Clinical officer

A clinical officer (CO) is a medical professional in East Africa and parts of Southern Africa who is trained and licensed to perform general or specialised medical duties such as diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury, ordering and interpreting medical tests, performing routine medical and surgical procedures, and referring patients to other practitioners.

A clinical officer is an independent practitioner (unlike nurses and physician assistants) who is trained in the medical model to practice the full scope of medicine and provides routine care in general medicine or within a medical specialty such as anesthesia and carries out treatment that is outside the nurses' scope. A clinical officer usually oversees a health center or a district hospital and is part of the medical team in bigger hospitals where one may head a department or work under a senior clinical officer or a physician.

Overview