Feldsher

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Feldsher (Russian/Cyrillic: Фельдшер) (or feldsheritsa for females) was the name of medical auxiliaries that provided many medical services in the Soviet Union, mainly in rural areas. Trained in technical schools for shorter periods of time, they were supposed to work on preventive 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 barber (Feld = Field, Scher = barber), and was the name of medieval barber-surgeons. They worked as primitive 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.