Adjunct Faculty in the Doctor of Medical Science Program
Education
- Graduate Certificate, Global Health — Wake Forest School of Medicine
- DMSc — University of Lynchburg
- MPS — New School for Social Research
- BS, Health Science — State University of NY at Stony Brook
- BA — Dowling College
Dr. Frank Caruso began his career in 1983 as a PA in emergency medicine and orthopedics. He worked in a variety of medical centers and health maintenance organizations in New York City. In 1994, he was offered a position as Chief PA for the department of orthopedic surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Since that time the department has grown from six faculty physicians and six PAs to 60 faculty physicians and nearly 50 PAs and nurse practitioners in 19 locations. Dr. Caruso presently serves as manager of the department of orthopedic surgeries satellite APPs and co-director of the Orthopedic PA Fellowship, and precepts students from several PA and nurse practitioner programs throughout the state. In the state of North Carolina, Dr. Caruso has served on several committees for the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA) and is a Director-at-Large for the Piedmont Association of Physician Assistants. Nationally, he is the Chairperson for the Disaster Association of Physician Assistants, which is a Special Interest Group sponsored by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).
Dr. Caruso is a recognized local, state, and national speaker on numerous musculoskeletal and disaster medicine topics. In 2015, he was invited to the White House to represent AAPA and to work on the “Stop the Bleed Program” sponsored by the National Security Council. In 2015 he was a member of a work group that wrote the National Healthcare Disaster Certification Exam (NHDP-BC) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
As adjunct faculty, Dr. Caruso teaches in the post-graduate PA program for the State of New York at Stony Brook and at Lenoir-Rhyne Doctoral Nursing Program in Hickory, North Carolina. Most recently he accepted a position as adjunct faculty at the University of Lynchburg – DMSc in disaster medicine.
In North Carolina, Dr. Caruso is an active member of the local fire department, church, and civic club. He has been involved in the fire and EMS service since 1974, and has held the rank of Captain in the Fire Department and Lieutenant of the Rescue Squad. Dr. Caruso still maintains his North Carolina paramedic certification. On a national level, he serves as Deputy Commander for NC-1, a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) which is part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). On the state level, he is a member of State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT). On a local level, he is EMT instructor for Clemmons Fire Department and is certified to teach Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and International Life Support (ITLS) courses.
Dr. Caruso enjoys boating, hiking, spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, and playing the accordion. He presently resides in Clemmons, North Carolina with his wife and two rescue dogs.