Scope of practice in the context of "Allied health professional"

A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), most often in ambulances. They also have roles in emergency medicine, primary care, transfer medicine and remote/offshore medicine. The scope of practice of a paramedic varies between countries, but generally includes autonomous decision making around the emergency care of patients.

Not all ambulance personnel are paramedics, although the term is sometimes used informally to refer to any ambulance personnel. In some English-speaking countries, there is an official distinction between paramedics and emergency medical technicians (or emergency care assistants), in which paramedics have additional educational requirements and scope of practice.

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 the diversity of allied health professions, they are typically considered those which are distinct from the fields of medicine, nursing and dentistry.

In providing care to patients with certain illnesses, AHPs may work in the public or private sector, in hospitals or in other types of facilities, and often in clinical collaboration with other providers having complementary scopes of practice. Allied health professions are usually of smaller size proportional to physicians and nurses. It has been estimated that approximately 30% of the total health workforce worldwide are AHPs.

A surgical technologist (also called a surg tech, scrub, scrub tech, surgical technician, operating department practitioner or operating room technician) is an allied health professional working as a part of the team delivering surgical care. Surgical technologists are members of the surgical team, which include the surgeon, surgeon's assistant, scrub nurse, circulating nurse and anesthesia provider (anesthesiologist, anesthesiologist assistant or nurse anesthetist). They possess knowledge and skills in sterile and aseptic techniques. There are few mandatory professional requirements for surgical technologists, and the scope of practice varies widely across countries and jurisdictions. Surgical technologists attend junior colleges and technical schools, and many are trained in military schools. In the military they perform the duties of both the circulator and the scrub. The goal is for surgical technologists to be able to anticipate the next move the surgeon is going to make in order to make the procedure as smooth and efficient as possible.They do this by having knowledge of hundreds of surgical procedures and the steps the surgeon needs to take in order to complete the procedure, including the very wide range of surgical instruments they may need. Specialties can include, but are not limited to, the following: genitourinary, obstetrics and gynaecology, urology, ENT, plastics, general, orthopedics, neurology, and cardiovascular. They only work in surgical or perioperative areas and are highly specialized. Surgical technologist is the proper term for a two-year program which earns a degree in applied sciences. The profession is up and coming and highly in demand.

A midwife (pl.: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery.

The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; concentrating on being experts in what is normal and identifying conditions that need further evaluation. In most countries, midwives are recognised as skilled healthcare providers. Midwives are trained to recognise variations from the normal progress of labour and understand how to deal with deviations from normal. They may intervene in high risk situations such as breech births, twin births, using non-invasive techniques. For complications related to pregnancy and birth that are beyond the midwife's scope of practice, including surgical and instrumental deliveries, they refer their patients to physicians or surgeons. In many parts of the world, these professions work in tandem to provide care to childbearing women. In others, only the midwife is available to provide care, and in yet other countries, many women elect to use obstetricians primarily over midwives.

Health professional requisites refer to the regulations used by countries to control the quality of health workers practicing in their jurisdictions and to control the size of the health labour market. They include licensure, certification and proof of minimum training for regulated health professions.

In the health care system, a health professional who offers medical, nursing or other types of health care services is required to meet specific requisites put into effect by laws governing health care practices. The number of professions subject to regulation, the requisites for an individual to receive professional licensure or certification, the scope of practice that is permitted for the individual to perform, and the nature of sanctions that can be imposed for failure to comply vary across jurisdictions.