Proceduralist is the broad term for a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, usually a specialist or subspecialist who performs different diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Depending on the type of procedure, this is commonly referring to a: * Surgeon (for surgical procedures) *

Interventional radiologist Interventional radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that performs various minimally-invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance, such as x-ray fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound. IR performs bot ...

(for radiologically guided procedures) * Gastroenterologist (for

endoscopic An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are inser ...

investigations / therapies) * Respiratory physician (for

bronchoscopy Bronchoscopy is an endoscopic technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. An instrument (bronchoscope) is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, or occasionally through a tr ...

) * Cardiologist (for

coronary angiography Coronary () may, as shorthand in English, be used to mean: * Coronary circulation, the system of arteries and veins in mammals ** Coronary artery disease ** Coronary occlusion ** A myocardial infarction, a heart attack As adjective * Referring to ...

) It may also be used to refer to any other provider of a procedure, even when it may not be their primary role (e.g. an

intensivist An intensivist is a medical practitioner who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, most often in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intensivists can be internists or internal medicine sub-specialists (most often pulmonologists), anesthesi ...

inserting a

central venous line A central venous catheter (CVC), also known as a central line(c-line), central venous line, or central venous access catheter, is a catheter placed into a large vein. It is a form of venous access. Placement of larger catheters in more centra ...

, or a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...

performing

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive t ...

. Proceduralists, regardless of their specific specialty, are commonly responsible for obtaining informed consent from the patient for the intervention they will receive, performing the procedure, and often care following completion of the intervention. Most procedures are facilitated by

sedation Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure. Examples of drugs which can be used for sedation include isoflurane, diethyl ethe ...

anaesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), am ...

to ensure a patient remains comfortable and physiologically supported, thus the proceduralist is required to work alongside an

anaesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine ...

or another provider with experience with anaesthesia to ensure the success of the procedure. Additionally, they are often assisted by other medical or nursing staff to perform the procedure.

Clinical procedure safety

The use of the term proceduralist is often used in outlining procedures for ensuring

patient safety Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting and analysis of error and other types of unnecessary harm that often lead to adverse effects, adverse patient events. The frequency an ...

in any invasive procedure, regardless of the exact type. The proceduralist would be expected to participate and lead a procedural time out, often guided by a checklist such as the

WHO Surgical Safety Checklist The World Health Organization (WHO) published the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in 2008 in order to increase the safety of patients undergoing surgery. The checklist serves to remind the surgical team of important items to be performed before and ...

. This includes ensuring the patient identity, the nature and site of the procedure, noting any allergies or any other major procedural risks and ensuring the team is briefed and ready to proceed.

References

Hospital medicine Medical procedures Health care occupations {{med-stub