Designing a medical humanitarian assistance course for advanced practice nurses in the uniformed services

Abstract

The U.S. uniformed services frequently respond to natural and man-made disasters worldwide. Disaster management and humanitarian assistance has been a major focus of military medicine for well over a decade. Training for these missions is a priority for the U.S. military, specifically as a result of the Gulf War. The Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course for advanced practice nurses is a course available to train advanced practice nurses in disaster management and humanitarian assistance. This article will describe the evolution, design, format, and implementation of the Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course.