To practice medicine as a clinical officer one requires at least four years of full-time medical training, supervised clinical practice and internship at an accredited medical training institution and hospitals and registration with the relevant medical board in their country. One may then upgrade their qualification to a bachelors degree at the university or, after three years of general medical practice, specialize in a field such as pediatrics, surgery, psychiatry and anesthesia - or get an advanced general qualification in medicine and surgery - by completing an additional one or two years of residency training. There are no pathways (post-basic or post-graduate entry-level conversion programs) for nurses and other health workers hence it takes at least eight years of specialised medical training and experience for a clinical officer to graduate with a post-basic qualification. It should be noted, however, that "clinical officer" in some countries such as Tanzania and Zambia refers to lower-level health workers, comparable to "medical assistants" in Malawi, who have less than three years of training but may upgrade to a similar level by becoming Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs) or Medical Licentiates (MLs).
No significant difference has been demonstrated in studies comparing treatment decisions, patient outcomes, quality of care provided and level of knowledge about diseases between a clinical officer and a medical officer (a non-specialist physician) except in countries where nurses were mistakenly assessed as clinical officers. However, because of the nature of practice, populations served and resources at ones disposal, a clinical officer is less likely to administer expensive treatment, prescribe expensive (but not necessarily better) drugs or engage in futile care.[4]
The success of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment initiatives in Africa is mostly attributed to use of clinical officers to diagnose the disease and provide comprehensive medical care. Access to emergency obstetric care through greater deployment of the clinical officer is one way of attaining the Millennium Development Goals 4 (reducing child mortality) and 5 (improving maternal health).[5]
