Feldsher

Feldsher (Russian/Cyrillic: Фельдшер) was the name of medical/healthcare professional that provided many medical services in the Soviet Union, mainly in rural areas. Trained in undergraduate medical / health professions schools, they were supposed to work on preventive and primary care work and refer most serious cases to higher-level institutions. Feldsher actually means barber, and was based on the surgeons-barbers in the Russian Army going back to the 1600s. This system of rural primary care provided some of the inspiration for China's program of Barefoot doctors.

The name Feldsher was derived from the German term Feldscher, which was coined in the 15th century. Feldscher means Field doctor (Feld = Field, Scher = doctor), and was the name of medieval barber-surgeons. They worked as army field surgeons for the German and Swiss Landsknecht until real military medical services were established by Prussia in the early 18th century. The term was then exported with Prussian officers and nobility to Russia.

Feldsher(Фельдшер), as healthcare profession in the Soviet Union, is an equivalent to Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioners in the USA.

Feldscher Feldsjer