Meet Your Healthcare Team

Over the course of your child’s food allergy journey, you may meet many different clinicians and healthcare staff. All of these individuals can be a part of your baby or toddler’s healthcare team. They all have the same goal of helping you figure out when to introduce your child to solids, how to manage your baby’s eczema, what allergy tests might be needed, how food allergies are managed if there is a diagnosis, and more. When you have questions or concerns, your child’s healthcare team is there to help you.

On this page, we cover the different types of clinicians and healthcare staff you may meet, not including specialists. Specialists are clinicians who focus on a specific area of health, such as allergists (focusing on allergies), dermatologists (focusing on the skin), and gastroenterologists (focusing on digestion).

Who can make up your baby’s healthcare team?

Physicians (MD/DO)

These clinicians earn doctoral-level degrees and take the lead for diagnosis and treatment. They are the main source of care before, during, and after any allergy-specific care. They can write prescriptions for your child and order medical tests.

The clinician you will most likely see for your child is a pediatrician (addresses the general health of infants, children, and teens), or maybe a family doctor. However, specialists, such as an allergist (focusing on respiratory and allergic diseases), a dermatologist (focusing on skin management and diseases), or a gastroenterologist (focusing on the digestive system, like the stomach and intestines), are also physicians.

Nurse Practitioners (NPs)

Nurse Practitioners hold master’s or doctoral degrees and can evaluate patients, and diagnose and manage conditions, including allergies. They can prescribe medicines and order tests, often while working closely with physicians and other clinicians.

Physician Assistants (PA)

Physician Assistants earn master-level degrees and can evaluate, diagnose, and provide treatments as part of a physician’s team. They can write prescriptions and order medical tests. PA’s can work in many specialties, such as pediatrics, family medicine, dermatology, gastroenterology, and allergy and immunology.

Registered nurses (RNs)

Registered Nurses earn associate‑ to doctoral‑level degrees and support families throughout their care journey. When it comes to allergies, RNs help educate, support oral food challenges, assist with long-term management, and more. Registered nurses make sure a family can follow the allergist-directed care plans, keep track of what’s happening with your child, and teach strategies for staying safe and living confidently with food allergy.

Licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs)

LPNs and LVNs provide important support by performing basic assessments, giving medications, and assisting with care under RN or NP supervision. Across all roles, these nurses are often the first to recognize when a child needs additional support and can connect families with community resources, specialists, and health professionals such as dietitians and mental health providers to give well-rounded care.

Registered Dietitians (RDs), also known as Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)

Registered Dietitians are licensed through national and state accreditations. They play an important role in helping families navigate food allergies, for instance with meal planning, label reading, creating an allergen-safe home, baby’s first solids, nutritious diets, and more.

Lactation Consultants

Lactation Consultants are licensed through the IBCLC (International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants), helping your family with breastfeeding and prenatal care. They can also help you navigate challenges such as low milk supply or pain while breastfeeding.

Pharmacists (PharmD) or Pharmacy Technicians

Pharmacists give patients access to medications and treatments for their food allergies. They educate patients about their medications and guide patients and caregivers in both hospital and community pharmacy settings.

Immunology Technicians

Immunology Technicians can have a bachelor’s degree or higher and help with things like skin testing and pulmonary function testing for patients. In some clinics, there can be overlap with medical assistants.

Medical Scribes

Medical Scribes can have a range of educational backgrounds and are responsible for putting information into the medical record. As a result, they may be present in the room during your visit. By helping with this, medical scribes allow clinicians to focus on talking with their patients without having to stop and record every detail.

Mental Health Professionals (Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers)

Mental health professionals offer a wide range of services to help manage anxiety around food allergies. They can teach you and help you put long-term strategies in place to lower fears and make families feel better about eating with food allergies.

Clinic Managers and Administrative Staff

These healthcare professionals help with scheduling, referrals, insurance, and coordination with your providers.