Introduction. The article presents an overview of foreign experience in the development and formation of the profession of a doctor's assistant. The total shortage of medical personnel around the world, a sharp increase in the number of patients in need of medical care, requires the implementation of effective measures to improve national health development strategies. The birth of the profession of a doctor's assistant in the 1960s of the last century, the introduction of the position of assistant in different countries, especially in the field of primary health care, expands access to services and is economically profitable, and in addition, allows for an increase in the quality and accessibility of medical care. The purpose of the work. Consider and describe the experience of using the profession of "assistant doctor" in different countries. Materials and methods. The paper used methods of content analysis of scientific publications on the PubMed database by keywords - "physician assistants" (physician assistants or physician associates), "physician assistant". Scientific publications from 2018 to 2023, regulatory documents, educational programs and collections of professional competencies from 2012 to 2023 were considered. Results and discussion. The American physician assistant model has become a reference option for solving conceptual problems in national health systems. The work carried out made it possible to formulate a conclusion that the profession of a doctor's assistant is characterized by three main features: - there is a professional education at the college/university level for training; - is a partially independent and exclusive profession that has taken over some of the functions of doctors and nurse practitioners; - are qualified to assist physicians in performing medical tasks in addition to "non-medical" tasks. Conclusion. The introduction of the profession of a doctor's assistant is becoming a landmark change in the course of the development of human resources policy in the field of healthcare. The profession is gradually coming into the healthcare systems of many countries.