Leveling the Battlefield: Development of a Pre-Deployment Vascular Access Curriculum for the Nonsurgical Provider.

Introduction: Timely vascular access is critical, as hemorrhage is the number one cause of death on the battlefield. Anecdotal evidence in the Military Health System identified an operationally relevant procedural skills gap in vascular access, and data exist in civilian literature showing high rates of iatrogenic injuries when lack of robust procedural opportunity exists. Multiple pre-deployment training courses are available for surgical providers, but no comprehensive pre-deployment vascular access training exists for non-surgical providers.