Perspectives on competencies for care in austere settings

David S Kauvar; Jay A Yelon; Alison Wilson; Barbara A Gaines; Matthew J Martin; Jeremy W Cannon

doi:10.1097/TA.0000000000003630

Perspectives on competencies for care in austere settings

J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2022 Aug 1;93(2S Suppl 1):S179-S183. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003630. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Authors

David S Kauvar¹, Jay A Yelon, Alison Wilson, Barbara A Gaines, Matthew J Martin, Jeremy W Cannon

Affiliation

¹ From the Vascular Surgery Service (D.S.K.), Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Department of Surgery (D.S.K., J.A.Y., J.W.C.), Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland; Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery (J.A.Y., J.W.C.), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Department of Surgery (A.W.), University of West Virginia, Charlottesville, WV; UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (B.A.G.), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery (M.J.M.), Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

PMID: 35358120
DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003630

Abstract

Austerity in surgical care may manifest by limited equipment/supplies, deficient infrastructure (power, water), rationing/triage requirements, or the unavailability of specialty surgical or medical expertise. Some settings in which surgeons may experience austerity include the following: military deployed operations (domestic and foreign), humanitarian surgical missions, care in rural or remote settings, mass-casualty events, natural disasters, and/or care in low- and some middle-income countries. Expanded competencies beyond those required in routine surgical practice can optimize the quality of surgical care in such settings. The purpose of this expert panel review is to introduce those competencies.

MeSH terms

Mass Casualty Incidents*
Triage