Who Does What? A Guide to the Members of Your Care Team

At Boston IVF, we work in a team format. Each patient has a dedicated reproductive endocrinologist, a team of nurses, administrative and medical assistants, and other professionals working together on your specific case, to help you be successful. We believe it’s important for each patient to feel heard, understood, and empowered in their fertility care experience. This is a deeply personal process, and our specialists strive to develop strong patient rapport and relationships in a welcoming environment.  

For those new to our practice, building this comfort begins with understanding the roles of all the specialists working on your team. 

Reproductive Endocrinologist

Reproductive endocrinology is a specialized branch of obstetrics and gynecology that focuses on diagnosing and treating infertility. At Boston IVF, your doctor is a reproductive endocrinologist by training who will oversee your care and lead your medical team in identifying your needs and determining your treatment plan. 

Reproductive endocrinologists conduct egg retrievals and perform embryo transfers and intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures. Due to the precise timing required for fertility treatments, the doctor who performs these procedures will not always be your doctor; in those cases, the teams are communicating closely.

Boston IVF is a research institution, so your doctor will also likely contribute to our research and play a role in a range of studies designed to help us improve patient care. This research element helps Boston IVF, and all our physicians, stay on the cutting edge of fertility care and treatments. 

Reproductive Urologist

Reproductive urologists (RUs) specialize in male reproductive health and are involved in cases of male factor infertility. It’s a common misconception that infertility issues lie solely with a female partner, but in reality, almost half of infertility cases involve a male partner. If your evaluation reveals that male infertility could be a factor, an RU will be added to your team of specialists and work closely with your doctor to ensure your care is comprehensive. 

RUs can perform surgeries to address underlying causes of male infertility, including reversing vasectomies and treating varicoceles. They can also perform surgeries to retrieve sperm for use in fertility treatments, to help achieve pregnancy in cases where they may not be able to actually correct the underlying problem. 

Anesthesiologist 

Anesthesiologists play an important role in egg retrieval or other surgical procedures. They work closely with your doctor to ensure that you have appropriate, safe, and effective anesthesia during surgical procedures. Anesthesiologists continue to monitor the patient post-op to ensure complete recovery and offer assistance with post-procedure pain if needed. 

Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner

Physician Assistants (PA) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) play a critical role on every patient care team, supporting the reproductive endocrinologist and ensuring you receive personalized, consistent care throughout your treatment. Our PAs and NPs are highly skilled and work closely with your overseeing doctor to assist with diagnosis, provide treatment, and ensure overall patient health. 

Embryologist

Embryologists work primarily in the lab, so you may not have extensive direct contact with them. However, if your fertility journey involves in vitro fertilization (IVF), your embryologist plays a critical role. After egg retrieval, an embryologist examines the fluid retrieved from the follicles and separates the eggs. 

They are also responsible for washing and concentrating semen samples to be used in different techniques including in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Once genetic material is collected from both parents or donors, the embryologist performs insemination by combining the sperm and eggs. They then monitor embryo development and select the highest quality embryo(s) to be transferred to the uterus. If the goal of the treatment is cryopreservation, the embryologist will manage this process as well. 

Lab Technicians 

Like embryologists, lab technicians may not be the most visible team members, but their work in the lab is a crucial component of your care. Our highly skilled technicians manage sample processing and analysis and provide support across our embryology, andrology, and endocrine laboratories to help ensure your fertility success. The lab also plays a critical role in Boston IVF’s research. As a leading research institution, Boston IVF conducts groundbreaking studies that have contributed to vast improvements in fertility treatment and care, much of which is dependent on the skill and expertise of our technicians. 

Non-Clinical Team Members 

Of course, every patient will also liaise with non-clinical members of our team. From scheduling to finance, we offer complete support along every step of your fertility journey, and we pride ourselves on building familiarity with each individual patient and case.