Disaster Medicine

In the past several years, members of the Pennsylvania Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (PA TF1) have responded to natural disasters, worked at a building collapse, and assisted with mass COVID-19 testing in urban areas. Embedded within this team are highly specialized personnel ranging from urban search and rescue technicians and engineers to medical team members including Emergency Medical Technicians, paramedics, and emergency physicians with expertise in Disaster Medicine. Emergency physicians trained in the subspecialty of Disaster Medicine deploy with various government and non-governmental organizations to provide care to those suffering the effects of a variety of disasters. Others are dedicated to creating infrastructure to prepare for, and respond to, disasters to mitigate their effects. Their knowledge spans the depths of Emergency Medicine and disaster preparedness, making this a unique medical specialty. While much time and effort are dedicated to predicting disasters, these events generally occur with little to no warning. Although field work and responses are exciting, the administrative aspects of Disaster Medicine are equally important. Planning for disasters in the health system, hospital, or community setting are arenas in which experts in Disaster Medicine lead emergency preparedness and planning. Any emergency physician can be faced with the management of a disaster in their own community. While the basics of Disaster Medicine are competencies addressed in general Emergency Medicine training, additional training exists to develop expertise in disaster planning and response.