A Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is part of the Citizen Corps program, a national initiative to mobilize and coordinate volunteers. MRC members are health professionals and others who are willing to be called in the event of a public health crisis or large scale disaster.

The MRC program provides a structure to pre- identify, train, credential and organize medical and public health professionals, as well as non-clinical personal to supplement and support health emergency response systems.

• Any student, faculty, or staff member in the health sciences, Boynton, or mental health professional in Student Counseling Services.
• In addition, undergraduate College of Biological Science students referred by the Pre-Health Student Resource Center or students referred by the Health Emergency Response Office director or deputy director may also seek membership.
• The MRC at the U is interested in both clinically licensed individuals as well as non-licensed individuals who have a strong interest in assisting in the response efforts during a health related emergency.
• Current MRC members with clinical experience include nurses, doctors, dentists, nursing assistants, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, veterinary medicine professionals and others.
• Health sciences affiliated non-clinical individuals with expertise in IT, communication and administration are also encouraged to join the University Medical Reserve Corps.

Depending on the nature of the emergency, members may have clinical and non-clinical roles. Potential activities include, but are not limited to:

• taking medical histories,
• administering vaccines or medications,
• answering a hotline, or
• providing behavioral health support

Non-clinical staff may be needed to:

• register clients,
• assist with supplies and equipment,
• enter data, or
• provide IT and and other administrative and logistical support.

Initiate your MRC registration here. After the data is processed you will receive instructions on next steps on how to fill out the Registry. Nurses, physicians, dentists and pharmacists will also receive a link via email at a later date to provide more detailed information, such as license numbers and specific skills and certifications.

SHIFTBOARD is the online scheduling and notification system for the U of M Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).  This system will allows the U of M MRC Coordinator to rapidly communicate with MRC members through text and email.

MRC members will register for training events, strike team meetings, and deployments through SHIFTBOARD. In the event of a deployment, MRC members will be able to view the available job shifts and sign up for the one that fits best with their skills, interests and availability.

No. If we contact you and ask you to volunteer, you can always decline. We will contact you again if your skills could be valuable in a subsequent deployment.

Yes. MRC units are established in all of the Twin Cities metro counties and throughout the state. There are close to 900 MRC units across the country. The University’s MRC unit works collaboratively with MRC units across the state.

All new members should review the MRC Handbook and sign into their Shiftboard account. See these and other resources for New Members.

In preparing for their role in a public health disaster. Information on available training courses can be found in the monthly MRC newsletter and in the training section of the MRC website.

Call Courtney Wetternac at 612-626-4722 or email at [email protected].