The National Medical Reserve Corps has developed a helpful guide book with information on how to establish and manage an MRC unit. Communities in Virginia and other states vary widely so each community will want to approach the task of establishing its MRC unit differently. The National MRC Program has prepared general guidelines covering many key issues to assist community in planning for their MRC. You can download a copy of Getting Started here: A Guide for Local Leaders. In addition, the National MRC offers a Technical Assistance Series.

In addition, you may now view presentations given at the 2005 National Leadership Conference, held in San Francisco, California April 20-22, 2005, on the MRC Web site. The information can be found by visiting the Resources page. (http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov/resources/index.asp)

From the Resources page, you can find the presentations in one of three different ways. First, you may click on the "National Conferences" category to see the presentations listed by the day they were given.

Second, you may click on any of the various categories, such as "Emergency Preparedness and Response" or "Sustainability" to see presentations given at the 2005 conference related to those topics.

Lastly, the presentations can also be found, listed again by day, by clicking on the "2005 National Leadership Conference" graphic found on the right-hand side of the home and Resources pages. 

These may be used as a tool for you and your units throughout this year and years to come.

Also, remember to continue to remain in contact with the national program office with pictures and your success stories by sending emails to MRCcontact@osophs.dhhs.gov, and more importantly, by updating your profiles on the MRC Web site. Please keep the conversations alive on the Message Board, which is more active than ever. You may choose to leave feedback about the 2005 conference, ask a question about Liability, or read Success Stories from other units, but no matter what, you're sure to find something of interest to you and your MRC community.

Feel free to contact the MRC program office with any comments or questions at 301-443-4951 or MRCcontact@osophs.dhhs.gov. We're always happy to hear from you and even happier to be of some help.

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The Virginia Department of Health and local organization sponsoring MRC programs are interested in registering all possible medical and non-medical volunteers in the state before an emergency occurs. This will facilitate the effective credentialing, background checking and training, so that volunteers are ready to respond when an emergency or other health event should occur. In many cases, valuable time has been lost and efforts wasted, because volunteers had to be screened, processed and trained during an emergency. It is our hope to register as many volunteers as possible, therefore, before they are actually called to an emergency. So please register and encourage other health professional and willing volunteers to register NOW!

How the Volunteer Can Register Their Interest


1. Potential volunteers (candidates) can register their interest through the VAMRC website by completing the generic form located at http://www.vamrc.org or they may register for a specific MRC in a locality near them by clicking on the name of the MRC in their area. Candidates will  submit   the interest form via the internet, or may contact the local MRC by phone. Volunteers may be directed to go directly to the website of the MRC in their area, if a website is available. If the volunteer is interested in registering with more than one MRC, it is recommended that they complete the generic form, rather than having to complete registration forms for each locality.

2. Using the statewide website, the interest form will be routed automatically to the MRC of their choice or the state Volunteer Office where it will be routed out to the appropriate MRC contact.

3. Registration forms that go directly to the State Office will be confirmed and a message will be sent back to the volunteer via email thanking them for their information. The information will then be sent to the appropriate MRC.

4. Once the information about the potential candidate is received, the local contact may wish to consider or act on the following:

A. Information regarding physician volunteers may be verified by accessing the Virginia Board of Medicine Practitioner Information site or the Department of Health Professions site, listed above.

B. MRC coordinators are encouraged to contact volunteers as soon as possible (within a few working days) upon receiving their information/indication of interest. By doing so, a positive first impression of the agency is conveyed as well as interest in having the candidate as a volunteer. Methods of communication in order of preference should be; 1) personal phone call; 2) email; 3) letter. In the case of an email or letter indicate the intent to contact the candidate by phone for follow-up. Remember, the local contact establishes what is hoped to be a long- term relationship. Positive personal contact establishes a foundation for this to occur.

C. Prepare to convey the following:
1) thank the candidate for their interest
2) describe the mission of your initiative
3) describe how and when the candidate can expect further communication
4) provide the candidate with your contact information
5) set up a to meet with the volunteer (at their convenience) or schedule them for the next
    volunteer orientation meeting available

D. Have a brochure that can be sent to the candidate. The brochure, describing your initiative, should reinforce your personal contact and answer basic questions.  The brochure should include, if possible, a list of possible positions or roles the volunteer may fill. This will give the volunteer valuable information of where they will be utilized so they can determine if they are a suitable candidate for your MRC.

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Each MRC will want to establish a process for checking the credentials and licensure of the medical (and other) volunteers who register with their program. If volunteers register in person, or as they attend Volunteer Orientations and other training, they can be asked to produce their license for verification that it is current and covers the areas of medical practice for the roles they will fill with the MRC. Although all health professional may not be registered with the Board of Medicine, this is a good place to start when checking medical licensure.

Board of Medicine (License status and address information - physicians only)
listed by last name, City or County and Profession.

Other health care professions may be listed in other data bases, such as Virginia Department of Health Professionals (License status and Locality). In this system, certification and licensure can be checked by use of the license number, social security number, the occupation, name, state, zip, status, or any combination of these search criteria. If their license is an out of state or expired license, or if the volunteer is not a health professional listed in these data bases, it would be recommended to consider checking their qualifications through previous employers or through school programs they attended. Verification of their experience and qualifications is important before they begin to volunteer, through whatever means is necessary.

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Proper supervision and risk management related to Volunteers would dictate that all volunteers, like any other employee, should be given appropriate job description as part of their initial interview, orientation or training. If a formal description is not available, then a description of the role they will play with the local MRC would be appropriate. These descriptions or role descriptors should be flexible enough to apply to all hazards and not be too specific to any one emergency. Specific disaster-related descriptions can be created to be used for specific incidents and can be covered during more event-specific training and used for “just in time” assignments.

Above, a link is provided to the Sample Commonwealth of Virginia Employee Work Profile for MRC Program Coordinator. This sample will provide a guideline to volunteer coordinators in creating descriptions for other positions. For additional information, you can view the description for the Community Preparedness Program Coordinator.  Several Virginia MRCs have created roles and descriptions for other roles which can be viewed below or by going to their individual web sites.


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