Health professional

A health professional or healthcare provider is an individual who provides preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to people, families or communities.

A health professional may operate within all branches of health care, including medicine, surgery, dentistry, midwifery, pharmacy, psychology, nursing or allied health professions. A health professional may also be a public/community health expertee working for the common good of the society.

Practitioners and professionals

Healthcare practitioners include physicians, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, surgeons, surgeon's assistant, athletic trainers, surgical technologist, midwives, dietitians, therapists, psychologists, chiropractors, clinical officers, social workers, phlebotomists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, radiographers, respiratory therapists, audiologists, speech pathologists, optometrists, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, medical laboratory scientists, medical prosthetic technicians and a wide variety of other human resources trained to provide some type of health care service. They often work in hospitals, healthcare centres, and other service delivery points, but also in academic training, research, and administration. Some provide care and treatment services for patients in private homes. Many countries have a large number of community health workers who work outside formal healthcare institutions. Managers of healthcare services, health information technicians, and other assistive personnel and support workers are also considered a vital part of health care teams.

The Doctors

The Doctors may refer to:

See also

Hand washing

Hand washing or hand hygiene is the act of cleaning one's hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or with the use of soap for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms. The spelling "handwashing" in one word is also common.

Medical hand hygiene pertains to the hygiene practices related to the administration of medicine and medical care that prevents or minimizes disease and the spreading of disease. The main medical purpose of washing hands is to cleanse the hands of pathogens (including bacteria or viruses) and chemicals which can cause personal harm or disease. This is especially important for people who handle food or work in the medical field, but it is also an important practice for the general public.

People can become infected with respiratory illnesses such as influenza or the common cold, for example, if they do not wash their hands before touching their eyes, nose, or mouth. As a general rule, hand washing protects people poorly or not at all from droplet and airborne diseases, such as measles, chickenpox, influenza, and tuberculosis. It protects best against diseases transmitted through fecal-oral routes (such as many forms of gastroenteritis) and direct physical contact (such as impetigo).

Health care

Health care or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings. Health care is delivered by health professionals (providers or practitioners) in allied health professions, chiropractic, physicians, dentistry, midwifery, nursing, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, psychology, and other health professions. It includes the work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health.

Access to health care varies across countries, groups, and individuals, largely influenced by social and economic conditions as well as the health policies in place. Countries and jurisdictions have different policies and plans in relation to the personal and population-based health care goals within their societies. Health care systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of target populations. Their exact configuration varies between national and subnational entities. In some countries and jurisdictions, health care planning is distributed among market participants, whereas in others, planning occurs more centrally among governments or other coordinating bodies. In all cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a robust financing mechanism; a well-trained and adequately-paid workforce; reliable information on which to base decisions and policies; and well maintained health facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies.

Teen Mom

Teen Mom, renamed Teen Mom OG since the fifth season, is an American reality television series that premiered on December 8, 2009 on MTV. Developed as the first spin-off of 16 and Pregnant, it aired four seasons before its initial conclusion on October 9, 2012. Its revival was announced in February 2015, with its fifth season scheduled to premiere on March 23, 2015. The series follows the lives of Farrah Abraham, Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell, and Amber Portwood, who were featured on the first season of 16 and Pregnant; it documents their first years of motherhood and places additional emphasis on strained family and romantic relationships.

The pilot episode was the network's highest-rated premiere in over a year, with 2.1 million total viewers; the record was surpassed by the controversial series Skins, which had 3.26 million viewers. The first season finale brought in 3.6 million viewers. The second season finale pulled in over 5.6 million viewers, at which time a spin-off Teen Mom 2 was announced for January 11, 2011. In December 2015, it was announced via the Teen Mom OG Facebook page that the show was back for a sixth season, and featured a trailer for the upcoming season, with it being set to premiere on January 4, 2016.