Practices regarding nurses in the military have changed somewhat over
the years. During the Vietnam war, most nurses were straight out of
nursing school, largely untested, and minimally trained for work in the
military; they served a minimum of one year. Today, nurses sent to Iraq
and Afghanistan range in age from early twenties up into the sixties.
Approximately one third of military nurses are men, and all of them are
better prepared than in the past with extensive training; they serve six
month stretches several times.
The differences apply to how military nurses are treated upon arriving
home, as well. With the Defense Department finally coming around to the
acceptance of the impact of war on people's lives, retreats are
convening for returning registered nurses (RNs) and former Army nurses
to offer support and solidarity and to attend talks facilitated by
mental health specialists. This is the first such gathering to have
taken place in North Carolina. It was organized by the Army Nurse Corps
Association and supported by the Army Nurse Corps leadership, which
views the retreat as a pilot program.
?We arranged for a program that included every opportunity for sharing
through small and large group discussions,? said Lt. Col. Jeri Graham,
retired RN.
One former army nurse, Brenda Jansons, attended the retreated
representing the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation. She worked a 400
bed evacuation hospital near Saigon and when she returned home, she
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for years until it
was diagnosed as a disorder.
Vietnam nurses and soldiers felt hardship on their return home because
of the military's silence about the genuine psychological difficulties
suffered during the war. At that time, the military offered little if
any psychological support or treatment for anyone.
Vietnam nurses had an especially hard time. If the military didn't want
to acknowledge PTSD in its soldiers, it certainly didn't want to admit
that non-fighting forces could have the disorder. Today things are very
different. When Air Force nurse Lt. Col. Mary Carlisle, CCRN, MS, CCNS,
publicly shared her story about war-related adjustment issues and
encouraged troubled nurses to seek help, she was praised by Chief Nurse
of the Air Force Maj. Gen. Kimberly A. Siniscalchi, RN.
?Mary Carlisle is helping to change the culture,? Siniscalchi says.
?Mary helps show younger airmen that she is a senior officer who has
experienced the same feelings they may be having and she feels
comfortable talking about it.?
The Vietnam nurses, who struggled so hard to find and help one another
after the war and to create a safety net and educate the public, are
delighted in the changes that have occurred and seek to share their
hard-won knowledge with nurses returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Maj. Paula Coughlin, RN, MS, remarked that the nurses who served in
Vietnam helped pave the way for better treatment of today?s military
nurses. ?They have done so much for us,? she said. ?I don?t think many
[military] nurses realize the debt we owe them."