Brian Burt is a clinical physician assistant at the Phoenix Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. As a Captain (CAPT) in the United States (US) Public Health Service (PHS), CAPT Burt serves in a line of uniformed officers following his father who retired from the US Navy as a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). “Uniformed service aligns with my values,” says CAPT Burt.
CAPT Burt began his healthcare career as a paramedic. During his paramedic training, the PA seed was planted as he learned about the profession from the paramedic program director who was a seasoned PA. After a few years working as a paramedic, his attraction to the fast-paced excitement and daily adrenaline rushes changed. He sought a service career with a more sustainable work-life balance and decided to become a PA.
He attended the George Washington University PA Program in Washington, DC, graduating in 2003 with a master’s degree. CAPT Burt was a recipient of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) scholarship which eased his educational expenses. The scholarship required his service in primary care in a rural or underserved location for two years following his graduation. His pre-PA school desire to pursue cardiothoracic surgery was put on hold and a NHSC placement liaison recommended he consider applying for a commission in the USPHS. After graduating, he received his USPHS commission as a Lieutenant junior grade and was detailed to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. He served eight years at one of five BOP medical referral centers practicing forensic mental health care, inpatient medicine, and a variety of primary care services. He earned two promotions: Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander by the time he left the BOP in 2011.
CAPT Burt then transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) in Yosemite Valley – becoming the first USPHS Commissioned Corps PA detailed to the NPS – as part of a small activation team. This team comprised of a physician, PA (CAPT Burt), and 2 nurses arrived in May 2011. The National Park Service requested this team after the Park’s clinic contract expired and no viable bids were received. The remote clinic had threatened to close which would have left the over 4 million annual visitors and hundreds of employees 90-minutes from healthcare. The medical team provided primary care, urgent care, emergency medicine and oversaw EMS and search and rescue as medical directors.
In 2018, CAPT Brian Burt transferred to the Indian Health Service in Phoenix, AZ. He still currently works in general surgery with the Indian Health Service’s flagship hospital – the Phoenix Medical Center – providing direct care to American Indians and Alaska Natives in the Phoenix Service Unit. Finally able to realize his surgical aspirations, he eventually went on to become the Deputy Chief of Surgery.
CAPT Burt’s uniformed service includes several deployments. In 2005, he deployed in support of the Hurricane Katrina response. He was sent to Florida to care for inmates that were displaced from Louisiana in a new BOP facility pending activation. There, he was faced with extreme health conditions resulting from significant lapses of medication and care after the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2008, he was deployed to the area around Louisiana State University after Hurricane Gustav and established a Federal Medical Shelter. His most memorable deployment was in 2014 as part of the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) Team One (tip of the spear) for the US Ebola response. There, he was part of an elite team whose mission was to stand up and operate a 25-bed specialized Ebola Treatment Unit designed specifically to treat healthcare workers that became infected with the Ebola virus. President Obama called the team on Thanksgiving Day, a memorable highlight. The first patient admitted to the MMU, a local Liberian PA, put into perspective caring for someone who could have been you.
Brian Burt was a founding member of the USPHS Health Service Category PA Professional Advisory Group serving as chair in 2014. He led the American Academy of PAs Public Health Service Academy of PAs as chapter president from 2019-2021, giving a voice to uniformed service PAs regarding policies and the future of the profession. CAPT Burt’s biggest leadership role was his appointment by Rear Admiral Michael Toedt, USPHS (Retired) as Chief PA of the Indian Health Service in 2021. In this role he represented all IHS and tribal PAs and guided the IHS leadership on physician assistants matters.
Realizing the rapidly evolving adolescent vaping epidemic and the lack of knowledge among healthcare workers, patients and parents on the issue, CAPT Burt researched and published an article about the subject. He outlined the trends and health concerns of the increased number of young individuals turning from combustible cigarettes to the odorless, flavored, and concealable option of vapes. The lead article was published in JAAPA’s March 2020 edition and received praise from public health experts.
CAPT Burt has earned numerous service awards. One which stands out to him was recognition for the cricothyrotomy he performed on a gravely ill patient. The operation successfully extended the patient’s life until their family arrived to say their final goodbyes. CAPT Burt says that this was one of his most satisfying moments as a PA.
Brian Burt has begun thinking about his future career plans. He has enjoyed his diverse PA specialty roles, multiple geographic locations and engagement in professional activities. His PA wife and three spirited children, aged ten to sixteen, keep him busy. He looks forward to exploring the great outdoors adventuring in his converted ambulance camper.
Acknowledgments
This biography was written by CAPT Robin Hunter-Buskey and CAPT Brain Burt and was submitted to the Society in January 2025. Photographs are courtesy of CAPT Burt.
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