Table 2

Names used for "doctor substitutes"

Stages
Ghana
Malawi
Tanzania
Kenya
Mozambique

Basic level
Registered nurse (nursing is required for medical assistants in Ghana)
Medical assistant
Clinical officer (medical assistants are a step lower than clinical officers)
Clinical officer
Basic health "agent" (general medicine, pharmacy, dental)
Postbasic level
Medical assistant
Clinical officer
Assistant medical officer
Clinical officer (partly specialized) e.g. skin, ENT, anesthesia, orthopedics, etc.
Medium-level technicians (general medicine, pharmacy, dental, preventive medicine)
Specialized
n/a
Clinical officer: orthopedic, clinical medicine, dental, etc.
Assistant medical officer-specialist orthopedic, radiology, surgery, dermatology, anesthesia, etc.

Medical & surgical technicians (specialists)

Dovlo Human Resources for Health 2004 2:7   doi:10.1186/1478-4491-2-7