Feldsher

A feldsher (German: Feldscher, Polish: Felczer, Czech: Felčar, Hungarian: Felcser, Russian: фельдшер, Swedish: Fältskär, Finnish: Välskäri) is a health care professional who provides various medical services limited to emergency treatment and ambulance practice. As such, a feldsher is one kind of mid-level medical practitioner.

In Russia, Ukraine and in other countries of the former Soviet Union, feldshers provide primary-, obstetric- and surgical-care services in many rural medical centres and clinics across Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

Similar types of mid-level practitioners are known by different titles in different countries, including advanced practitioner (United Kingdom), clinical associate/clinical officer (in parts of sub-Saharan Africa), community health officer (India), medical assistant (United States), nurse practitioner (Australia, Canada and US), and physician assistant (Canada and US). The International Standard Classification of Occupations, 2008 revision, collectively groups such workers under the category paramedical practitioners.