The deployed advanced care provider

Abstract

Advanced care providers (ACPs) compose a significant part of the military medical manpower and most commonly are either physician assistants or nurse practitioners. The majority of military ACPs have a background in general or primary care, but subspecialists in surgery, critical care, and emergency medicine exist. Many of these professionals have former backgrounds and careers in an enlisted field as corpsmen, medics, or other health-care specialty personnel, and often with extensive operational and deployment experience. ACPs are routinely assigned to field units as primary care providers and may also command units such as Forward Surgical Teams, Ambulance and Treatment Platoons, and Forward Support Medical Companies. The advanced practitioner is an important asset to the deployed military force and colleague and valuable resource for the deployed surgeon. The ACP and their team will frequently provide a critically needed additional resource to the deployed combat surgical elements (Role 2 or even Role 3) and will be a major force multiplier in terms of expanding the capabilities and capacity for providing trauma and other emergency care to multiple simultaneous patients or during a MASCAL scenario.