"Health care professional" is a generic term that could include anyone who is involved with health care and has some education in the field. But, in areas where there's a shortage of doctors, it often refers to nurse practitioners and physician assistants who practice some forms of medicine--either in doctors' offices or in their own practices. Arizona and many other states permit nurse practitioners to open their own offices. They can do pretty much everything medical except surgery. I had a minor emergency a few years ago, and two of the three "health care professionals" who saw me in the emergency room were physicians' assistants--they were pretty good.