More About Your Care Team

Primary Care Provider (Physician)
Your primary care physician leads your care team and serves as your main point of contact for managing your overall health. They coordinate your care across specialties, make complex medical decisions, and are responsible for diagnosing and treating a wide range of health conditions.

Advanced Practice Provider (APP)
An advanced practice provider is a nurse practitioner or physician assistant licensed in the state of Texas. Working closely with your physician, your APP provides preventive care, manages chronic conditions, and treats acute health issues to help keep you well.

Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
The licensed vocational nurse plays a key role in supporting your health between and during visits. LVNs assist with medication management, medical questions, and help explain test results so you can better understand your care.

Medical Assistant (MA)
Medical assistants help ensure you’re prepared for your visit and that you receive recommended screenings and preventive services. MAs can administer vaccines, and you may hear from them between visits for follow-up.

Clinical Social Worker
Your clinical social worker helps identify and address barriers that may affect your health—whether emotional, social, or practical. They can provide counseling or connect you with community resources to support behavioral health and social needs.

Resident
Residents are licensed physicians who are completing specialized training in their chosen field of medicine. Under the supervision of your primary care doctor and attending physicians, residents provide hands-on care and play an active role in your diagnosis and treatment.

Fellow
Fellows are physicians who have completed residency and are undergoing advanced training in a medical specialty. Fellows work closely with your care team to provide expert-level care while gaining additional experience in complex or focused areas of medicine.

Student
You may encounter medical, physician assistant, pharmacy, or other health professional students during your visit. These students are part of our academic mission and work under the close supervision of licensed providers. Their involvement enhances your care by bringing fresh perspectives and contributing to a collaborative team environment.

Our clinical assessment services have focused on several medical/ psychiatric conditions:

• Adult attention disorder
• Anoxic injury
• Brain tumors
• Dementia
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Traumatic brain injury
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Seizure disorder
• Deep brain stimulation
• Gastric bypass
• Other pre-surgical evaluations
  

We assess various domains including:

• Intellectual functioning
• Academic/achievement abilities
• Executive functioning
• Attention
• Language
• Visuospatial abilities
• Learning and memory
• Sensory perceptual
• Motor
• Personality/emotional functioning

Yes, dementia is an umbrella term that encompasses everything from mild cognitive impairment to severe memory loss. People with dementia experience loss of memory or other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. This can include 

• Alzheimer’s disease 
• Vascular dementia
• Lewy body dementia
• Huntington’s disease
• Or mixed dementia (dementia from more than one cause)

Visit the Alzheimer’s Association to view a full list of possible dementias.

The evaluation usually begins by meeting with the neuropsychologist to review your medical history, considering all possible causes for changes in thinking and memory. Then cognitive, functional, and behavioral tests are utilized to assess thinking, memory, problem-solving, language, visuospatial abilities, and processing speed.

There are many resources for caregiver support and guidance! UNT Health Center for Older Adults hosts Dementia Cares, a free online program that lasts 9 weeks. Other resources that may be helpful include:

• The Alzheimer’s Association 
• The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
• The National Institute on Aging
• Eldercare Locator
• Pillars of Brain Health

Your doctor will recommend resources specific to our patients with a dementia diagnosis in Fort Worth during feedback appointments to help support both the patient and caregivers.