Quō vādis? from disaster management to building community resiliency: Medical reserve corps and their unique potential

BACKGROUND: Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in the U.S. provide an approach to organize and incorporate trained public health and medical professionals and supplement the current public health workforce. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MRCs provided immunizations, educated the general public, and assisted with community screening and testing. Reports of MRC activities are publicly available; however, their challenges are not well discussed. Therefore, this exploratory study aimed to identify some challenges that MRC units faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional pilot study aimed to address the composition, recruitment, and training of MRC volunteers and their responses during the pandemic. The survey consisted of 18 close-ended questions across 3 domains: (1) structure and designation of the MRC unit, (2) recruitment and training opportunities for volunteers; (3) demographics; and 2 open-ended questions. RESULTS: A total of 568 units across 23 states were invited to participate in this exploratory study with only 29 units completing the survey. Out of 29 respondents, 72% were female and 28% male, 45% were nurses, 10% were physicians, and 5% were pharmacists. Retired members were reported in 58% of MRC units, while 62% reported members being active professionals. Qualitative analysis revealed two themes - Obstacles faced by MRC units and Interdisciplinary Composition. CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory pilot study, we identified the challenges of MRC units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicated variation in composition and type of volunteers at different MRC units that may be considered in planning for future disasters and emergencies.