clinician

noun cli·ni·cian \ kli-ˈni-shən \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Definition of clinician

1 : a person qualified in the clinical practice of medicine, psychiatry, or psychology as distinguished from one specializing in laboratory or research techniques or in theory

2 : a person who conducts a clinic

See clinician defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of clinician from the Web

The children are each assigned a clinician to help them deal with separation trauma and mental-health issues.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Reporter: Migrant Children ‘Incarcerated’ in Texas Facility," 14 June 2018
But the researchers believe more research needs to be completed with larger cohorts of pregnant women before blood tests can be made available for clinicians.

— fiza pirani, ajc, "New blood test could predict pregnant woman’s due date, premature birth risk," 12 June 2018
Rich countries have plenty of doctors, and even the best clinicians can see only one patient at a time.

— The Economist, "To help save the world, become a banker not a doctor," 31 May 2018
The University of California, San Francisco, reported last year that California is expected to have 78,000 to 103,000 primary-care clinicians by 2030, and physician assistants and nurse practitioners will make up half of the total.

— cathie anderson, sacbee, "These health providers are on the rise in California – but demand is so strong they can't keep pace | The Sacramento Bee," 25 May 2018
Several startups have developed software aimed at making clinician workflow and doctor-patient communication more efficient, but few attempt to do both.

— heather mack, WSJ, "Luma Health Raises $6 Million for Doctor-Patient Message Software," 22 May 2018
This natural process is impossible to stop, but skin care clinicians can influence the speed at which these changes happen, as well as treat other skin conditions or concerns, with chemicals peels.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The clinical advantage of chemical peels," 16 May 2018
As of Wednesday, the hospitalization rate for this outbreak was about 58 percent, much higher than the 30 percent normally associated with infections involving E. coli O157: H7, according to a CDC update sent to clinicians on Thursday.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "E. coli outbreak warning expands to all romaine lettuce," 20 Apr. 2018
Patients and their family members must be told results and expectations based on experience and evidence, as honestly and as clearly as a clinician can.

— angira patel, STAT, "Is it ever OK for doctors to lie to their patients?," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clinician.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of clinician

1875

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Medicine Terms

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CLINICIAN Defined for English Language Learners

clinician

noun

Definition of clinician for English Language Learners

: a person (such as a doctor or nurse) who works directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher

Medical Dictionary

clinician

noun cli·ni·cian \ klin-ˈish-ən \

medical Definition of clinician

: an individual qualified in the clinical practice of medicine, psychiatry, or psychology as distinguished from one specializing in laboratory or research techniques or in theory