The Advanced Practice Provider in Federal Disaster Medical Response: An American Experience

Abstract

Introduction:

Advanced Practice Providers (APP) are utilized in the United States National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) and consist of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), Nurse Practitioners (NP), and Physician Assistants (PA). They fill a critical role as Medical Officers in the Federal Disaster Medical Response on both Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT), Trauma & Critical Care Teams (TCCT), and United States Public Health Service (USPHS). DMAT teams and components of TCCT and USPHS responded to National Security Special Events, multiple natural disasters over the past two years including prolonged hurricane response in 2017 and 2018. The APPs were heavily utilized in key roles throughout the responses with much success.

Aim:

To explain how APPs are a vital component to US Federal Disaster Medical Response and are able to fill a multitude of roles as Medical Officers.

Method:

We used qualitative data from APPs in the US NDMS system illustrating what roles they filled during recent disaster responses.

Results:

The APPs were key components to the US NDMS response to disasters in the US and US territories by providing direct medical care as APPs, aid in medical evacuation, triage, healthcare administration, and medical infrastructure evaluations.

Discussion:

The APP is essential in the US Federal Disaster Medical Response and future research would be to obtain quantitative data on APPs in the U.S. NDMS. With increasing natural and man-made disasters affecting more people across the world annually, the increasing global population, and expected international health care worker shortages, APPs can be part of the overall solution to Medical Officer shortfalls and other key components in future disaster responses throughout the world. As APPs are not widely utilized worldwide, there will need to be education on what APP training is and how they can be utilized in areas not familiar with their abilities.