Editing Feldsher (section)

==History==
The word ''Feldsher'' is derived from the German ''[[:de:Feldscher|Feldscher]]'', which was coined in the 15th century. ''Feldscher'' (or ''Feldscherer'') literally means "(battle-)field shearer" and was the term used for [[barber surgeon]]s in the German and Swiss armies from the 17th century until professional military medical services were established, first by Prussia in the early 18th century. Today, Feldshers do not exist in Germany anymore, but the term was exported with Prussian officers and nobles to Russia. An All-Russia Union of Feldshers was founded in 1905.  They were regarded as "Middle Medical Workers".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Khwaja|first1=Barbara|title=Health Reform in Revolutionary Russia|url=https://www.sochealth.co.uk/2017/05/26/health-reform-revolutionary-russia/|access-date=26 May 2017|publisher=Socialist Health Association|date=26 May 2017}}</ref>

The Feldsher system of rural primary care provided some of the inspiration for China's ''[[barefoot doctor]]s.''

Today feldshers can be found in every medical setting from primary to intensive care.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/Health-systems/primary-health-care/facts-and-figures|work=World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe|title=Primary Health Care|access-date=15 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531125506/http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/Health-systems/primary-health-care/facts-and-figures|archive-date=31 May 2010}}</ref>  They are often the first point of contact with health professionals for people in rural areas.