Staff Augmentation during Disaster Response.

ABSTRACT

This article outlines a disaster medicine team response to the Texas-Mexico border during a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surge. The team consisted of emergency medicine attending providers, as well as a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant, who were asked to work in the intensive care unit (ICU) under the guidance of an intensivist. The article highlights the medicolegal and ethical implications of providers working outside of their designated scope of practice. A framework for future staff augmentation during a disaster is explained.