Clinical associates are a category of
health professional
A health professional, healthcare professional (HCP), or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated as HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a Nursing, nur ...
found in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. They assess patients, make diagnoses, prescribe treatment and perform minor surgery under the supervision of a
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
.
Registration with the Medical and Dentists Board requires a
Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice degree – a three-year program offered at the
Walter Sisulu University since January 2008 and now also offered at the
University of Witwatersrand and
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
.
Similar health workers are called
clinical officers in other parts of Africa,
physician assistant
A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...
s in the US and
feldshers in parts of the former Soviet Union – all grouped under "paramedical practitioners" in the
International Standard Classification of Occupations
The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) is a system developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to classify and organize occupations into a structured hierarchy. It serves to facilitate international communi ...
, 2008 revision.
[World Health Organization: ''Classifying health workers''. Geneva, WHO, 2010.]
See also
*
Allied health professions
Allied health professions (AHPs) are a category of health professionals that provide a range of diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services in connection with health care. While there is no international standard for defining ...
*
Bachelor of Clinical Medicine and Community Health
*
Clinical officers
*
Health care provider
A health care provider is an individual health professional or a health facility organization licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services including medication, surgery and medical devices. Health care providers often rece ...
s
*
Health extension officers
References
{{reflist
External links
Professional Association of Clinical Associates in South AfricaClinical Associates South Africa
Health care occupations