Mid-level practitioner

Mid-level practitioner
Occupation
Synonymsadvanced practice practitioner, advanced practice provider, advanced practice clinician, advanced clinical practitioner, advanced clinical provider, non-physician practitioner, non-physician provider, physician assistant (hyponym), nurse practitioner (hyponym), advanced practice nurse (hyponym)
Occupation type
Professional
Activity sectors
Medicine, health care
Description
Fields of
employment
Clinics, hospitals

Mid-level practitioners, also called non-physician practitioners, advanced practice providers, or commonly mid-levels are health care providers who assess, diagnose, and treat patients but do not have formal education or certification as a physician. The scope of a mid-level practitioner varies greatly among countries and even among individual practitioners. Some mid-level practitioners work under the close supervision of a physician (such as doing pre-op and post-op assessment and management, thus allowing surgeons to spend more of their time operating), while others function independently and have a scope of practice difficult to distinguish from a physician. The legal scope of practice for mid-level practitioners varies greatly among jurisdictions, with some having a restricted and well-defined scope, while others have a scope similar to that of a physician. Likewise, the training requirement for mid-level practitioners varies greatly between and within different certifications and licensures.

Because of their diverse histories, mid-level providers' training, functions, scope of practice, regulation, and integration into the formal health system vary from country to country. They have highly variable levels of education and may have a formal credential and accreditation through the licensing bodies in their jurisdictions.[1] In some places, but not others, they provide healthcare, particularly in rural and remote areas, to make up for physician shortages.[2]

  1. ^ Lehmann, U (2008), Mid-level health workers: The state of the evidence on programmes, activities, costs and impact on health outcomes - A literature review (PDF), Geneva: World Health Organisation
  2. ^ Mid-level health providers: a promising resource to achieve the health Millennium Development Goals (PDF), Geneva: World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Alliance, 2010