiles.
- Family medicine physicians are trained to care for individuals of all ages, from infants to senior citizens.
- Internal medicine physicians (also called “internists”) can care for adults of all ages — some also see adolescents and pre-adolescents — but do not usually see younger children.
- Pediatricians care for patients from birth through adolescence and young adulthood.
Nurse Practitioners have completed a master’s degree and are licensed to practice medicine at an advanced level. Depending on their area of specialization, nurse practitioners at MIT Medical may serve as PCPs for adults or for both children and adults. Many nurse practitioners have additional areas of specialization or professional interest as well — everything from nutrition to women’s health — which are listed in their online profiles.
Nurse practitioners may diagnose illnesses, order tests, develop treatment plans, and write prescriptions. Each nurse practitioner at MIT Medical works in collaboration with a physician, as required by state regulations.
Registered nurses (RNs) at MIT Medical have a four-year bachelor’s degree and have passed a national licensing exam. Our Primary Care nurses play many important roles — from administering certain treatments and vaccines to helping patients manage their treatment plans. And when you are sick and call MIT Medical wondering what to do next, a triage nurse can assess your symptoms and advise you on next steps.
Primary care behavioral health clinicians are social workers, psychologists, or psychiatrists who are available by referral only to patients who have behavioral health concerns or are facing challenges in securing psychiatric consults outside of MIT Medical. They can provide brief non-medication consults, medication evaluations and management, and care management for patients who require higher levels of care and/or more intensive follow-up.
Medical assistants take vital signs and medical histories, prepare patients for exams, assist with exams, and instruct patients on home care.
