Feldsher

Feldsher (German: Feldscher, Polish: Felczer, Czech: Felčar, Russian: Фельдшер, Swedish: Fältskär) is a health care professional who provides various medical services limited to emergency treatment and ambulance practice, according to the World Health Organization. In the Russian Federation and 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 and Uzbekistan.

The equivalent type of provider may also go under different titles in different countries and regions, such as physician assistant in the United States or clinical officer in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They are collectively grouped under the category “paramedical practitioners” in the International Standard Classification of Occupations, 2008 revision.

The word Feldsher is derived from the German , which was coined in the 15th century. Feldscher (or Feldscherer) literally means "field shearer," but was the term used for barber surgeons in the German and Swiss armies from the 17th century until professional military medical services were established, first by Prussia in the early 18th century. The term was then exported with Prussian officers and nobles to Russia.

The Feldsher system of rural primary care provided some of the inspiration for China's barefoot doctors.

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